The more I think about this book the more I think it shows the Chaos Theory of the Butterfly Effect. In the 1700s a Dutch sea captain brought home a young Indian rhinoceros. He then mounted a very efficient PR campaign of Europe. Taking Clara everywhere and seeing commoners to royalty. What ended up happening was Rhinomania. Fashion, hairstyles, poems, songs, porcelain, and medical sketches were all created in her honor. The captain, Van der Meer, controlled the copyright of her image. He had medallions made and posters to sell. He was a very successful merchant in this regard. He met royalty of every stripe. It took Europe by storm.
This is the time period when curiousty cabinets were the thing. People would try to better themselves by learning as much as they could about the natural world. The Dürer print of a rhinoceros in 1515 was proved inaccurate. This was a live rhinoceros in Europe, and everyone wanted a glimpse with their very own eyes. And if they could buy a commemorative coin or poster to prove they were there, all the better. Van der Meer played upon many typical 18th century feelings about the animal. He called her a Behemoth from the Bible (The Book of Job). Her image was used in many encyclopedias created during that time.
Clara's Grand Tour was a fun book to read. I recommend it.
And for those who want a quick synopsis: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clara_(rhinoceros) You can see several prints of Clara.
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