Atlantic walrus (O. r. rosmarus)
wild-caught in approximately 1854
unknown after approximately 1854
None.
birth ~1854 in Greenland
transfer ~1854 to Boston, Massachusetts
unknown ~1854 at Boston, Massachusetts
No images available at this time.
The images found here have all been gathered either from this facility's official resources or news articles.
This walrus was the first of its species to be imported into the United States and placed on public display.
My sole source material regarding this individual was dated circa 1854, leaving questions as to where exactly it was exhibited. It is known with certainty that the walrus was exhibited at some point following 1845 to 1848, due to the source's reference of the lost Franklin expedition, and that the walrus was exhibited at "No.76 Court Street", "opposite head of Hanover Street".
From 1818 to 1839 the listed site housed Ethan A. Greenwood's New England Museum. This location was replaced in 1840 with the opening of Jonathan Harrington's museum, though this too was sold in 1842. I have no information regarding what location succeeded these endeavors.
This walrus was acquired by a Mr. H. Harvey in Greenland, and exhibited at Boston in 200 gallons of water. This individual would enter and exit the water on command, and was described as being as "tame as a kitten, and as beautiful as a Gold or Silver fish".
2026-Apr-03 [access date]. John N. Lupia III. HARRINGTON, JONATHAN. Retrieved from numismaticmall.com [archive]
2018-Feb-16. Andrew Pinard. Harrington Grand Quick Step. Retrieved from magicmatters.com [archive]
circa 1854. Hooton's Press. Go and See the Real Walrus. Retrieved from the Harvard Library [MS Thr 1835 (Folder 317), Houghton Library, Harvard University].
1851. Nathaniel Dearborn. Dearborn's Reminiscences of Boston, and Guide Through the City and Environs, pg. 81. Retrieved from Google Books.