wasmhi2001_23.xml Guide to the Lowman Family Collection on Bobo the Gorilla circa 1951-1992 Lowman Family Collection on Bobo the Gorilla Finding aid prepared by Jessica Werner Museum of History & Industry © 2009
5933 6th Avenue South Seattle, WA 98108 Phone: 206-324-1126 URL: http://www.mohai.org
Finding aid encoded by Jody Hendrickson 2009 Finding aid written in English. Finding aid based on DACS ( Describing Archives: A Content Standard). Museum of History & Industry, Sophie Frye Bass Library
5933 6th Avenue South Seattle, WA 98108 Phone: 206-324-1126 URL: http://www.mohai.org
2001.23 Lowman family Lowman family collection on Bobo the gorilla circa 1951-1992 1952-1968 .21 cubic feet 1 box, including 47 photographs Photographs, newspaper clippings, and other materials related to Bobo the gorilla, who was briefly raised by the Lowman family of Anacortes before being sold to the Woodland Park Zoo in 1953, where he remained until his death in 1968 14a.4.8 Collection materials are in English.

Bobo the gorilla (1951-1968) was captured in then-French Equatorial Africa in 1951 and taken to the United States by William Said. In December of 1951, Bill Lowman purchased Bobo for $4,000 from Said in Columbus, Ohio and drove back to his home in Anacortes, Washington. Bobo was raised by the Lowman family until December 1953, when the time, money, and resources needed to raise Bobo were no longer feasible. The Lowmans sold him to the Woodland Park Zoo, for $5,500. The zoo built a great ape building in which to house Bobo, who quickly became the zoo’s top attraction. In the first year of Bobo’s residence, zoo attendance doubled. While the zoo brought in a female gorilla, Fifi, to be Bobo’s mate, he never showed any interest in her, and never produced any offspring. On February 22, 1968, Bobo was found dead in his cage of what was later found to be blood clots in his lungs as well as a hemorrhage. His death made the headlines of the Seattle newspapers the next day. Bobo’s body was later taxidermically preserved and put on display in the Museum of History & Industry.

The collection consists of photographs, newspaper articles and clippings, letters, postcards and cards (approximately 49 photographs, 35 clippings, and 19 pieces of correspondence, including 6 cards from an elementary school class), as well as Bobo’s medical records, and lists of property damage and expenses from his time with the Lowmans. Materials deal with Bobo’s life: the photographs primarily with his life before being sold to Woodland Park Zoo (including photographs with members of the Lowman family); the newspaper articles primarily about his life and death at Woodland Park Zoo; and the correspondence mostly with the Lowmans' treatment of Bobo. There are two photographs of Gertrude Davis Lintz, who also had purchased an infant gorilla in the same period.

View selections from the collection in digital format here or by clicking on the camera icons in the inventory.

The collection is open to the public by appointment.

The Museum of History & Industry is the owner of the materials in the Sophie Frye Bass Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from MOHAI before any reproduction use. The museum does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.

Lowman family collection on Bobo the gorilla, Museum of History & Industry, Seattle

Gift of the estate of Will P. Lowman, via Susan Pedersen (Lowman's daughter), February 9, 2001.

Processed by Jessica Werner, 2009.

MOHAI also has a number of artifacts related to Bobo the gorilla which were received with other donations. These artifacts are cataloged and stored separately by MOHAI's Collections Department.

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Lowman, Raymond--Photographs Lowman, Bill--Photographs Woodland Park Zoo United States--Washington (State)--Seattle Gorillas--Washington (State)--Seattle Zoos--Washington (State)--Seattle Seattle Photographs Photographs

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Photographs 1-17 1 Bobo as a juvenile, at the Lowman family home circa 1951-1953 17 photographs Numbers 4-7, 13 and 16: Gene Weber for Fred Carter, Photographer, Seattle 18 2 Bill Said feeding Bobo a bottle 1951

Handwritten on verso: Taken from magazine pub. March. '52. Mr. Bill Said and Bobo at air port in Holland (we think) on their way to the U.S.--'51.

 19-21 3 Bobo with Raymond Lowman circa 1952 3 photographs 22-24 4 Bobo with Bill Lowman circa 1952 3 photographs 25-26 5 Bobo with Mrs. R.B. Lowman circa 1954 2 photographs 27 6 Bobo with Bill Corcoran circa 1954 28 6 Bobo with Ray Lowman, Bill Corcoran, and Bill Lowman circa 1954 Forde Photographers , Seattle 29 6 Bobo with young boy circa 1954 Fred Carter , Seattle

Written on verso: Bobo with grandson of Mr. Benson

 30-40 7 Bobo in gas station attendant costume at a Mobil Gas station circa 1953 11 photographs Fred Carter , Seattle 41-45 8 Bobo at Woodland Park Zoo circa 1954 5 photographs Bob and Ira Spring , Seattle 46-47 9 Gertrude Davis Lintz and her baby gorilla, Zulu circa 1953 2 photographs Papers 48-59 10 Letters to the Lowmans regarding Bobo 1953-1980 60-61 11 Letters from the Lowmans in response to inquiries about Bobo circa 1953 62-67 12 Handmade thank-you cards from schoolchildren in response to Bill Lowman’s visit and slide show about Bobo undated 6 cards 68 13 Woodland Park Zoo postcard of Bobo as an adult undated 69-80 14 Newspaper clippings about Bobo's life 1953-1968 81-88 15 Newspaper clippings about Bobo's death 1968 89-103 16 Later newspaper clippings about or mentioning Bobo 1968-1992 104 17 Bobo’s medical records while living with the Lowmans circa 1951-1954 105 18 Itemized expenses for Bobo while living with the Lowmans circa 1951-1954 106 19 Itemized damages caused by Bobo while living at the Lowmans’ house circa 1951-1954 106 20 Article reprint: Pulmonary Embolus and Testicular Atrophy in a Gorilla 1971

Scholarly article by researchers J.I. Antonius, Simone A. Ferrie and L.A. Dillingham analyzing Bobo's condition at the time of his death, including autopsy results. Includes a letter from John I. Antonius to Mrs. Lowman upon his sending her the reprint.