Hagenbeck, John
"Fünfundzwanzig Jahre Ceylon" by John Hagenbeck is an autobiographical travelogue and adventure narrative written in the early 20th century. It follows a German merchant, animal dealer, planter, and sportsman through a quarter-century in colonial Ceylon, mixing vivid scenes of elephant capture and animal transport with portraits of cities, landscapes, and local customs. The focus is on practical life, perilous journeys, and cross-cultural encounters, told with an eye for incident and place.The opening of the book frames the project as a collaboration between a man of action and an editor (Victor Ottmann), inviting readers to escape postwar gloom through tales of Ceylon, with a companion volume promised. The narrative then introduces the Hamburg-born narrator’s roots in the Hagenbeck animal-trading dynasty, his early immersion among cages and caravans, and teen journeys that include a comic brush with Posener night watchmen and demanding animal transports from Trieste. He recounts impresario work for “ethnic shows,” from Somali ostrich races in Vienna and Budapest to the Berlin sensation “Prince Dido,” hyped with Fritz von Schirp’s flair and even presented to the future Kaiser. Next comes the first voyage to Ceylon: a brutal Biscay storm, the threshold feel of Port Said and the Suez Canal, the oppressive Red Sea, a stop at Aden, and at last the luminous approach to Colombo. The second chapter begins with first impressions of Colombo—bungalow living, hotel culture, garden-city…
These books are free to read. Each is in the public domain in the United States; check your own country's rules before you copy or share one.
