Rossetti's Wombat
, by John Simons, tells the story of Top, a wombat who belonged to the Pre-Raphaelite painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti for a few months in 1869.The book also describes the strange history of the European fascination with the wildlife of Australia, from the late 18th century onwards.
By 1860, most well-to-do people could buy a pet kangaroo from a London pet shop - and many of them did.
Wombats were rarer and more expensive but the tradition of wombat owning was well established by the turn of the 19th century.
Napoleon had a pet wombat, as did the Duke of Edinburgh.
I can understand why. They are adorable!
"The Wombat is a Joy, a Triumph, a Delight, a Madness!" ~ Dante Gabriel Rossetti
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