37. THE NAPOLEON OF THE CHIMP WORLD
‘Little Nap’, also known as ‘The Napoleon of the Chimpanzee World’, was a young chimpanzee, dressed up in a uniform to resemble the great Napoleon, complete with boots, a hat and a sword.
At least eight postcards, all of them quite rare today, were issued to celebrate this unusual star of the circus and variety theatre, with Nap posing on a plinth, sitting astride a large dog disguised to resemble a pony, riding a bicycle, or sitting in abranches both in London and the Home Counties, started by John Harry Woolfe and active at least since 1908. All my cards are unposted, an indication that they were bought as mementos of Nap’s performance rather than for use through the mail.