The story of the mechanical elephant, Ruby, but is it a true story?

[Roger]

I don't know about 1889, but I have a later story that I'm trying to confirm. Supposedly there was an animatronic elephant at the 1937 Paris World Exposition. Later it was in New York City, on display at the F.A.O. Schwartz department store. Then it came to Seattle's Century 21 World's Fair in 1962. I don't know if any of this is true, but it was told to me by the elephant's present-day keeper at a nightclub in Seattle, where I saw it.

What I do know is that it was acquire for displays by the Seattle department store Frederick & Nelson's, which off-loaded it to an acquaintance of mine, probably in the 1980s. I have photos of it, which I took yesterday.

It is named Ruby, probably after a real elephant kept, controversially, in the Phoenix (USA) Zoo. Born 1973, died in captivity 1998.

If anyone knows more about the mechanical Ruby, please post here.

[worldfairs]

I have found it

[worldfairs]

I have found a web site on this elephant

https://cyberneticzoo.com/not-quite-rob ... -american/