449290 The menagerie with chimneys smoking (pen & ink on paper) by Gasselin, Noel (fl.1677); 13.3x30.6 cm; The Devonshire Collections, Chatsworth; (add.info.: Around 1661, King Louis XIV had a menagerie of "ferocious" beasts built at Vincennes for the organization of fights. Surrounding a rectangular courtyard, a two-storey building with balconies allowed spectators to view the scene. The animals were housed on the ground floor in cells bordering the courtyard, with small yards on the outside where they could take a bit of exercise. At Vincennes, lions, tigers, and leopards were kept in cages around an amphitheater where the king could entertain courtiers and visiting dignitaries with bloody battles. In 1682, for instance, the ambassador of Persia enjoyed the spectacle of a fight to the death between a royal tiger and an elephant.); Reproduced by permission of Chatsworth Settlement Trustees; French, out of copyright.