Pandora's Cage Back Side with Door Open

Item

Title
Pandora's Cage Back Side with Door Open
Identifier
RCS_011
Alternative Identifier
pic027
Description
A large wooden cage with a solid back and bars on the front custom-made for panda transport. It is standing next to a brick building with a tile roof, probably the Dickinson home on "Canadian Row." This image shows the back door through which the panda enters. A "chair" can be seen in the background.
Commentary
Pandora was the first panda for which missionaries were responsible for transporting overseas. Before them, Ruth Harkness apparently held Sulin and Mei-Mei in her arms during travel. This would not do, since no single individual would be in charge of Pandora throughout her long trip. In 1939, Pandora's mate Pan had a cage built by Daniel S. Dye, so it's possible Dye made this first one too. In 1941, David Crockett Graham's pair of pandas had similar cages, which were also probably built by Dye. These ones were narrower and had fewer openings in the front.
Creator
Roy or Kathleen Spooner
Date Created
Between 1938-05-01 and 1938-05-18
Location
Chengdu, Sichuan
Geonames
https://www.geonames.org/1815286/chengdu.html
Event
Pandora: From Sichuan to the World’s Fair
Relation
Pandora's Cage Front Side with Door Open
Pandora's Cage with Her Inside
Workers Unloading a Panda
Source
David Spooner
Provenance
Roy Cowieson and Kathleen Spooner, David Spooner (Roy's and Kathleen's son). Scanned by Zhang Mingying.
Access Rights
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Publisher
SIUE
Record Date
2026-01-05
Contributor
Cory Willmott; Zhang Yingming
Type
Still Image
References
Albert Best. "That Panda Story: A Letter." West China Missionary News 41 no. 11 (Nov. 1939): 439-441.
Item sets
Spooner Family Archives
Media
RCS_011_Vpic027.jpg

Linked resources

Items with "Relation: Pandora's Cage Back Side with Door Open"
Title Class
Pandora's Cage Front Side with Door Open Image
Pandora's Cage with Her Inside Image
Workers Unloading a Panda Image