Cufflinks fashioned from the claws of a lion that went on the rampage in Blairgowrie have gone on display at a local jewellers.
The animal escaped from Chipperfield’s Circus when it visited Blairgowrie in July 1905. It was eventually killed and the claws were presented to people who had helped corner the animal, including a local police officer.
George Kusza, who owns Victor and Son’s Jewellers, where the cufflinks are on display, said the unusual items were causing a stir among passers-by.
He said: “They have attracted quite a bit of interest I’ve seen people looking in the window and pointing at them.”
The cufflinks on display were made from claws presented to one of the town’s police officers and have been left to Perth Museum in the will of his daughter Anne Brown.
By coincidence Mr Kursza’s mother-in-law inherited another of the animal’s claws, which was attached to a fob watch, from her father Peter David.
He added: “There’s bits of the lion dotted about the town it must have been quite a free-for-all in its day.”
The lion escaped on the evening of July 25 1905. Reports at the time told of the “panic” among the watching crowd, with many people leaping from high platforms to escape.
Outside, several children were knocked over in the stampede of fleeing spectators.
The beast ran amok through the Wellmeadow for around 15 minutes with locals barricading themselves inside shops.
It was eventually cornered and killed in a shop door, believed to be behind the former Woolworth’s building now occupied by the Fair o’ Blair pub.
During the attempt to contain the lioness two people were injured by stray bullets a circus attendant was shot in the ankle and a Mrs Thorn, of West Mill, was hit after a bullet went through the door of the shop she was hiding in.
Local historian Margaret Laing said: “The lioness was skinned and its body cut up for disposal. Its hide was tanned and was known to have survived in Blairgowrie for quite some time before it was lost trace of.
“In the estate of the late Anne Brown, whose grandfather was chief of police then, a pair of lioness claw cufflinks have been left to Perth Museum with the proviso that if ever Blairgowrie has a museum of its own, the cufflinks will be returned.”
Perth Museum hopes to take possession of the cufflinks at a later date.
The claws are now on display at Victor and Son’s Jewellers. Animal magicExotic, and not so exotic, animals have been capturing the headlines across Courier country for hundreds of years.
Perhaps the most famous is the Tay Whale, which swam up the firth in 1883 to great excitement. The humpback whale was harpooned, escaped, but was found dead a week later.
It was towed into Dundee by a showman, John Woods, exhibited on tour across Britain and its skeleton now features in the collection of the McManus in Dundee.
In 1706 it was an elephant which brought excitement to Dundee when it died on Broughty Ferry Road after being marched down the coast from the north of Scotland by showmen.
Dundee’s surgeon-apothecary, Dr Patrick Blair, dissected the animal at the roadside, fending off knife-wielding crowds seeking souvenirs.