Crowbar in hand, Isaac Van Amburgh became famous for confrontinglions in the confined space of a cage in a new type of public enter-tainment. His look alone was believed to subdue lions although inperformance he manhandled them forcefully. Sensationalist handlingacts proliferated and the feat that came to typify 19th-century travellingmenageries involved tamers, including lion queen Ellen Chapmā¦