Thursday, September 6, 2012

 Largest collection of elephant memorabilia: Andy Swan sets world record (VIDEO)

SACRAMENTO, CA, USA -- Andy Swan of Sacramento, California, also known as "The Elephant Man" because of his love of elephants, boasts over 10,000 different elephant-related pieces, setting the new world record for the Largest collection of elephant memorabilia, according to the World Record Academy: www.worldrecordacademy.com/.
 Photo: Andy Swan, also know as Zippy the clown, own the World's Largest Collection of Elephant Memorabilia. Photo: A. Tambunan ( enlarge photo )

The Guinness world record for the largest collection of Charlie's Angels memorabilia belongs to Jack Condon (USA), with 5,569 items.

Guinness World Records also recognized the world record for the largest collection of Pokémon memorabilia, set by Lisa Courtney (UK), with 14,410 different items.

   According to the Sacramento News: "Swan, who displays his collection in a Westfield Downtown Plaza Mall space, also puts in time as a professional circus clown—with the Swan Brothers Circus.

  "Over the years, that's meant a nomadic existence, traveling from one county fair to the next to find his treasures. Now, Swan, by his own estimation, has accumulated an impressive collection of elephant paraphernalia.

  "I didn't realize just how many I'd acquired until I started this project," he said.

  A decent fraction of Swan's haul over the years – plush toys, jewelry, album covers, clothing, tchotchkes of all sorts – is visible through the storefront window of his makeshift Taj Mahal.

   The elephants in Swan's possession come from every material imaginable – except ivory, to his knowledge. He opposes tusk poaching and bemoans the elephants' "shrinking habitats" in real life.

   According to a Guinness World Records spokesman, the current Guinness world record holder is a Merced County woman named Janet Mallernee-Briley. As of April 2008, she had 5,779 items officially to her credit.