From the Vaults of the Unhinged: Kangaroo Boxing—The Most Chaotic Sport History Ever Tolerated
If you ever feel embarrassed about humanity, rest assured: the Victorians already did it first, louder, and with more marsupials.
This 1890s circus lithograph, printed in Hamburg by Adolph Friedländer—one of Europe’s most prolific poster printers—advertised an act that sounds like satire but was disturbingly real: live boxing matches between humans and kangaroos. Yes. Gloves and all.
Lithographic poster by Adolph Friedländer (c. 1890s)
A Brief History of Marsupial Mayhem
Kangaroo boxing toured international circuses and sideshows during the late 19th and early 20th century, billed as thrilling entertainment for the masses. Audiences would gather—presumably with snacks—while a man in tights and improbable shoes attempted to spar with a creature capable of disemboweling him with a single well-aimed kick. (Nature: undefeated.)
The kangaroos were trained to stand upright, use their forearms, and occasionally deliver a two-legged kick while balancing on their tail. The posters promised spectacle, novelty, and the delightful chance to watch a grown man realize he'd made a terrible decision.
Why We Love It
This poster sits at the intersection of:
vintage printmaking
circus absurdity
animal exploitation we now question deeply
the eternal human instinct to ask, "But what if we put it in gloves?"
It's bizarre. It’s charming. It’s ethically murky. In other words—it’s perfect Unhinged material.
Final Thoughts
Victorian entertainment was wildly inventive, sometimes cruel, and often deeply unserious. But in this poster we glimpse something timeless: the irresistible audience yearning for the strange, the shocking, and the surely-someone-got-kicked-in-the-ribs event of the season.
And if history offers anything, it’s comfort. No matter what weird thing happens today, someone in 1890 probably paid money to watch a kangaroo throw hands.
