Above: Submitted by Jenny Clark of Loughborough University: "This is a sketch based on a photograph from the Norman Swindin Collection in Loughborough University Archives. Swindin was a chemical engineer. The photograph the drawing is based on was taken during the making of the film Elephant Boy, (London Films, 1937), starring Sabu. At Swindin’s suggestion the vulcanised rubber spray made by his company, Nordac, was used to produce suitable rubber ‘elephant hide’ for a life size model elephant to be used in the rampage scene. 400 miniature rubber elephants were also made to represent a distant herd. When Swindin went to the first showing of the film he couldn’t spot a single fake! Nordac was later asked to make a rubber whale for Moby Dick but, sadly, had to decline."

This October the Archives Hub is taking part in The Big Draw. We want you to make drawings inspired by archives – or by elephants! – scan them or photograph them, and then email the digital versions to us. We’ll give an Archives Hub notepad and propelling pencil to everyone who sends us a drawing, and the first name out of the pith helmet will receive some paper made from elephant pooh! If you send us your postal address, we won’t use it for anything else.