Order of the Elephant current form on 1 December 1693 by King Christian V as having only one class consisting of only 30 noble knights in addition to the Grand Master (i.e., the king) and his sons. The statutes of the order were amended in 1958 by a Royal Ordinance so that both men and women could be members of the order. The elephant and castle design derives from an elephant carrying a howdah, the familiar castle replacing the unfamiliar howdah, and finds use elsewhere in European iconography, as discussed at howdah. The Danish monarch is the head of the order. The members of
Seeing the elephant writes that the popularity of the phrase came from Coney Island which used the elephant as a mascot throughout the Gilded Age. "So famous was this massive monument [the Elephant Hotel] that for a generation, "seeing the elephant" signified a quest for satisfactions in disreputable quarters." Earthly delights are not the only reason the elephant craze existed considering its many earlier origins. More likely the elephant Americanism gained steam and then was used as a catchy draw for brothels, saloons or businesses. There were several old west saloons that had 'elephant' in the title, including the famous White Elephant Saloons.