Earliest printed appearance, so far, in Randolph, "Ozark Folksongs," 1927.

THE HAMBURGER FAIR

I went to the hamburger fair,
The birds and the beasts were there,
The old raccoon, by the light of the moon,
Was combing his auburn hair.
The monkey he got drunk,
Down under the elephant's trunk,
The elephant sneezed and fell on his knees,
And what became of the monk?

Collected in Missouri, 1927. The singer said that he heard the song in Joplin, MO, about 1900. Randolph, Ozark Folksongs, vol. 3, no, 451, p. 207. Spaeth and others have speculated about animal shows going back to 1854, but no evidence of the song itself. Randolph says an "Animal Fair" text in the Aurora [MO] Advertiser, 1935, is "said to date back to 1895. I would not be surprised if it is found that this song dates to the Chicago World's Fair or the St. Louis World's Fair.

Also see "At Barnum's Show," where:
The monkey and the Elephant
Were playing seven-up.