To invoke Occam's Razor, I'd point out that the more realistic the trunk is in the example pictures, the more realistic the rest of the body is (horse-like legs => trumpet-like trunk). I wonder if many of these pictures were drawn by people who knew what an elephant looked like only by the description of others. 4 legs + tusks + big ears + this trumpety thing. Yeah I could see how they get their pictures.
This reminds me of the first penguin to be stuffed and mounted. The taxidermist only had the skin and a brief description to work with. https://imgur.com/a/2XjCk It's in the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA along with a bunch of other cool weird things. I recommend stopping in if you get a chance.
