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Historical Taxidermy

The first real taxidermy work appeared in the mid 18th century in France and Germany long before it was produced in the UK and later there were many hundreds of taxidermists operating in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The 1st collection donated to the British Museum was by Sir Hans Sloane in 1753. The Great Exhibition of 1851 went a long way into developing the taxidermy art in Britain. Demand was so great during the victorian era that nearly every town had it's own taxidermist. Besides the large firms the majority of these taxidermists would have had another profession such as hairdresser, perfumer, tobacconist, stationer etc. one was even a policeman.

The first world war started a decline in taxidermy due to the loss of the men but also trends changed after the Victorian age and the Bird Protection Acts and the second world war finally brought the art to it's knees.

Example Photographs

Rowland Ward Buzzard Box case of fantastic RW Buzzard	MacPherson Lynx European Lynx in snow scene	MacPherson Jays Shot by King George at Welbeck Abbey in 1912

W.R.Hine Fox Fantastic example with painted backdrop	Hutchings Barn Owl and Kestrel Fantastic typical Hutchings case	Arctic Skua by Richardson Rare Bird

McLeay large case of badly faded Raptors	Pair of Great Bustards	4 of the original Clungunford cases

The Great Auk

Example of a very rare and original egg from the extinct Great Auk.

The Great Auk

Besides the Dodo the great Auk is probably the most iconic of all of the extinct birds. It is believed to have been wiped out in 1844 on the Icelandic Island of Eldey.