Buzz
Before the era of television and wildlife documentaries, taxidermy was a method for studying and preserving the natural world by stuffing and mounting animal skins, often creating realistic, lifelike displays. Scientists and naturalists, both big and small, collected specimens to study and showcase.
The art of taxidermy has a rich and at times illustrious history. As early as ancient Egypt, practitioners were refining their techniques. This tradition carried on through the Middle Ages and reached its peak during the Victorian era when taxidermy became widely popular.
Many famous individuals have engaged with the art of taxidermy. For instance, Charles Darwin learned the craft from John Edmonstone, a freed slave and skilled taxidermist. Darwin applied these skills during his famous HMS Beagle voyage, with his observations later contributing to the book known as The Voyage of the Beagle, and later appearing in On the Origin of Species, which outlined his groundbreaking theory of evolution.
While some of the world's greatest minds have practiced taxidermy, the art has also drawn a fair share of quacks, eccentrics, and oddballs. In this list, we'll dive into both the esteemed and the peculiar figures associated with this craft.
10. Natural History Exhibits
Taxidermy remains an essential tool for studying the natural world today. The Natural History Museum in London houses 29 million animal specimens, amassed over the course of 250 years.
Each year, about 10,000 scientists make use of these collections to further our understanding of human origins, evolution, biodiversity, the planet’s future, and much more. The museum offers the opportunity to study species that have long since gone extinct and find ways to protect those currently at risk. Additionally, the museum lends its collections to other museums and universities globally to promote continued research.
9. Taxidermy Dioramas
During the Victorian era, taxidermy moved from the dissection room into the living room. This somewhat macabre trend saw a shift from showing animals in their natural settings to adding quirky touches, some of which were charming, while others were simply unsettling.
Walter Potter stands as one of the most renowned Victorian taxidermists. He transformed dead animals into art, creating elaborate scenes inspired by children’s nursery rhymes—completely uncreepy, of course.
One of Potter’s most iconic works, ‘The Death and Burial of Cock Robin,’ features 98 different species of British birds attending the funeral of the deceased robin, with a rook acting as the minister. The diorama includes species that are now considered extinct in the UK.
Potter created a curiosity museum to showcase his collection of dioramas, which featured scenes like a school for rabbits, a kitten wedding, and a monkey riding a goat. The museum housed thousands of preserved creatures, but it eventually lost popularity. It closed in the 1970s, and the collection was dispersed and sold.
By the way, if you're wondering who was responsible for killing Cock Robin… it was a sparrow who shot him with a bow and arrow.
8. The Fascination with Large Animals
Large game animals, especially rare ones, have always been a collector's dream. During the heyday of big game hunting, having a lioness in the hallway or a giraffe in the dining room was considered a must-have in any grand country estate.
The oldest known piece of taxidermy is thought to be a crocodile hanging in the Santuario Madonna delle Lacrime Immacolate (‘Our Lady of Immaculate Tears Church’) in Italy. This specimen is believed to be around 500 years old.
The reason a church would have a crocodile hanging from its rafters remains unclear, though one theory suggests that it was thought to be a dragon.
7. The Preservation of Small Animals
It's not just large game animals that have been preserved for posterity. The entire insect world has been meticulously preserved in collections, ranging from carefully pinned and cataloged moths and butterflies to beetles, crickets, and other insects.
The Horniman Museum and Gardens in London is home to a globally recognized collection of insects and other specimens, including animal skins, complete skeletons, bones, and pinned insects. Additionally, there are geological materials such as rocks and minerals.
6. Imaginative and Fictional Animals
When the world of known animals became too mundane and zoologists felt they had documented everything, they turned to inventing new creatures. In the early 18th century, Albertus Seba was a zoologist with the most extraordinary Wunderkammer ever seen. A Wunderkammer, or “cabinet of curiosities,” typically contained specimens from the natural world, but also included art, antiquities, relics, and all manner of fascinating oddities.
Seba’s Wunderkammer housed specimens from across the globe in jars and display cases. These specimens were meticulously stuffed, intricately reproduced in watercolors, and carefully cataloged for future generations.
In 1716 or 1717 (depending on the source), Seba sold his entire collection to Russian Tsar Peter I (also known as Peter the Great). Well, not exactly. Seba wasn’t entirely truthful with the tsar and secretly kept some of the best pieces, including the famous seven-headed hydra, which he illustrated in his book, Cabinet of Natural Curiosities.
About the size of a large badger, the hydra was a bizarre creature resembling a Diplodocus, with seven heads on impossibly long necks and only two visible legs, which were ridiculously short. The creature was exposed as a hoax by zoologist Carl Linnaeus. He revealed it was made from a mix of weasels and snakes, and poorly assembled at that.
Linnaeus’s revelation of the hoax caused quite a stir in Hamburg, including in the mayor’s drawing room, as he owned the hydra at the time. The mayor may have tried to sell it off before its fraudulent nature became widely known. Whether or not he was successful is unclear, but the hydra has never been seen again.
Today, it’s unclear whether Seba knew the hydra was a fake, but one thing is certain: After Seba, a whole line of con artists, tricksters, and fraudsters followed, all fully aware of their deceptive actions.
5. Intentional Hoaxes
Without a doubt, the most extravagant con artist in history was P.T. Barnum, known for his traveling circus of oddities, freaks, and curiosities. In the 1840s, Barnum outdid himself by showcasing a real, live mermaid to the public. Well, not exactly live. Barnum’s mermaid was a mummified and rather unattractive creation, far from the enchanting sirens of myth.
The mermaid, which was likely a bizarre mix of a monkey's top half sewn to a salmon's bottom, had quite the adventurous life. It was allegedly salvaged from a Dutch shipwreck by an American sea captain, toured the globe to be displayed in Cape Town, and ultimately found itself under a glass dome in a coffee shop. At one point, it was even made a ward of the court.
The mermaid was shown in New York, Boston, and London before vanishing from public sight. Some believe it was destroyed in a fire, while others think it simply decayed over time. Perhaps the mermaid is simply awaiting its next big reveal.
4. Outrageous Fictional Beasts That Turned Out to Be Real
Not everything that seems fabricated is a hoax, however. When the duck-billed platypus was first discovered, many people were certain it was some sort of trick, and a rather poorly executed one at that.
In 1798, Captain John Hunter is thought to have sent the first platypus pelt from Australia. It was met with considerable doubt. Surgeon Robert Knox, convinced that the pelt had been stitched together from a duck and a beaver, decided to cut it open to search for seams. To his surprise, there were none, and eventually, the platypus was confirmed as real. But not exactly a looker.
3. Animal Body Parts Repurposed Into Objects
Some pet owners have historically chosen to preserve a part of their beloved animals. Charles Dickens, devastated by the death of his pet cat, Bob, turned one of its paws into a letter opener. Each day as he opened his mail, he would presumably smile at the sight of the paw attached to a knife, remembering his furry companion. People certainly find all kinds of ways to cope.
Napoleon, ever the lover of symbolic memorabilia, had two hooves from his horse Marengo transformed into desk ornaments. One became an inkwell, the other a snuff box. As a final tribute, Marengo’s skeleton was also displayed, and it still resides in the army museum in Chelsea.
On the other hand, the Duke of Wellington, who famously defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo, refused to allow his war horse, Copenhagen, to meet the same fate. He would not let Copenhagen's remains be displayed next to Marengo’s. Instead, the duke gave the horse a quiet burial and kept its location a secret.
Interestingly, during the burial of Copenhagen, one of the hooves was found to be missing. Perhaps there’s more to the story than we know!
2. Beloved Pets
During the Victorian era in England, it became quite fashionable to preserve beloved pets through taxidermy, allowing them to remain part of family life long after their death. Dogs were particularly popular for this practice. Larger breeds were often mounted lying down, transformed into footrests. In fact, Charles Crufts even featured a category for 'Stuffed Dogs' in the early Crufts dog shows.
Queen Victoria had an immense love for animals, keeping numerous pets, both alive and deceased. Among her treasures was an entire collection of stuffed birds displayed in an aviary at Windsor Castle.
1. Heroic Animals
We all love a good hero tale, don't we? And if the hero happens to be a dog, even better. Stubby, named for his short tail, was the beloved mascot of the 102nd Infantry, 26th Yankee Division.
Found as a stray by Private J. Robert Conroy during his training in World War I, Stubby quickly learned military drills, marching, and even saluting beside his owner. The little dog became a favorite among the troops. When the soldiers were deployed to France, Conroy smuggled Stubby aboard. Though initially discovered by the commanding officer, Stubby earned the right to stay as the unit's mascot after impressing the commander with a salute.
Stubby served on the front lines, where his keen senses made him an invaluable asset, particularly as an early warning for gas attacks. His sharp nose could detect gas long before the soldiers, and his barks would alert them in time to put on their masks. He also played a role in capturing a German prisoner of war, biting the man on the leg and holding him until help arrived.
Stubby was injured in a grenade attack, suffering shrapnel wounds to his leg and chest. Despite the injuries, he survived and spent the remainder of the war in the army hospital, where he became a symbol of morale for wounded soldiers.
The little dog saw action in 17 battles and even received a parade inspection by President Woodrow Wilson. Stubby passed away in 1926, having earned numerous medals. His preserved remains, proudly adorned with those medals, are now on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
