Editing Taxidermy (section)

==History==
[[File:5.5.12TeddyRooseveltTaxidermyKitByLuigiNovi3.jpg|thumbnail|left|[[Theodore Roosevelt]]'s taxidermy kit, private collection]]

{{Main|History of taxidermy}}

===Tanning and early stuffing techniques===
Preserving animal skins has been practiced throughout human history. For example, [[Animal mummy|embalmed animals]] have been found with Egyptian mummies.
Although [[embalming]] incorporates lifelike poses, it is not considered taxidermy. In the [[Middle Ages]], crude examples of taxidermy were displayed by [[astrologers]] and [[apothecaries]]. The earliest methods of preservation of birds for [[Cabinet of curiosities|natural history cabinets]] were published in 1748 by [[René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur|René-Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur]] in France. Techniques for mounting were described in 1752 by M. B. Stollas. There were several pioneers of taxidermy in France, Germany, Denmark, and England. For a while, clay was used to shape some of the soft parts, but this made specimens heavy.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Péquignot|first=Amandine|date=2006|title=The History of Taxidermy: Clues for Preservation|url=|journal=Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals|language=en|volume=2|issue=3|pages=245–255|doi=10.1177/155019060600200306|s2cid=191989601|issn=1550-1906|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Practical Taxidermy">{{cite book|author=Mantagu Browne|title=Practical Taxidermy – A Manual of Instruction to the Amateur in Collecting, Preserving, and Setting up Natural History Specimens|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hMF9CgAAQBAJ&q=Taxidermy.clay.heavy.&pg=PT152|date=31 July 2015|publisher=Read Country Book|isbn=978-1-4733-7689-2}}</ref>

By the 18th century, a majority of towns had a [[Tanning (leather)|tannery]] business.<ref name="Authors2016">{{cite book|title=Taxidermy Vol.12 Tanning – Outlining the Various Methods of Tanning|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-Q8lDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT3|date=26 August 2016|publisher=Read Books Limited|isbn=978-1-4733-5355-8|pages=3–}}</ref>  It was around the same time, with the work of [[Jean-Baptiste Bécœur]] in particular, that taxidermy became a more serious practice. [[Louis Dufresne]], a taxidermist at the {{lang|fr|[[Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle|Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle]]}} in France, rediscovered Bécœur's taxidermy process using [[arsenic]]al soap and made it known through an article in the ''Nouveau dictionnaire d'histoire naturelle'' (1803–1804). This technique enabled the museum to build an immense collection of taxidermy birds.<ref name="Maynard2017">{{cite book|author=C. J. Maynard|title=Manual of Taxidermy – A Complete Guide in Collecting and Preserving Birds and Mammals|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-KYyDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT3|date=25 August 2017|publisher=Read Books Limited|isbn=978-1-4733-3900-2}}</ref> In the 19th century, some hunters took their trophies to [[upholstery]] shops, where the upholsterers would sew up the animal skins and stuff them with rags and cotton. The term "stuffing" or a "stuffed animal" evolved from this crude form of taxidermy. Professional taxidermists prefer the term "mounting" to "stuffing". More sophisticated cotton-wrapped [[armature (sculpture)|wire bodies]] supporting sewn-on cured skins soon followed.

Dufresne's methods spread to England in the early 19th century, where updated and non-toxic methods of preservation were developed by some of the leading naturalists of the day, including [[Rowland Ward]] and Montague Brown.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://mentalfloss.com/article/13067/11-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-taxidermy|title=11 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Taxidermy|date=2012-11-13|access-date=2017-09-13|language=en}}</ref> Ward established one of the earliest taxidermy firms, Rowland Ward Ltd. of [[Piccadilly, Warwickshire|Piccadilly]]. However, the art of taxidermy remained relatively undeveloped, and the specimens remained stiff and unconvincing.<ref name="Taxidermy Specimens">{{cite book|title=Taxidermy Vol.10 Collecting Specimens – The Collection and Displaying Taxidermy Specimens|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Kr77DAAAQBAJ&q=However%2C+the+art+of+taxidermy+remained+relatively+undeveloped%2C+and+the+specimens+that+were+created+remained+stiff+and+unconvincing&pg=PT3|date=26 August 2016|publisher= Tobey Press|isbn=978-1-4733-5354-1}}</ref>

===Taxidermy as art===

[[File:Moose and deer heads at the Big Texan steakhouse.jpg|thumb|Taxidermied moose and deer heads at the [[Big Texan Steak Ranch]] in Amarillo, Texas]]
The golden age of taxidermy was during the [[Victorian era]], when mounted animals became a popular part of interior design and decor.<ref>{{cite book|author=Davie, Oliver| title=Methods in the art of taxidermy| publisher=David McKay|place=Philadelphia| year=1900| url=https://archive.org/stream/methodsinartofta00daviuoft#page/n7/mode/2up}}</ref> English [[ornithologist]] [[John Hancock (ornithologist)|John Hancock]] is considered to be the father of modern taxidermy.<ref name="Pray2015">{{cite book|author=Leon Pray|title=Taxidermy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h8J9CgAAQBAJ&pg=PP8|date=31 July 2015|publisher=Read Books Limited|isbn=978-1-4733-7688-5|pages=8–}}</ref> An avid collector of birds, which he had shot personally, he began modeling them with clay and casting in plaster.

For the [[Great Exhibition]] of 1851 in [[London]], he mounted a series of stuffed birds as an exhibit. They generated much interest among the public and scientists alike who considered them superior to earlier models, and they were regarded as the first lifelike and artistic specimens on display.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nhsn.ncl.ac.uk/news/cms/john-hancock-biography-goddard/|title=John Hancock: A Biography by T. Russell Goddard (1929)|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214074009/http://www.nhsn.ncl.ac.uk/news/cms/john-hancock-biography-goddard/|archive-date=2013-12-14}}</ref> A judge remarked that Hancock's exhibit "... will go far towards raising the art of taxidermy to a level with other arts which have hitherto held higher pretensions".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.taxidermy4cash.com/Articles.html|title=Taxidermy Articles}}</ref>

Hancock's display sparked great national interest in taxidermy, and amateur and professional collections for public view proliferated rapidly. Displays of birds were particularly common in middle-class Victorian homes – even [[Queen Victoria]] amassed an impressive bird collection. Taxidermy was also increasingly used by the bereaved owners of dead pets to 'resurrect' them.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.morbidoutlook.com/lifestyle/articles/2002_06_memento.html|title=Morbid Outlook – Memento Mori Animalia}}</ref>

===Anthropomorphic taxidermy===
[[File:Potter'sRabbitSchool.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.2<!--size for very low image-->|[[Walter Potter]]'s ''Rabbit School'', 1930s]]
In the late 19th century, a style known as [[Anthropomorphism|anthropomorphic]] taxidermy became popular. A 'Victorian whimsy', mounted animals were dressed as people or displayed as if engaged in human activities. An early example of this genre was displayed by Herman Ploucquet, from [[Stuttgart]], [[Germany]], at the [[Great Exhibition]] in London.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Henning|first=Michelle|year=2007| title= Anthropomorphic taxidermy and the death of nature: The curious art of Hermann Ploucquet, Walter Potter and Charles Waterton. |journal=Victorian Literature and Culture| volume= 35|issue=2|pages=663–678|doi=10.1017/S1060150307051704|s2cid=59405158| url=http://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/previewfile/1030346/Download.pdf}}</ref>
[[File:Taxidermy frogs playing pool.jpg|thumb|Taxidermy frogs playing pool.]]
The best-known practitioner in this genre was the English taxidermist [[Walter Potter]], whose most famous work was ''The Death and Burial of [[Cock Robin]]''. Among his other scenes were "a rat's den being raided by the local police rats ... [a] village school ... featuring 48 little rabbits busy writing on tiny [[Slate (writing)|slate]]s, while the Kittens' Tea Party displayed feline etiquette and a game of [[croquet]]."<ref>{{cite news|last=Morris|first=Pat|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=7 December 2007|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2007/dec/07/art|title=Animal magic|access-date=2009-02-14|location=London}}</ref> Apart from the simulations of human situations, he had also added examples of bizarrely deformed animals such as [[Polycephaly#Goats and sheep|two-headed lambs]] and [[Polymelia#Other animals|four-legged chickens]]. Potter's museum was so popular that an extension was built to the platform at [[Bramber railway station]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.steyningmuseum.org.uk/potters.htm | title = Mr Potter of Bramber | last = Ketteman |first = Tony | access-date = 2009-02-14}}</ref>

Other Victorian taxidermists known for their iconic anthropomorphic taxidermy work are William Hart and his son Edward Hart.<ref name="Kovels">
{{cite web|url=https://www.kovels.com/news-news-news/stuffed-squirrels-fight-for-high-prices.html|title=Stuffed Squirrels Fight for High Prices|author=<!--Not stated-->|date=2 October 2013|website=Kovels.com|publisher=Kovels Auction House|access-date=12 October 2017}}</ref> They gained recognition with their famous series of [[dioramas]] featuring boxing squirrels. Both William and Edward created multiple sets of these dioramas. One 4-piece set of boxing squirrel dioramas (circa 1850) sold at auction in 2013 for record prices. The four dioramas were created as a set (with each diorama portraying the squirrels at a different stage during their boxing match); however, the set was broken up and each was sold separately at the same auction. The set was one of a number they created over the years featuring boxing squirrels.<ref name="Kovels"/>

Famous examples of modern anthropomorphic taxidermy include the work of artist [[Adele Morse]], who gained international attention with her "[[Stoned Fox]]" sculpture series,<ref name="Taxidermy art p. 14">{{cite book|author=Robert Marbury|title=Taxidermy Art: A Rogue's Guide to the Work, the Culture, and How to Do It Yourself|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CoJLBAAAQBAJ|year=2014|publisher=Artisan|isbn=978-1-57965-558-7|page=14}}</ref> and the work of artist [[Sarina Brewer]], known for her Siamese twin squirrels and flying monkeys partaking in human activities.<ref name="Crave"/>

===20th century===
[[File:Mother moose and calf diorama - Manitoba Museum (6908025191).jpg|thumb|right| Mother [[Western moose|moose]] and calf diorama, [[Manitoba Museum]]]]

In the early 20th century, taxidermy was taken forward under the leadership of artists such as [[Carl Akeley]], James L. Clark, William T. Hornaday, Coleman Jonas, Fredrick, and William Kaempfer, and [[Leon Pray]]. These and other taxidermists developed anatomically accurate figures which incorporated every detail in artistically interesting poses, with mounts in realistic settings and poses that were considered more appropriate for the species. This was quite a change from the caricatures popularly offered as hunting trophies.{{Citation needed|date=October 2017}}

Additional modern uses of Taxidermy have been the use of "Faux Taxidermy" or fake animal heads that draw on the inspiration of traditional taxidermy. Decorating with sculpted fake animal heads that are painted in different colors has become a popular trend in interior design.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/09/faux-taxidermy-decor_n_3245609.html |title = HuffPost is now a part of Verizon Media|website = [[HuffPost]]|date = 9 May 2013}}</ref>

===Rogue taxidermy===
[[File:Stuffed griffin.jpg|thumb|An example of rogue taxidermy in the form of a [[griffin]], exhibited in the [[Zoological Museum, Copenhagen]]]]
{{for|the album by folk punk band Days N Daze|Rogue Taxidermy (album)}}
Rogue taxidermy (sometimes referred to as "taxidermy art"<ref name=Crossroads>{{Cite news|url= http://www.startribune.com/rogue-taxidermy-at-the-crossroads-of-art-and-wildlife/279318712/|title=Rogue Taxidermy, at the crossroads of art and wildlife|last=Ode|first=Kim|date=15 October 2014|work=[[Star Tribune]]|department=Variety section|access-date=12 December 2016}}</ref>) is a form of [[mixed media]] [[sculpture]].<ref name="Crave">{{cite web|url=http://www.craveonline.com/art/940843-profile-sarina-brewer-rogue-taxidermy|title=Crave Profile: Sarina Brewer and Rogue Taxidermy|last=Rivera|first=Erica|publisher=[[CraveOnline]]LLC|date=8 April 2016|website=CraveOnline|access-date=12 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201064100/http://www.craveonline.com/art/940843-profile-sarina-brewer-rogue-taxidermy|archive-date=1 December 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Dirge 2016">{{cite web|url=http://www.dirgemag.com/renaissance-handcrafts-fine-arts-celebrates-dark-culture/|title=The Renaissance of Handcrafts and Fine Arts Celebrates Dark Culture|last=Lundy|first=Patricia|date=16 February 2016|website=Dirge magazine|access-date=3 November 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170112131437/http://www.dirgemag.com/renaissance-handcrafts-fine-arts-celebrates-dark-culture/|archive-date=12 January 2017}}</ref> Rogue taxidermy art references traditional trophy or natural history museum taxidermy, but is not always constructed out of taxidermied animals;<ref name="Crave"/><ref name="Dirge 2016"/> it can be constructed entirely from synthetic materials.<ref name="Crave"/><ref name=Audubon>{{cite web|url=http://www.audubon.org/news/when-taxidermy-goes-rogue/|title=When Taxidermy Goes Rogue|last=Langston|first=Erica|website=Audubon|publisher=[[National Audubon Society]]|date=30 March 2016|access-date=24 November 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160411142406/http://www.audubon.org/news/when-taxidermy-goes-rogue/|archive-date=11 April 2016}}</ref> Additionally, rogue taxidermy is not necessarily [[Figurative art|figurative]], as it can be abstract and does not need to resemble an animal.<ref name="Crave"/> It can be a small decorative object or a large-scale room-sized installation. There is a very broad spectrum of styles within the genre, some of which falls into the category of mainstream art.<ref name="Crave"/><ref name="Brown University">{{cite web|url=https://www.brown.edu/campus-life/arts/bell-gallery/exhibitions/dead-animals-or-curious-occurrence-taxidermy-contemporary-art|title=The Curious Occurrence Of Taxidermy In Contemporary Art|author=<!--Not stated-->|date=23 January 2016|website=Brown University|publisher=David Winton Bell Gallery|access-date=24 November 2017}}</ref> "Rogue taxidermy" describes a wide variety of work, including work that is classified and exhibited as fine art.<ref name=Audubon/> Neither the term, nor the genre, emerged from the world of traditional taxidermy.<ref name="Dirge 2016"/> The genre was born from forms of fine art that utilize some of the components found in the construction of a traditional taxidermy mount.<ref name="Dirge 2016"/> The term "rogue taxidermy" was coined in 2004 by an artist collective called The Minnesota Association of Rogue Taxidermists.<ref name=Audubon/><ref name=Vice>{{Cite news|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/women-are-dominating-the-rogue-taxidermy-scene-666/|title=Women Are Dominating the Rogue Taxidermy Scene|last=Voon|first=Claire|date=14 October 2014|work=[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]]|access-date=19 January 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011192501/https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/4w75jj/women-are-dominating-the-rogue-taxidermy-scene-666|archive-date=11 October 2017}}</ref>
The Minneapolis-based group was founded by artists [[Sarina Brewer]], Scott Bibus, and Robert Marbury as a means to unite their respective mediums and differing styles of sculpture.<ref name=Vice/><ref name="New York Times">"{{Cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/03/arts/design/head-of-goat-tail-of-fish-more-than-a-touch-of-weirdness.html|title=Head of Goat, Tail of Fish, More Than a Touch of Weirdness|last=Topcik|first=Joel|date=3 January 2005|website=The New York Times|access-date=19 January 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529170848/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/03/arts/design/head-of-goat-tail-of-fish-more-than-a-touch-of-weirdness.html|archive-date=29 May 2015}}</ref>
The definition of rogue taxidermy set forth by the individuals who formed the genre (Brewer, Bibus, and Marbury) is: "A genre of pop-surrealist art characterized by mixed media sculptures containing conventional taxidermy-related materials that are used in an unconventional manner".<ref name=Crossroads/><ref name=Culturised>{{cite web|url=http://www.culturised.co.uk/2017/06/morality-and-taxidermy-in-art-between-monstrous-and-the-beautiful|title=Mortality and Taxidermy in Art|last=Gyldenstrom|first=Freja|publisher=Culturised|date=17 June 2017|website=culturised.co.uk|access-date=19 January 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171003180624/http://www.culturised.co.uk/2017/06/morality-and-taxidermy-in-art-between-monstrous-and-the-beautiful|archive-date=3 October 2017}}</ref><ref name="Sarina Brewer Art">{{cite web|url=http://www.sarina-brewer.com|title=The History of Rogue Taxidermy|website=The Taxidermy Art of Sarina Brewer|access-date=19 January 2018}}</ref> Interest in the collective's work gave rise to an artistic movement referred to as the Rogue Taxidermy art movement, or alternately, the Taxidermy Art movement.<ref name="Dirge 2016"/><ref name=Culturised/><ref name="illusion magazine">{{cite web|url=http://illusion.scene360.com/weird/90764/rogue-taxidermy-art|title=Rogue Taxidermy Artists Who Create Imaginative Sculptures|last=Evans|first=Hayley|publisher=Scene 360 LLC|date=22 February 2016|website=illusion magazine|access-date=19 January 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018141447/http://illusion.scene360.com/weird/90764/rogue-taxidermy-art|archive-date=18 October 2017}}</ref><ref name=Niittynen>{{cite journal|last=Niittynen|first=Miranda|date=2015|title=Animal Magic; Sculpting Queer Encounters through Rogue Taxidermy Art|url=http://genderforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/201509CompleteIssueAnimals.pdf|journal=Gender Forum: Internet Journal for Gender Studies|volume=55|pages=14–34|issn=1613-1878|access-date=19 January 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171002215039/http://genderforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/201509CompleteIssueAnimals.pdf|archive-date=2 October 2017}}</ref> Apart from describing a genre of fine art,<ref name="Dirge 2016"/><ref name="Crave"/><ref name="illusion magazine"/> the term "rogue taxidermy" has expanded in recent years and has also become an adjective applied to unorthodox forms of traditional taxidermy such as [[#Anthropomorphic taxidermy|anthropomorphic mounts]] and composite mounts where two or more animals are spliced together.<ref name=CataWiki>{{cite web|url=https://www.catawiki.com/stories/2143-chimaera-taxidermy-the-weird-and-the-wonderful-07-03-2017|title=Chimaera Taxidermy – The Weird and the Wonderful|last=Leggett|first=David|publisher=CataWiki Auction House|date=7 April 2017|website=CataWiki|access-date=19 January 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180119210532/https://www.catawiki.com/stories/2143-chimaera-taxidermy-the-weird-and-the-wonderful-07-03-2017|archive-date=19 January 2018}}</ref><ref name="CBC radio">{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-october-25-2017-1.4369486/wednesday-october-25-2017-full-episode-transcript-1.4371965|title=Dead Animals into Art|author=<!--Not stated-->|date=25 October 2017|website=CBC Radio|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|access-date=19 January 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026125304/http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-october-25-2017-1.4369486/wednesday-october-25-2017-full-episode-transcript-1.4371965|archive-date=26 October 2017}}</ref> (e.g.; sideshow gaffs of conjoined "[[freak]]" animals and mounts of [[jackalopes]] or other fictional creatures) In addition to being the impetus for the art movement, the inception of the genre also marked a resurgence of interest in conventional (traditional) forms of taxidermy.<ref name=CataWiki/><ref name="CBC radio"/>