Return of the Dead: Taxidermy in Contemporary Culture

The American Museum of Natural History is famous for its dioramas that include expert examples of taxidermy. But taxidermy is encountered in other types of museums and facets of contemporary life, especially since it has been gaining popularity in art and elsewhere. This post explores (and celebrates) the expected and unexpected spaces where taxidermy is…

What’s the Word? A Glossary of Taxidermy Terms

In previous blog posts we described our condition and inventory survey of mammalian taxidermy. In completing that survey, we created this working glossary of terms to ensure that each conservator who participated in the survey shared a common understanding of terminology for taxidermy materials and techniques. We share the glossary below for others who may…

Case Study: Flying Squirrel Treatment

Another of the specimens treated as part of our preparation for our Care of Historic Mammalian Taxidermy workshop at the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) 2017 annual meeting was a taxidermy giant red flying squirrel. Project Intern Logan Kursh executed the treatment. There was little data available about the date or…

Case Study: Lemur Mount Treatment Part 2: Treatment

In addition to thorough condition examination and photographic documentation, conservation treatment decisions should begin with a clear proposal to be approved by Collections Managers, Curators, or other stakeholders prior to beginning hands-on work. Caitlin submitted the following treatment proposal to the Mammalogy Department for the treatment of the lemur mount.  Treatment Proposal Use a HEPA-filtered variable-suction…

Case Study: Lemur Mount Treatment Part 1: Condition Examination

In addition to testing the stability of metal-complex dyes, we have been studying condition issues facing historic taxidermy collections (see our previous posts on the Mammalogy condition survey) and performing conservation treatments on selected specimens. These treatments stabilized important mounts and served as case studies for a workshop on the Care of Historic Mammalian Taxidermy…

Dyed Fur Samples: Part 2

Fur-Mounting System We next needed a method of mounting the deer and fox furs so that they could be dyed and exposed in the test chamber. [See Part 1 of this series for an explanation on why we chose deer and fox furs.] Acquiring a series of meaningful color measurements from dyed fur demands a sample…

Dyed Fur Samples: Part 1

The first phase of our lightfastness testing aimed to establish the lightfastness of the Orasol® and similar Sorasolve metal-complex solvent dyes in isolation‒ that is, in the absence of a binder, and without a chemically active substrate that could potentially influence the behavior of the dyes or interfere with the measurement of color change. (See…

Surveying Historic Taxidermy Part 3: Results

Our condition survey of historic mammalian taxidermy in the American Museum of Natural History’s Department of Mammalogy (see previous post), supplied an understanding of the most common condition issues affecting them, and clearly displayed their probable causes. Cracks, Splits, and Dust: Responses to Environment It is not unusual to find cracks and splits in historic…

Surveying Historic Taxidermy Part 2: Fun Finds

At its outset, execution of our inventory and condition survey of taxidermy mounts in storage in the American Museum of Natural History’s Department of Mammalogy (see previous post) required clarification of what exactly can and cannot be considered “taxidermy.” What exactly is taxidermy? The word taxidermy is derived from the Greek words “taxis” meaning arrangement,…