A HISTORY OF TAXIDERMY: ART, SCIENCE AND BAD TASTE. By Pat Morris.

2010 1st edition. Large 4to (215 x 286mm). Ppvi,396. Colour photographs, colour and b/w illustrations, pictorial end-papers, bibliography. Grey gilt-decorated boards.

"Taxidermy is a part of our social and natural history. The development, over 300 years, of mammal and bird taxidermy, including elephants and even humans, are reviewed, along with attempts to locate the oldest existing stuffed animals. The controversy regarding the use of arsenic as a preservative is assessed, with some surprises. Several chapters describe in detail how taxidermy businesses operated in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Their different styles of products, trade labels (including some poems from them!) and their major groups of customers, ranging from huntsmen to bird collectors, are described, with many quirky stories, historical snippets and wry comment. Although the main focus is principally on British taxidermists, the general picture also applies to contemporary taxidermists in Europe and the USA. A whole chapter is devoted to the special features of American taxidermy and how different it is from that of Europe. Frequent reference is also made to American taxidermists in other chapters and the Foreword is by Larry Blomquist, publisher of a major American taxidermy magazine. A review of taxidermy books published in Europe and the USA makes some revelations about who thought of what first. A final chapter on taxidermy today discusses and dissects the unsubstantiated complaints and ignorant criticisms made of this subject."