WALTER POTTER AND HIS MUSEUM OF CURIOUS TAXIDERMY. By P.A. Morris.

2008 1st edition. Hardback issue. 4to (215 x 285mm). Pp112. Colour and b/w photographs and b/w illustrations throughout, photograph end-papers. Brown cloth, gilt owl motif and titles to upper board, spine titled in gilt.

Walter Potter (1835-1918) was a country taxidermist of no great expertise, but he and the little museum he created became famous as an icon of Victorian whimsy. He created a fantasy world in taxidermy, where rabbits went to school, kittens played croquet and squirrels drank port in their smart club. These tableaux included his recreation of the Death and Burial of Cock Robin, probably the most famous item of Victorian taxidermy. His tiny museum in Bramber, Sussex, was crammed full of taxidermy, including multi-legged kittens, two-headed lambs and a bewildering assortment of general curios. The museum was moved to other sites, ending up at Jamaica Inn in Cornwall, where it was finally sold and dispersed in 2003. This book tells what little is known about Potter and documents the history of his museum, as well as providing a permanent record of the collection. This hardbound edition (of only 300 copies) has an additional 8 pages listing newspaper and magazine references to Potter's museum, details of over 150 post-cards of Potter's pieces, and a "gallery" of additional images of his work.