Last weekend I was at a restaurant with stuffed deer heads hanging on the wall. Fortunately, I was having a veggie burger. The heads did get the table talking about taxidermy. When most people think of taxidermy, they either think of creepy mad-scientist types stringing animal parts together, or hunter hobbyists immortalizing their prizes. Taxidermy began in the 1800s, when hunters began using the methods pioneered by leather tanners to preserve their trophies. The techniques didn’t take off until scientists and museums began using taxidermy to build anatomically accurate models of different animals and pose them in true-to-life and artistically arranged settings. To learn more about this freaky, yet fascinating art, check out Still Life by Melissa Milgrom. You never know when you might need a nice moose head to tie that room together.
