{"id":2310,"date":"2023-01-18T15:15:23","date_gmt":"2023-01-18T15:15:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/conservation\/?p=2310"},"modified":"2023-01-18T15:15:39","modified_gmt":"2023-01-18T15:15:39","slug":"2310-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/conservation\/2310-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The Application of Commercial Taxidermy Classes to the Conservation of Historical Taxidermy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Content Warning: This blog post contains a frank description of taxidermy, including photographs of skinning and mounting animals. If this is not something that you are comfortable with, please do not continue past this point.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The Application of Commercial Taxidermy Classes to the Conservation of Historical Taxidermy<\/b><\/span><\/h1>\n

The first project of my second year is to condition report and possibly repair eleven taxidermy birds from Tenby Museum. I know what you are thinking, <\/span>wow Emma, that is a lot of birds. <\/span><\/i>You are right, and I was stubborn and determined to get all birds back home together.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now I had never even touched a taxidermy before I got hold of these, so I really was starting from scratch when it came to repairing them. And as all conservators know, repairing cannot happen until you fully understand an object. After reading all that I could, I did not feel as though I could fully understand the construction of a taxidermy animal, nor the risks and dangers that could occur during their creation. So I set about finding myself a taxidermy class. I did find a class being run by a fantastic taxidermist and conservator, but this was not one that I was able to afford on my current budget (<\/span>but definitely one I plan to attend one day!<\/span><\/i>). The next best thing was a commercial class aimed at beginners looking to get their start as hobby taxidermists. So I hassled two of my cohort until they agreed, and then booked I us tickets.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the approach to the date, we were given a choice between a rat, a guinea pig, or a rabbit. I had decided on the rat, so this is the process that we will concentrate on throughout this blog, although there is very little difference when considering other animals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s Break It Down<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Firstly, a quick rundown for those who need to be made aware of the process of turning a dead animal into a mounted taxidermy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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  1. Cut into the animal down the animal length ways where it would most easily be hidden eg. down the stomach.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Loosen the skin from the body by running fingers underneath the skin and above the muscles.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Pull this back for access all the way around, and to the middle of the skull and the base of the tail.<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Remove arms and legs from the sockets and the main body. And cut through the base of the body and the middle of the skull, leaving the animal’s muzzle (or beak) in place.<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. Remove as much of the muscle from inside the animal as possible, including on the legs, using borax salts to dry any remaining flesh inside the animal, such as the internal base of the tail or inside of the skull.<\/span><\/li>\n
  6. Wash and clean the skin.
    \n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
    \"\"
    (Rat skin, Authors Own 2022)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/li>\n
  7. Tanning liquid is applied to the inside of the skin, and allowed to dry off.<\/li>\n
  8. Add mounting materials to the skin. Some pre-made mounts are available, but wood wool works just as well, with cotton wool to bulk areas of curves.<\/span><\/li>\n
  9. Wires are inserted and coming out through each end of the animal, and through each of the legs, coming out as close to the pad of the paw as possible.<\/span><\/li>\n
  10. The skin can be sewn back up, using a zigzag pattern to reduce the tension on the skin and reduce the likelihood of damage when the skin is sewn shut.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  11. Pushing the skin back, you can cut the wire so that it is no longer visible. You can now pose your taxidermy!<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \"\"
    (Taxidermy Rat, Authors Own, 2022)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Wonderful, now we are all up to speed, and you can meet my new companion, Milly (short for Mildred).<\/span><\/p>\n

    Is It Really Helpful?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

    Now, much of museum taxidermy was done no later than the 1980s\/90s, meaning that there is no guarantee that the modern way of mounting taxidermy skins is the way that it was done before, however, it does give a good background on their construction.<\/span><\/p>\n

    From comparing the bird taxidermy and the one that I created myself, I was able to discover some of the materials used were very similar, if not the same. Let’s break this down:<\/span><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. \n
        \n
      1. Tanning <\/i><\/b>– <\/span><\/i>There is no way to know exactly what the inside of these birds was tanned with, however being able to identify how well-tanned they are is valuable. Whilst at the class, we were shown how to identify well-tanned skin, by pressing into the skin and feeling the firmness, sometimes accompanied by a small \u2018click\u2019. Knowing this can avoid any nasty surprises when it comes to the degradation of the skins.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
      2. Stuffing <\/i><\/b>– The Goosander from the Bristol collection has lost its tail. This meant that I have been able to extract a small sample of the stuffing; something I wouldn\u2019t have been able to do otherwise. Preliminary identification looks to be wood wool, which is what I used in the rat, although in a different form. The wood wool I used was in long strips, whereas the stuffing of the Goosander was broken into small pieces. While these are similar, they are not identical. I believe them both to be wood wool, but microscopy will be used to confirm this. While this is not particularly useful for these repairs, it is always useful to know for the future.<\/span><\/li>\n
      3. Wire <\/i><\/b>– <\/span><\/i>This is once again very much a \u2018<\/span>well it looks like this..\u2019. <\/span><\/i>The wire that we used in the class was a standard steel wire purchased on eBay. This was cut into sections and used to style the animal into the necessary shape. Without testing, I am not able to say for certain what was used, but considering that the wire in the birds is not corroded (which can be seen through the use of X-rays), it is possible that these too are steel.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n