Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Practical Taxidermy (1885)

Starling properly made into a skin with label attached
Arthur Nichols. Natural History Sketches Among the Carnivora: Wild and Domesticated. With Observations on their Habits and Mental Faculties. Illustrated by J.T. Nettleship, C.E. Brittan, and T.W. Wood. (London: L. Upcott Gill, 1885).

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Teeth of the Wolf Fish (1855)

Teeth of the Wolf-fish
Richard Owen, The Principal Forms of the Skeleton and the Teeth (Philadelphia: Blanchard and Lea, 1854), 246.

Monday, October 29, 2012

Managing Mould & Model (1884)

Stag's head in plaster from clay model.
Montagu Browne. Practical Taxidermy: Manual of Instruction to the Amateur in Collecting, Preserving, and Setting Up Natural History Specimens of All Kinds to which is Added a Chapter upon the Pictorial Arrangement of Museums. (London: L. Upcott Gill, 1884).

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Number & Disposition of Toes (1861)

Skeleton of hippopotamus
F. Rhymer Jones. The General Structure of the Animal Kingdom. 3rd. ed.  (London: John Van Voorst, 1861).

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Wiring a Frog (1894)

A frog should be skinned through the mouth and the entire vertebrae column should remain intact attached to the skin of the back in order to preserve the peculiar characteristic shape of the back. The legs are made with cotton and the body is filled with the same material through the mouth. The of manner wiring is clearly shown.
Oliver Davie. Methods in the Art of Taxidermy. Illustrations by Theodore Jasper. (Columbus: Hann & Adair, 1894)

Friday, October 26, 2012

Bison Manikin, Half Completed (1900)

Manikin for Male American Bison, Half Completed
William T. Hornaday. Taxidermy and Zoological Collecting, 7th ed. (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1900).

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Wiring & Poisoning the Tarsus (1894)

The tarsus of the leg should be poisoned as well as any portion of the bird's skin, and it is done as here illustrated. Saturate the wire with arsenical paste (see recipe, page 15) above the heel and at the ball of the foot. Draw the wire up and down several times until the poison has penetrated the tarsus.
Oliver Davie. Methods in the Art of Taxidermy. Illustrations by Theodore Jasper. (Columbus: Hann & Adair, 1894). [Poison is not a typo for position.  "Arsenical paste" is advised here as a preservative.]

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Ready for Mounting (1884)

Montagu Browne. Practical Taxidermy: Manual of Instruction to the Amateur in Collecting, Preserving, and Setting Up Natural History Specimens of All Kinds to which is Added a Chapter upon the Pictorial Arrangement of Museums. (London: L. Upcott Gill, 1884).

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Monday, October 22, 2012

The Arab Horse (1907)

Henry Fairfield Osborn. Points of the Skeleton of the Arab Horse. (New York: American Museum of Natural History, 1907).

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Blotched or Typical Tabby (1908)

Diagram of the Colour-Patterns of the Blotched or Typical Tabby Cat
A Guide to the Domesticated Animals  (Other Than Horses) Exhibited in the Central and North Halls of the British Museum. (London: The Trustees of the British Museum, 1908).

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Skeleton of the Tortoise (1855)

Skeleton of the European Tortoise
Richard Owen, The Principal Forms of the Skeleton and the Teeth (Philadelphia: Blanchard and Lea, 1854), 123.

Friday, October 19, 2012

Spade-like Hands of the Mole (1840)

William Charles L. Martin. A Natural History of Quadrupeds, and Other Mammiferous Animals. (London: Whitehead and Company, 1840).

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Finishing the Head (1914)

Finishing the head, mountain goat and lynx
Chas. K. Reed and Chester A. Reed. Guide to Taxidermy. Illustrations by N.F. Stone and the authors. (Worchester: Chas. K. Reed, 1914).

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Muzzle Slightly Foreshortened (1925)

Black Howling Monkey, Muzzle Slightly Foreshortened
Leon L. Walters. New Uses of Celluloid and Similar Material in Taxidermy. (Chicago: Field Museum of Natural History, 1925).

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Expressions of Gentleness (1900)

Oliver Davie. Methods in the Art of Taxidermy. Illustrated by Theodore Jasper. (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1900).

Monday, October 15, 2012

Practical Taxidermy
& Home Decoration (1890)

Mounted deer head rifle rack
Joseph H. Batty. Practical Taxidermy and Home Decoration Together with General Information for the Sportsman. (New York: Orange Judd Company, 1890.)

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Tongue of the Woodpecker (1891)

Tongue of the Woodpecker
George Ricks. Natural History Object Lessons: A Manual for Teachers. (Boston: D.C. Heath & Company, 1891.

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Thick & Irregular Arm Bones (1840)

Skeleton of the Chlamyphorus
William Charles L. Martin. A Natural History of Quadrupeds, and other Mammiferous Animals. Illustrations by William Harvey. (London: Whitehead and Company, 1840)

Friday, October 12, 2012

The Pekinese Spaniel (1867/1908)

Side and front views of the skull of the Pekinese Spaniel
A Guide to the Domesticated Animals  (Other Than Horses) Exhibited in the Central and North Halls of the British Museum. (London: The Trustees of the British Museum, 1908).

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Collecting & Preserving (1900)

William Temple Hornaday, William Jacob Holland. Taxidermy and Zoological Collecting, 7th ed. (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1900.)

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Counterbalanced Cranium (1861)

Counterbalanced Cranium (Skeleton of the stag)
F. Rhymer Jones. The General Structure of the Animal Kingdom. 3rd. ed.  (London: John Van Voorst, 1861).

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Alligator Limbs A & B (1897)

alligator limbs A & B
Syndey H. Reynolds. The Vertabrate Skeleton. (Cambridge: The University Press, 1897).

Monday, October 8, 2012

Pachydermata Variation (1840)

Teeth of hippopotamus
William Charles L. Martin. A Natural History of Quadrupeds, and other Mammiferous Animals. Illustrations by William Harvey. (London: Whitehead and Company, 1840).

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Manikin for Tiger (1900)

Manikin for tiger, first stage
William Temple Hornaday, William Jacob Holland. Taxidermy and Zoological Collecting, 7th ed. (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1900.)

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Left Half of the Skeleton (1897)

Left half of the skeleton, gallus bankiva var. domestica, The skull, vertebral column, and sternum are bisected in the median plane.
Sydney H. Reynolds. The Vertebrate Skeleton. (Cambridge: University Press, 1897).

Friday, October 5, 2012

Neither Hands Nor Talons (1854)

Skeleton of a Cobra
Richard Owen, The Principal Forms of the Skeleton and the Teeth (Philadelphia: Blanchard and Lea, 1854), 74.

Showing Method of Binding (1884)

Peregrine Falcon On Flight
Montagu Browne. Practical Taxidermy: A Manual of Instruction to the Amateur in Collecting, Preserving, and Setting Up Natural History Specimens of All Kinds : to which is Added a Chapter Upon the Pictorial Arrangement of Museums. (London: L. Upcott Gill, 1884).

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Peculiar Modification (1891)

Peculiar modification
George Ricks. Natural History Object Lessons: A Manual for Teachers. (Boston: D.C. Heath & Company, 1891.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Uselessness of Small Variations (1900)

The alleged uselessness of small variations from chapter "Objections to the Darwinian Theory."
C.F. Marshall, ed. Lectures on the Darwinian Theory Delivered by the Late Arthur Milnes Marshall. (New York: The MacMillan Company, 1900.)

Monday, October 1, 2012

Salmon Skull, Lateral View (1897)

Lateral view of the skull of a salmon (Salmo salar)
Sydney H. Reynolds. The Vertebrate Skeleton. (Cambridge: University Press, 1897).