Mounting - professionally

I am planning to write some articles about the age-old process of taxidermy and its modern day uses. To this end I am currently researching via book and article, and surprisingly, I am thoroughly enjoying the process.

I am an animal lover; anyone will tell you that. And I thought that reading about animals being mounted for display would turn my stomach. But, on the contrary, I have discovered that in the modern era at least, animals are mounted for a variety of reasons - not the least to preserve them for eternity.

For anyone interested in the subject I can recommend the following books:

still LIFE: Adventures in Taxidermy by Melissa Milgrom is a comprehensive look at the people who become taxidermists, why they do what they do and how they go about it. Milgrom writes this in conversational style and from the point of view of one not particularly familiar with the practice, which makes for easy reading.


Taxidermy by Alexis Turner is a fabulous hard cover look at the history of Taxidermy, both the good and the not so good. It includes the most wonderful full-colour photographs taken in museums and other enterprises around the world.


In 2013 we were privileged to visit the Museum national d'Histoire naturelle and the famous taxidermy shop Deyrolle, in Paris.

This year we plan to visit the American Museum of Natural History in New York and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC.

And I can't wait!





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