Comments on: The Taxidermy of Mr. Walter Potter and his Museum of Curiosities

By: Lisa @ Pregnancy Miracle

Lisa @ Pregnancy Miracle — Tue, 24 May 2011 02:51:43 +0000

@ Melissa,

Thank you for taking the time to put together this post about Walter Potter and updating with some latest links above, I enjoyed the read amd the “Dead Or Alive” exhibit is quite interesting!

By: Melissa Milgrom

Melissa Milgrom — Fri, 21 May 2010 17:52:47 +0000

Two things you might enjoy:
STILL LIFE in The New Yorker
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/reviews/brieflynoted/2010/05/03/100503crbn_brieflynoted2
Taxidermy talk at M.A.D.
I’ll be speaking at the Museum of Arts and Design on 5/27 in conjunction w the new exhibit “Dead or Alive” in NYC.
MAD event http://www.madmuseum.org/DO/Calendar/201005/Live%20Lit.aspx
NY Times Review of exhibit “Dead or Alive” http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/arts/design/30alive.html

By: Editor

Editor — Mon, 10 May 2010 00:34:53 +0000

Giveaway Closed! Thanks to all out readers!

By: Urbano

Urbano — Sun, 09 May 2010 14:43:49 +0000

Thanks Melissa…I enjoyed looking at your photos, especially “Cock Robin”.

By: Melissa Milgrom

Melissa Milgrom — Fri, 07 May 2010 20:53:29 +0000

More than a few contemporary taxidermists agree with you Pat; they say cloying anthropomorphism is what gives taxidermy a bad name because it is something beyond nature. To the Victorians, however, it made little difference.

By: librarypat

librarypat — Fri, 07 May 2010 15:49:26 +0000

This has always been a fascinating topic. Both my husband and I did study skins in college, but never got into taxidermy. It takes skill to do a good job. Neither of us likes to deal with the chemicals used. I never cared much for the touristy funny mounts. True to life depictions done well can be beautiful.

librarypat AT comcast DOT net

By: Hannah

Hannah — Thu, 06 May 2010 05:11:48 +0000

COMMENT COMMENT COMMENT, I would love to own this book, I find the art of taxidermy to be one of the most profound forms out there. To mold nature the way walter potter and many others have is fantastical and drastically taboo. But with all that is esoteric, we find a way to bridge the gap. With this taxidermy we are visually raped by the question of what is art. This is art. If it makes you drop, then it is art. Appreciate nature, for when we lose touch with nature we lose touch with the very essence that is us.

By: Melissa Milgrom

Melissa Milgrom — Tue, 04 May 2010 14:48:16 +0000

Urbano, I wish you could have seen Potter’s collection because the tableaux are much grander and fastidiously rendered than a photo suggests (though even a jpeg of “Cock Robin” (you can check it out on my website http://Melissamilgrom.com ) will give you sense of his maudlin affection for birds. My personal favorites are Kittens Wedding, the Dueling Squirrels, and, of course, Potter’s fantasy, The Happy Family, where hawks nap with mice and their other prey as if they were a family at a picnic. I also loved the scarlet ibis because of its beauty.

By: Rich Homann

Rich Homann — Mon, 03 May 2010 16:04:27 +0000

An inspiration for the strange poses of the living bodies exhibit, perhaps?

By: Michelle @ The True Book Addict

Michelle @ The True Book Addict — Mon, 03 May 2010 01:08:49 +0000

That museum definitely would have been a site to see! This has always seemed an interesting subject, as my husband’s family are hunters and always have a myriad of deer heads on their walls. I often wonder why someone would want dead animals hanging on their walls! Maybe this book would give me some insight.

Thanks for the giveaway!