The Velvet Curtain
DORNE LOVEGROVE
Narrative Researcher & Keeper of Stories
I like to walk through the half‑lit corridors of Victorian taxidermy, to follow the faint traces left by taxidermists, hunters, naturalists, and the Victorian gentlemen who believed the natural world could be catalogued and conquered if only they could hold it in their hands.
Each project draws me deeper into the quiet places where their traces remain and from the fragments they left behind, I find buried stories, soft‑edged and worn like time‑tired velvet, for collectors and the curious.
Stories in Context
I wanted to tell a different kind of story that you find in reference books: one about context. Taxidermy is often misunderstood by everyone except enthusiasts and scholars.
I wanted to explore not only the objects themselves, but the stories of the lives of the makers, the culture they lived in, and the world that shaped their craft.
Digital Discoveries
Access to newly digitised historical records — census entries, birth and marriage certificates, old newspapers, court documents — has opened doors into the lives of Victorian taxidermists and pioneering naturalists.
These fragments have helped me to piece together stories that have been forgotten. It’s like a “jigsaw puzzle”.
New Perspectives
Some of the stories I’ve uncovered have never been told before. They offer a fresh perspective on the usual narrative (and I can only imagine what some of the people involved would say about being rediscovered in this way!).
The Velvet Drawing Room is my attempt to bring these stories to light, to celebrate the craftsmanship and pioneers of the past, and to share my enthusiasm for the remarkable heritage the Victorians left behind.
Look through the glass
Stay for the stories
BEFORE THE GLASS
The stories at The Velvet Drawing Room begin with the world as it was before animals were put behind glass.
A WORLD BUILT ON WONDER
BIRTH OF THE EARLY MENAGERIE, CIRCUS AND ZOO
THE ERA OF COLONIAL EXPLORERS AND NATURALISTS
VICTORIAN TAXIDERMY
Original research uncovers the lives, techniques, rivalries, and hidden histories of the people who defined Victorian taxidermy.
STORIES AND MASTERPIECES
THE VICTORIAN TAXIDERMISTS INDEX
TAXIDERMY TODAY
Taxidermy is still alive today – in collections, conservation, restoration, and in the contemporary appreciation and enduring influence it has in the world of art, fashion, and interior design.
