How did I get here?

This project is a labour of love

No longer obliged to waste my days on endless corporate conference calls and meetings, I now waste my days researching and curating information on Britain's Victorian taxidermy heritage.

I first started to write it all down because my adult kids are not remotely interested in my taxidermy collection. I was afraid they'd sell it for a song on eBay when I died. I promised to haunt them if they did. Providing them with idiot-proof access to the knowledge they will need means that I can die in peace. One thing led to another, and here we are.

Telling Stories

During the period of my corporate slavery I already had a collection of the most referenced and appreciated of the printed books on the art and history of taxidermy.

These books by authors such as Morris and Frost provided me with endless pleasure and inspiration, but what I've tried to do for this website is to research and tell the stories my way.

A good excuse for lots of days out

This project demands that I make visits to the museums and country houses that hold some of the finest specimens of the Victorian taxidermy legacy. It means doing research at the finest libraries and knowledge centres, and reaching out to collectors and experts. This takes time.

Essentially Digital

Getting access to online historical records of the census, births and marriages and the like, has been so important because it has enabled me to tell stories with new and in-depth detail that would previously have been impossible to find.