Example work of the Victorian Taxidermist Walter Burton F.Z.S. two wildcats

Two Wild Cats by Walter Burton F.Z.S. (son of Henry James Burton)

My mantra for collecting is “love it first, then ask questions” and this is what happened to me with these cats. I saw them at auction, knew I wanted them, then did the research on them which consolidated my first reaction  –  I love them!

The two wild cats by Walter Burton FZS, Naturalist & Taxidermist, are most likely to be dated 1895.

In his book “A History of British Taxidermy” Christopher Frost asserts that Burton’s ground work was considered particularly good.  I think the composition and the groundwork in these cases are a testament to that statement. The composition is what drew me to these cases and that the fact that I have never seen another single case nor a pair like this before.

The label on the back of one of the cases shows that it was Walter Burton who created them, and we know that Walter took full control of the business after his father, Henry James Burton, died in 1895.

The Kelly’s London Trade Directory then shows the company listed under Walter Burton’s single name at Wardour Street in 1899. Walter’s business ended in 1913 after he died suddenly.

If we didn’t have these facts, then alternatively you can approximately usually know the general period that a case was made by the postcode on the label which just says “London W” in this case.  Numbers were not added to postcodes until 1917.

Example work of the Victorian Taxidermist Henry James Burton

Summer Fire screen by Henry James Burton & Son

Examples of Victorian Taxidermist Henry James Burton

In this example of Henry James Burton’s work we see a summer fire screen made in London during the 2^nd half of the 19^th century filled with exotic birds (photo courtesy of Zebregs&Roell Art & Antiques).

Example work of the Victorian Taxidermist Henry James Burton

Cased Pacific Black Duck & Blue-Billed Teal

This case was sold at Tennants UK in 2022 as part of the James Harris Collection. Description courtesy of Tennants

Dated 1891, Australia, by Henry James Burton, 191 Wardour Street, London, a high quality case containing a Pacific Black Duck a Blue-billed Teal in natural setting of tall grasses and reeds bearing label to interior lower left – Australian Wild Duck (Black Duck), Anas superciliosa, Australian Teal (Red-breasted Duck), Anas punctata, Shot in the Colony of Victoria in 1891, by T. Parkin.

Example work of the Victorian Taxidermist Henry James Burton – Early Passenger Pigeon 1870

Passenger Pigeon dated approx 1870 by Henry J. Burton – now on display at the Manitoba Museum, Canada.

This specific example of a passenger pigeon was contained in an original case by Henry J. Burton which had found its way to Canada in the late 1800s. It was brought to my attention by the Manitoboa Museum’s Head of Zoology, Mr Randy Mooi, who was looking for information on the Burton label.

The bird was removed from its original case in the recent past, and cleaned and is now one of two species on display at this leading and forward-thinking museum in Canada.

Randy tells me that

the parlour case was owned by EHGG Hay who came to Fort Garry (Winnipeg) in 1863 to open his own mill. He was a member of the provincial legislature through to the 1870’s.  We would likely have been well enough off to be sending things back to England (he was born in Yorkshire). There would not have been a local taxidermist in Winnipeg at that time, with the first arriving about 1879 (Nagy), and then the Hine family came shortly after that in 1881….Hine’s son, William, and his father worked together and became quite well known as a result of his work at the Field Museum in Chicago.

Some of the Hine work from the 1900’s when they worked in Winnipeg is also in the possession of the Manitoba Museum.

The Manitoba Museum have a very interesting blog piece on the extinction of the Passenger Pigeon