Here we have a Victorian mounted photograph of a taxidermist's tableau…and the room is crowded. A great egret stands dead center with its neck bent into a question mark. An American white pelican shoulders in from the right. A great horned owl glares out of a mossy grotto at whoever is holding the camera. Four small birds hang pinned to the sky in mid-dive with their tails fanned like playing cards. Two raccoons work the ground below as if they paid admission. Three sawfish rostra jut through the scene for reasons unknown. This one hit me as soon as I laid eyes on it. All the business.
The strange part is the horizon. Look past the egret and there are sailboats on a calm lake. That lake is a painted studio backdrop. The kind portrait photographers hung behind brides and bankers, and they decided to roll it out here behind a room full of dead animals. The animals were preserved once. The photograph preserved them a second time. It’s been waiting on its next keeper ever since.
The antique photograph came out of a Wisconsin collector’s estate. The pencil inscription on the back states:
Haven in [illegible] (silver) lining
June 4th 1892
The photographer and studio are unknown. Palms and hanging moss point toward a Gulf Coast or Florida collection, though that comes from the subject alone.
The 19th century taxidermy photograph measures 10” tall by 9” wide. The image itself is strong with good contrast and feather detail. A short dark line crosses the back of the left raccoon. The mount took the beating. Every edge is chipped with losses, and a large semicircular bite is missing from the left side. A water tide line stains the mount beside that bite. Old brown tape fragments cling to the front mount at upper right, right edge and lower right. Cracks and creases run through the margins. The back is browned toward the edges and carries several strips of tape. Part of the inscription sits under tape. Please see all pics as they are part of the description.
I ship FedEx to street addresses in the continental USA only (no PO Boxes). Free shipping on the stuffed menagerie with a sawfish problem.
Everyone in this picture was arranged to look busy forever. So far they are holding up better than the cardboard.
