Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-04-28
Little Demand for tht Work
of the TaXidermist
IN THIS COUNTRY
BUT THERE ARE MANY FINE COL.
LECTIoNs IN EUROPE.
Importance of Preserving Specimens Of
Our Fast Disappear
ing Animals.

Our troubles said leading taxider-
mist. ARE many. but our chiefest Is due to
the fact that not a single American mil
honafre has gone in strong for a collection
Of heads and horns. Nor can a single pub
lie institution in the United States right
fully boast OF a collection that will COM
pare favorably with even the third rate col
lections In Europe
For some reason or other the directors
of museums do not seem to comprehend the
full geological value of a good collection.
and. hence. they begrudge spending any
money to secure heads and horns of ami
mails that are rapidly becoming extinct In
the twenty-five years 1 have been in bust
ness do not believe that have sold $25,-
600 worth of goods to museums. and 1 am
the largest importer and dealer in my line
in America.
LAS for the millionaire. 1t seems to be al
most an imposstbil1ty to awaken him to the
Importance of making a collection. He will
buy head or two and a couple of dozen
pair of horns and then he will be satisfied
May be, during the course of his lifetime.
he spends much as 5000 with a taxi
dermist: and. then again. may be he
doesn't.
Why Americans Neglect Taxidermy.
Il attribute the American millionaire's
neglect of the field of taxidermy to his
hobby of establishing game preserves. He
says to himself. Instead of having mere
horns and heads around me. I'll have the
real things-the live animals But he for
gets that he cannot have many of the most
noted animals of modern times In his pre-
serves for the simple reason that the few
specimens now alive cannot be obtained for
love nor money.
Take the Alpine ibex, for instance. The
King of Italy owns the opIy twenty now
alive. and to kill one of them is lifelong
Imprisonment. A millionaire could not Sc
cure one of these animals. no matter how
much money he might offer for 1t. but he
could buy quite a few heads and horns at
prices ranging from SIS to $50. which are
reasonable when you remember that the
Alpine ibex Is extinct for all practical pur-
poses
''As this is also true of many other ami
mals-not a few of which are American-it
behooves American museums and Amert
can men of money to make, before 1t Is too
late, collections that will give postertty
an ample idea of the animals of the pres
ent day. Inspiration along this line should
be taken from Europe, and especially Ger
many and France. Every nobleman and
every person of wealth in those two coun-
tries have collections costing thousands of
dollars each. castle in Germany Is not
considered habitable without its myriad of
heads and horns about the walls, and as
for the hunting lodges. they are filled to
overlooking with specimens of taxidermy.
Emperor William as Collector.
II believe 1 have seen all the most noted
collections in Europe. and know that 1t is
no exaggeration to say that their COM
bined value, at present market rates, Is
close on to $50. 600, 600.
ION his Hanoverian preserve Emperor
William has what l consider the finest and
largest collection of horns in the world. 1t
consists not only of specimens Of the Ger
man stag and of the roebuck, but of hun
dreds of heads and horns of foreign ami
mails Every American animal is represent
ed and to secure the specimens the en-
peror has spent thousands of dollars
through me. His American collection alone
would put to shame the combined half
dozen biggest collections owned in this
country.
After a months inspection of the en-
peror's entire collection several years ago.
I estimated its value at nearly S30OO.00.
And several of the emperOrs subjects have
collections almost as costly.
Fact is, the taXidermy business In this
country would about go into bankruptcy IL
it were not for our mighty hunters and
fishers. They have lately begun to use it
to back up their seemingly tall stories of
experiences with rod and gun.
This is especially true of the fisherman.
When he catches a black bass Weighing
eight pounds, he doesn't eat 1t. was for
merly the custom. and thus destroy all evil
dence of veracity of the story of the big
catch that he relates to his friends. In
stead. he sends the black bass to a taxider-
mist, who prepares 1t for preservation at
the rate of 81 a pound. And then, when
the fisherman has his story doubted by his
friends. all that he has to do to prove his
words Is to lead his hearers up to the black
bass. mounted on an appropriate base.
The Freak Horn Collector.
1.-The freak horn collector also contrib
utes toward keeping the taXidermists in
business The average American seems to
think that pair of horns is not worth
owning unless it is abnormal in some way.
If a bull moose has twisted antlerS into
some unnatural shape. We can dispose OF
them for two or three times the price we
ask for perfect pair. which the expert
collector would rave over. Why, for one
pair of exceedingly freakish moose horns
money 1 got for of the finest pairs of
moose antlers I've ever seen. They had
spread of sixty-eight inches and showed
forty-three points. But freak collectors
passed them by without a second glance,
and it took me nearly five years to dispose
of them The freak horns I sold in less
than two weeks after receipt Indeed, 1
cannot keep up with the demand for freak
things.
"Of late years the mounting of Florida
specimens has made considerable business.
Alligators are brought up north in great
numbers by the wealthy. who have devel-
oped the hobby of scattering the hideous
saurians in Efe-like attitudes about their
mansions. For one New York millionaire
alone L stuffed score of alligators last
year, and he wrote me lately that he was
forwarding me six more specimens.
Buffalo heads? No sale for them. The
only man who makes any money out Of
buffalo heads is the plainsman who has
managed to secure several heads by hook
or crook. He diSpoSeS of them to the
hunters from east of the Mississippi, who
take the trophies back home with them.
and then call i'm their friends and say. SEQ
what killed on my hunting trip west. The
guide told me l was very lucky man
probably killed the last wild buffalo on
the plains
Yes, the hunter prefers paying 5000 or
$1,000 for a head out west than $3.50 for a
much better specimen in the east. That's
why I've a stock of twenty buffalo heads
that I've been unable to sell since bought
them four years ago.
New Fields for Taxidermy.
did you ever stop to think that ths
march of civilization is a great aid to taxi
dermy? Take Siberia, for example. Ten
years ago we had scarcely any specimens
of the Siberian hex and roebuck in either
Europe or America. But since the railroad
has been opened specimens are coming out
of the interior by the carload. The prices
are still high, however A fair pair of ibex
Horns will bring $500 in the market any
day.