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As a British Pastime Is Revived, Some Critters Get Second Lives As a British Pastime Is Revived, Some Critters Get Second Lives
(3 months later)
LONDON — “Now pull the skin up over the skull like a hood,” Margot Magpie instructed her students. They were hunched over wooden tables, each holding a scalpel in one hand and a white mouse, gutted, in the other. LONDON — “Now pull the skin up over the skull like a hood,” Margot Magpie instructed her students. They were hunched over wooden tables, each holding a scalpel in one hand and a white mouse, gutted, in the other.
“I’m afraid mine’s got its paw hanging by a thread,” said Mark Ross, one of the students.“I’m afraid mine’s got its paw hanging by a thread,” said Mark Ross, one of the students.
Ms. Magpie responded cheerfully, “If you accidentally tear off a limb, use Super Glue to glue it back.”Ms. Magpie responded cheerfully, “If you accidentally tear off a limb, use Super Glue to glue it back.”
Anthropomorphic Mouse, recently held above an American cabaret in what used to be the Bank of New York in London, is not a taxidermy class in the strictest sense: It is more like a cross between taxidermy and arts and crafts for beginners, using mice. The aim is to create scenes that look as if they are out of Beatrix Potter’s “Peter Rabbit” books, in which small animals wear clothes and hats and enjoy picnics, tea parties and lives of their own.Anthropomorphic Mouse, recently held above an American cabaret in what used to be the Bank of New York in London, is not a taxidermy class in the strictest sense: It is more like a cross between taxidermy and arts and crafts for beginners, using mice. The aim is to create scenes that look as if they are out of Beatrix Potter’s “Peter Rabbit” books, in which small animals wear clothes and hats and enjoy picnics, tea parties and lives of their own.
For some people, the course is eccentric or downright macabre. To others, it is an opportunity to pursue a very British hobby.For some people, the course is eccentric or downright macabre. To others, it is an opportunity to pursue a very British hobby.
Lily Yourell, a social worker, said she hoped to hone her skills in class so she could work on mice and other, bigger animals at home. She has decided on a picnic and a bedroom scene, and has already sewn a handkerchief-size picnic blanket laden with tiny fruit and minuscule pork pies.Lily Yourell, a social worker, said she hoped to hone her skills in class so she could work on mice and other, bigger animals at home. She has decided on a picnic and a bedroom scene, and has already sewn a handkerchief-size picnic blanket laden with tiny fruit and minuscule pork pies.
“My colleagues think it’s a bit mad,” she admitted. “But as adults, it’s nice to play, like with a doll’s house.” Using the animals through taxidermy “gives them a second opportunity to be enjoyed and to be present in your life.”“My colleagues think it’s a bit mad,” she admitted. “But as adults, it’s nice to play, like with a doll’s house.” Using the animals through taxidermy “gives them a second opportunity to be enjoyed and to be present in your life.”
The classes, which began a year and a half ago, fill up months in advance, said Ms. Magpie, 31, a former veterinary nurse and a member of the Guild of Taxidermists. She travels around the country to teach the course; more sophisticated lessons have involved rabbits, or how to make decorations for hats, using bird wings. While her workshops are popular, they are also controversial; she began to use a pseudonym after receiving death threats and would not give her real name.The classes, which began a year and a half ago, fill up months in advance, said Ms. Magpie, 31, a former veterinary nurse and a member of the Guild of Taxidermists. She travels around the country to teach the course; more sophisticated lessons have involved rabbits, or how to make decorations for hats, using bird wings. While her workshops are popular, they are also controversial; she began to use a pseudonym after receiving death threats and would not give her real name.
“I think that people are interested in the bizarre,” she said during a recent class as she bared a tattoo of a rat on her arm, its bright red tongue matching her hair. “They sit at their desks all day and they stare at a computer, and they want to get into something else and do something manual with their hands and be creative.”“I think that people are interested in the bizarre,” she said during a recent class as she bared a tattoo of a rat on her arm, its bright red tongue matching her hair. “They sit at their desks all day and they stare at a computer, and they want to get into something else and do something manual with their hands and be creative.”
There is a bit of a taboo around dead animals, she said, which adds to the thrill of the class. People want to have a “hands-on experience with death.”There is a bit of a taboo around dead animals, she said, which adds to the thrill of the class. People want to have a “hands-on experience with death.”
“We don’t have that at all in our culture. It’s sort of Victorian, and it’s quirky,” she said. “Dressing up death is in a way reviving life into something, and that’s what I think is the art in it.”“We don’t have that at all in our culture. It’s sort of Victorian, and it’s quirky,” she said. “Dressing up death is in a way reviving life into something, and that’s what I think is the art in it.”
Ms. Magpie and her co-organizer, Suzette Field, turned what began as a pop-up class into a series of workshops after the first two sold out in hours. The pair also wrote a do-it-yourself taxidermy manual, which has sold more than 2,500 copies since its release four months ago.Ms. Magpie and her co-organizer, Suzette Field, turned what began as a pop-up class into a series of workshops after the first two sold out in hours. The pair also wrote a do-it-yourself taxidermy manual, which has sold more than 2,500 copies since its release four months ago.
In the four-hour beginners’ course, participants learn how to skin the mice, which are bought frozen. The pelts are washed, dried with a hair dryer, treated with preservatives and stuffed with cotton and wire before being stitched up. Black beads replace the eyes, and brooms and baskets are glued to the paws.In the four-hour beginners’ course, participants learn how to skin the mice, which are bought frozen. The pelts are washed, dried with a hair dryer, treated with preservatives and stuffed with cotton and wire before being stitched up. Black beads replace the eyes, and brooms and baskets are glued to the paws.
Before handling the mice, however, Ms. Magpie asks her students to draw a portrait of their faces. “How often do you look into the eyes of a mouse, dead or alive, really?” she asked. “Probably not that often.”Before handling the mice, however, Ms. Magpie asks her students to draw a portrait of their faces. “How often do you look into the eyes of a mouse, dead or alive, really?” she asked. “Probably not that often.”
Most students at a recent class were not older than 32. They have revived a practice that had its heyday in Victorian times more than a century ago. It fell out of favor in the aftermath of World War II.Most students at a recent class were not older than 32. They have revived a practice that had its heyday in Victorian times more than a century ago. It fell out of favor in the aftermath of World War II.
And Ms. Magpie’s is not the only class going in the field. In 2010, the London Taxidermy Academy opened its doors with a small bird taxidermy workshop and quickly expanded to include moles, gerbils and foxes. The academy said it attracted more than 1,000 students in its first two years. The Curious Menagerie followed in 2012 with its own classes, including a class in butterfly taxidermy.And Ms. Magpie’s is not the only class going in the field. In 2010, the London Taxidermy Academy opened its doors with a small bird taxidermy workshop and quickly expanded to include moles, gerbils and foxes. The academy said it attracted more than 1,000 students in its first two years. The Curious Menagerie followed in 2012 with its own classes, including a class in butterfly taxidermy.
Contemporary British artists, including Damien Hirst, Polly Morgan and Jake and Dinos Chapman, have used dead animals in their installations, making taxidermy popular and accessible again, Ms. Magpie said. Mr. Hirst is most famous for preserving cows, sharks and sheep in formaldehyde, some of them sliced in half.Contemporary British artists, including Damien Hirst, Polly Morgan and Jake and Dinos Chapman, have used dead animals in their installations, making taxidermy popular and accessible again, Ms. Magpie said. Mr. Hirst is most famous for preserving cows, sharks and sheep in formaldehyde, some of them sliced in half.
A business has also emerged at the intersection of taxidermy and fashion: Ms. Magpie sells hair clips and headbands adorned with small mice to clients in Britain, Ireland and Germany. Reid Peppard, based in London until recently, sells fox handbags, crow headdresses and even coin purses inserted inside rats.A business has also emerged at the intersection of taxidermy and fashion: Ms. Magpie sells hair clips and headbands adorned with small mice to clients in Britain, Ireland and Germany. Reid Peppard, based in London until recently, sells fox handbags, crow headdresses and even coin purses inserted inside rats.
And there is renewed interest in Walter Potter, the man who pioneered anthropomorphic taxidermy in Victorian Britain. (He is no relation to Beatrix.) In September, the British novelist Kate Mosse is scheduled to publish “The Taxidermist’s Daughter,” a psychological thriller inspired by visits to a museum of Mr. Potter’s works. Patrick Morris, a taxidermy enthusiast and retired university lecturer in zoology, published “Walter Potter’s Curious World of Taxidermy” last year.And there is renewed interest in Walter Potter, the man who pioneered anthropomorphic taxidermy in Victorian Britain. (He is no relation to Beatrix.) In September, the British novelist Kate Mosse is scheduled to publish “The Taxidermist’s Daughter,” a psychological thriller inspired by visits to a museum of Mr. Potter’s works. Patrick Morris, a taxidermy enthusiast and retired university lecturer in zoology, published “Walter Potter’s Curious World of Taxidermy” last year.
Mr. Potter, who died in 1918, became popular for his whimsical tableaux featuring stuffed animals in human settings.Mr. Potter, who died in 1918, became popular for his whimsical tableaux featuring stuffed animals in human settings.
They included rabbit schoolchildren scribbling on slates, squirrels smoking cigars and kittens playing croquet or dancing, wearing ruffled dresses and bead necklaces. He was particularly attentive to detail — his kittens wore frilly underwear beneath their petticoats. His masterpiece, “The Death and Burial of Cock Robin,” displays 98 species of British birds, including a robin widow, weeping, and an owl gravedigger.They included rabbit schoolchildren scribbling on slates, squirrels smoking cigars and kittens playing croquet or dancing, wearing ruffled dresses and bead necklaces. He was particularly attentive to detail — his kittens wore frilly underwear beneath their petticoats. His masterpiece, “The Death and Burial of Cock Robin,” displays 98 species of British birds, including a robin widow, weeping, and an owl gravedigger.
He also opened a museum that housed 10,000 of his stuffed animals, visited by tens of thousands of people each year until it closed in the 1970s.He also opened a museum that housed 10,000 of his stuffed animals, visited by tens of thousands of people each year until it closed in the 1970s.
“We’re riding the crest of a wave,” said Mr. Morris, who wrote about Mr. Potter’s creations.“We’re riding the crest of a wave,” said Mr. Morris, who wrote about Mr. Potter’s creations.
“There’s a whole new generation discovering this stuff, and people are being much more sensible about it rather than rejecting it,” he said. “Taxidermy is an important part of British natural history that has been neglected.”“There’s a whole new generation discovering this stuff, and people are being much more sensible about it rather than rejecting it,” he said. “Taxidermy is an important part of British natural history that has been neglected.”
Back in class, Oliver Morley-Leacock, another participant, said his first lesson in taxidermy reignited a fascination with biology and anatomy. “You kind of get a godlike feeling by ripping apart a little animal,” he said dryly. “But it’s fascinating from a scientific standpoint when you put it in the context of human anatomy.”Back in class, Oliver Morley-Leacock, another participant, said his first lesson in taxidermy reignited a fascination with biology and anatomy. “You kind of get a godlike feeling by ripping apart a little animal,” he said dryly. “But it’s fascinating from a scientific standpoint when you put it in the context of human anatomy.”
Alastair Metcalf, a banker, said he planned to take his mouse to work to show to colleagues. “Banking is interesting,” he said as he carefully glued a top hat onto its head and stood it behind an old-fashioned movie camera. “But not as interesting as this.”Alastair Metcalf, a banker, said he planned to take his mouse to work to show to colleagues. “Banking is interesting,” he said as he carefully glued a top hat onto its head and stood it behind an old-fashioned movie camera. “But not as interesting as this.”