Roberts, Nadine H. The Complete Handbook of Taxidermy. Blue Ridge Summit: Tab Books, 1980.
No I didn't read all of this 319-page book, much of which is step-by-step instruction on how to skin and mount anything from a crappie to a brown bear. What makes Roberts's book such a compelling read is how firmly she believes that anyone can practice "the art of taxidermy" as she calls it, and how life-enriching such an art can be:
Nadine and I? We have similar theories about taxidermy. At one point she asks and then answers the question: What makes a taxidermist? "Interest. Curiosity. Willingness to work. Respect for nature's creatures. Love of beauty." Roberts's methods are all very careful, very slow in, say, skinning around the tear ducts and lips of a deer head, or scraping the grease and fat from a mallard's skin. She's also careful in her authority; time and again we're reminded that this is her method that she's come to after years of practice, but that we're encouraged to talk to other taxidermists to see how they might go about cooking a skull and attaching antlers to a headform.
Taxidermy as a community of like-minded nature lovers. This is her underlying thesis and it's a nice one. The photos are all pretty shoddy, if I have to say something critical and mean. There's something about the exposed, complicated infrastructure of blood vessels and muscles of a deer's face that isn't well captured in black and white. Many photos look as though someone's cutting into a muddy boot. Pity the good people at Tab Books couldn't have sprung for color printing.
When you have some special kind of knowledge, such as the knowledge of the art of taxidermy, you're different. People notice you. How many taxidermists do you know? See what I mean? This is one of the most fascinating things you will ever learn to do (9, my emphasis).Most of the other taxidermy handbooks I've glanced at are encouraging, sure, but all in a very prosaic, 't'ain't-nuthin'-at-all manner. They're also written—every one of them—by men.
Nadine and I? We have similar theories about taxidermy. At one point she asks and then answers the question: What makes a taxidermist? "Interest. Curiosity. Willingness to work. Respect for nature's creatures. Love of beauty." Roberts's methods are all very careful, very slow in, say, skinning around the tear ducts and lips of a deer head, or scraping the grease and fat from a mallard's skin. She's also careful in her authority; time and again we're reminded that this is her method that she's come to after years of practice, but that we're encouraged to talk to other taxidermists to see how they might go about cooking a skull and attaching antlers to a headform.
Taxidermy as a community of like-minded nature lovers. This is her underlying thesis and it's a nice one. The photos are all pretty shoddy, if I have to say something critical and mean. There's something about the exposed, complicated infrastructure of blood vessels and muscles of a deer's face that isn't well captured in black and white. Many photos look as though someone's cutting into a muddy boot. Pity the good people at Tab Books couldn't have sprung for color printing.
posted by Dusty at 12:31 PM
1 Comments:
Not yet. Give me a few months. I'm hoping some taxidermist I interview will let me, I dunno, slice at a hide or insert a plastic eye into a headform. I'll of course keep readers posted.
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