At Work With…

… Lee Ismail, Curator of Natural Sciences

This article describes the processes of taxidermy.

Young Vixen

Any keen readers of the Royal Pavilion & Brighton Museums blog will know that I previously worked on bird taxidermy as part of the Monument Fellowship programme at the Booth Museum. The programme facilitates knowledge capture between retiring curators and their successors. As the fellowship draws to a close we have decided to do a series of blogs on the most complicated aspect of taxidermy, namely, preparing mammals. This first blog will examine the steps taken in the basic preparation of a mammal skin and skeleton.

Young Vixen

We start with the animal itself. In this case, we have a young (approximately six month old) vixen. She met her untimely demise following a road collision, and was brought in by a member of the public.

The procedure started in much the same way as in preparing a bird. Measurements were recorded along with the date and location of death. The animal was then weighed, which proved to be a lot messier than with a bird, as most of the blood drained from the nose when it was hung on the scales. The body was then inspected externally and examples of any parasites, such as fleas or ticks, were collected and preserved for future reference.

The next stage was to make an incision into the skin. This initial opening can be made in a number of places depending on what end result is intended. In this case, as we were aiming for an unblemished pelt, the cut was made along the centre of the chest. This was extended to the full length of the body and up to the chin. Further incisions were made along the length of each leg.

Fox Skin

Once the incisions were made, the skin was carefully removed from the body, by using fingertips and a scalpel where neccessary to free the body from the connective tissue. The body was almost entirely removed in this way. Even the tail was removed by simply easing it out, much like a very bristly sock.

Once the body was free, we moved to concentrate on the head. Again, it was skinned in much the same way, including very carefully turning the ears inside out and removing the cartilage. To finish, the gums and the flesh just behind the nose were cut through and the fur was successfully removed from the fox.

Fox Skull

A basic autopsy was then carried out, to record anything significant about the animal’s life. Our little vixen had the following injuries: shotgun pellet holes, an air gun pellet wound and a semi-healed break in her right back leg, all within her first year of life (not to mention the car accident that killed her). All these observations were recorded as part of the specimen history.

The final stage was to prepare parts of the body for skeletal preparation. This involved the removal of the head from the body as well as the broken limb. These parts were placed into a pot and simmered for two days. The pot was not allowed to boil as this fixes the fats into the bone leaving them with a permanent stain. The flesh was then removed with a combination of forceps and a toothbrush to avoid damaging any of the smaller bones. The bones were placed into a bath of petrol for a week, in order to remove any fats still present. Finally, the bones were removed, dried and then bleached in a mixture of ammonia and hydrogen peroxide.

Fox Bones

The next blog will look at preparing a mammal skin for display as a mounted specimen.

Favourites from the Royal Pavilion Gardens – Rosa ‘Petite Lisette’

For the month of June in the Royal Pavilion Gardens we have chosen a rose as our special plant, Rosa ‘Petite Lisette’, in particular.

Rosa ‘Petite Lisette’

This has not come from the exotic Far East, but a little closer to home. This pretty Damask rose was bred in France by Jean Paul Vibert and was a new introduction to England in 1817, making it an exciting desirable novelty when our garden was being designed.

It is not supposed to be a repeat flowerer, but unfurls its sweet pink clusters of little double pompoms slowly and continuously throughout the summer, and depending on weather conditions will carry on in a quieter way into autumn and winter.

Not big and blousy, as some of our roses, or deep purple velvety, but  as neat and pretty and pink as the little French girl it was maybe named after. It is sweetly scented as sugared almonds.

Rosa ‘Petite Lisette’

The rose can be found in the beds along the path where the buskers play and round to the Royal Pavilion entrance. It is recognisable by its small double flowers in well behaved clusters, pruned to nose level for access to its delicious perfume.

Volunteer Gardener, Royal Pavilion Gardens

Object of the Month – Charles Dickens Memorial Plate

June marks the anniversary of the death of Charles Dickens (1812-1870). To mark the occasion, we take a look at an object from the Decorative Art collection which was inspired by his work.

The blue-printed plate made by Doulton has a central portrait of Dickens with the profile of St Paul’s Cathedral in the background. Around the rim are many of his best known characters, including Fagin and Bill Sykes from Oliver Twist, Sam Weller and Mr Pickwick from the Pickwick Papers.

Charles Dickens Memorial Plate

The works of Charles Dickens are, understandably, well represented in the collections at Brighton Museum & Art Gallery. He was born in Portsmouth to John and Elizabeth Dickens. Soon after being sent to school in 1821, his whole family, apart from Charles, were sent to the Marshalsea prison because of his father’s bad debts, an episode that was to inform the experience of Little Dorrit whose father was similarly detained. Charles’s father was the inspiration for the character of Mr Micawber in David Copperfield. Charles spent three years working in Warren’s blacking factory and endured appalling conditions as well as loneliness and despair. Although he returned to school, the experience became fictionalised in two of his best-known novels, David Copperfield and Great Expectations.

Dickens began his literary career as a journalist, becoming parliamentary correspondent for The Morning Chronicle in 1833. In 1836 he published the highly successful Pickwick Papers with illustrations Hablot Knight Browne, known as Phiz, who died in 1882 and is buried in Brighton’s Extra-Mural Cemetery. Dickens himself spent time in Brighton and wrote Dombey and Son while staying at the Bedford Hotel.

Stella Beddoe, Senior Keeper and Keeper of Decorative Art