Class XXIX.]
AWARDS AND NOTICES—TAXIDERMY.
045
flowers and articles used in their manufacture, such asleaves, buds, and other components of flowers ; chiefly ofcommon material, but very good in regard to colour, someof the tints being exceedingly bright and rich. Theflowers are extremely accurate in their imitation of nature,and are mostly well selected for the peculiar class ofarticle. As cheap commercial productions, this collectiondeserves commendation.
Gaudet-du-Fresne, Paris (France , 842, p. 1220), PrizeMedal, for manufactured leaves for artificial flowers.This collection contains a large assortment of leaves,executed in a peculiar manner; and though restricted toa special branch of the manufacture, is remarkable forthe variety and beauty of the specimens, which exhibita very fair amount of natural character.
Harand, E., Paris (France , 863, p. 1221), Prize Medal,for head-dresses, trimmings, &c. These are very goodcommercial articles, suited for superior markets, andexhibiting great taste and accuracy in design.
Lefort, — , sen., Paris (France , 1295, p. 1238), PrizeMedal, for materials for artificial flowers. This makerhas produced papers and stuffs of most brilliant colours,and in very perfect series of gradations of tint: the paperstained with carthamus-red (safflower) is especially re-markable for the purity and vividness of its colour.These, as well as the more advanced forms of the“materials,” such as leaves, sprigs, buds, berries, orother fruits, for the construction of bouquets andwreaths, are excellent specimens of a class of manufacturecarried on upon a large scale for the supply of a cheapmarket.
Lumsden, J., Trevor Terrace, Knightsbridge (ClassXXX., 125, p. 829), Prize Medal for wax flowers. Anexceedingly-graceful and truthful group, executed withmuch skill and artistic feeling. The colours are chosenwith excellent taste, and the effect of the whole is verybeautiful.
Makepeace, Eliza, Manor Place, Clapham (ClassXXX. 185, p. 831), Honourable Mention, for wax flowers,distinguished by their accurate representation of nature,and the delicacy and beauty of the colouring. They areexceedingly well adapted for scientific illustration.
Mintorn, John H., Horatio, Elizabeth, and Re-becca, Soho Square (Class XXIX., 70, p. 795), PrizeMedal, for a very large and beautiful collection of waxflowers. The plants in the large case are very accurateand life-like, and well-adapted for scientific museums, towhich they are especially suited from the truthfulness :with which they represent the botanical characters of the ivarious plants. The Victoria Regia ; the ferns, showing jall their minute fructification ; the mignonette ; and the !orchids, are among the numerous instances deserving of |the highest praise. The small groups and single flowersare also very elaborate imitations of nature, and present a :beautiful appearance; the colouring, texture, and me- |chanical finish being of the first class.
Paroissien, A., Paris (France , 945, p. 1225), Honour- |able Mention, for a collection of waxed leaves, preparedwith considerable attention to accuracy in the imitationof nature.
Perrot, Petit, and Co., Paris (France , 952, p. 1225),Prize Medal, for artificial flowers, feathers, &c. Bouquetsand wreaths, composed of various materials; the featherflowers are very beautiful; and the whole collection,including the feather ornaments, is very excellent andaffords an evidence of much taste on the part of these jExhibitors, whose productions hold a high rank in the ;French Department. !
Randolph, Wilhei.mina, Marsham Street (Class !XXIX., 66, p. 792), Prize Medal, for plants imitated in !uiuh'ed feathers. This collection displays much in- igenuity and industry. The field to which the maker hasrestricted herself is somewhat narrow; probably from the :difficulty of obtaining brilliantly-coloured feathers; but !so far as her attempt extends, she has succeeded re- Imarkably well in representing the natural characters bothof flowers and foliage. The roses, carnations, and wallflowers are highly creditable.
Russel, Vincente, Lisbon (Portugal , 1295, p. 1318),Honourable Mention, for an artificial orange-tree. A
very creditable imitation of a small orange-tree, dis-tinguished by more than common truth of general cha-racter.
Santa Clara (Funchal), The Nunnery of (Portugal, )Prize Medal, for a ease of feather flowers from Madeira,in the Portuguese Department. A very beautiful speci-men of this manufacture, which is extensively pursuedin Madeira.
Strickland, Maria, New Bond Street (Class XXIX.,63, p. 792), Prize Medal, for a collection of wax flowers.The flowers of this collection deserve the highest praisefor their artistic merits. They are exceedingly accuratein form, colour, and texture; iu which latter respect agroup of roses may be especially noticed, an uncommonamount of delicacy having been attained in the petals.A bunch of heaths is equally good. The model of theVictoria Regia , in its various stages of development, isexcellent and most life-like.
Sugden, Borras, andCo., Aldermanbury (Class XXIX.,62, p. 792), Prize Medal, for artificial flowers, feathers,and head-dresses. The flowers in this collection areespecially worthy of notice, as being very superior com-mercial products for general use. Much ingenuity isdisplayed in the imitation of textures by various materials,such as waxed cloth, velvet, muslin, cambric, &c., andfor general accuracy of form and colour, brilliancy of tint,and tasteful selection of subject, they merit strong praise.The feathers are also exceedingly good.
Tilman, —, Paris (France , 698, p. 1212), PrizeMedal, for artificial flowers, head-dresses, &c.; smallgroups, bouquets, &c., in great variety, of very superiorquality as intended for general commercial purposes,combining a fair amount of natural character with goodmechanical execution, and much taste in the selectionand grouping of the component leaves and flowers. Thecollection of this exhibitor is one of the best contributedby the French flower-makers.
II. Taxidermy.
The art of stuffing animals is generally supposed to bean invention of modern date, and to have originatedabout the period when the various museums of NaturalHistory were founded in Europe . But traces of the artare to be discovered in the earliest records of antiquity,although the methods then employed differ much fromthose now practised. The procedure of the ancientEgyptians in embalming human remains and dead ani-mals, in some measure resembles the manipulations of thetaxidermist, inasmuch as in both the parts peculiarlysubject to decomposition are removed and replaced bymore durable materials. But whilst the Egyptian em-balmer desired rather to presene the substance of thebody than its form, the taxidermist sacrifices all, exceptthe skin, to the obtaining of a natural representation ofthe aspect of the living animal. The ancient Greeksand Romans, however, endeavoured to present the formas well as the substance of the body, but their methodsfulfilled the object very imperfectly. The ordinaryproceeding consisted in immersion in melted wax, orin honey; this necessarily disguised the shape, eventhough it remained unimpaired. Perhaps the best ofthe ancient methods for the preservation of animal sub-stances consisted in placing them in a solution of commonsalt; this is still done, though for very differentpurposes. In this manner the sow, which by bringingforth a litter of thirty pigs, afforded a happy omen toiEneas, was preserved by the priests; and it kept sowell that it was said to have been in existence at Lavi-nium in the time of Varro. In the same way werepreserved two hippocentaurs (probably monstrous births),and also an ape, which, having been sent by the Indiansto the Emperor Constantius , happened to die on theroad.
It appears to have been the business of the priests topreserve rare animals, or rare natural specimens generallv,and this was so prevalent, that we are almost tempted torefer the origin of museums of Natural History to thetemples of antiquity; indeed Beckmann, in his History ofInventions, quotes a number of instances which support