Walter Potter, Victorian Taxidermist

I recently came across an article in The Daily Mail about a Victorian taxidermist named Walter Potter (1835-1918). Potter was a unique taxidermist, in that his stuffed animals were anthropomorphized in elaborate dioramas.



Walter Potter.

Reportedly, Potter's first attempt at taxidermy was an effort to preserve his deceased canary. His most famous diorama, "The Death and Burial of Cock Robin," included 98 species of British birds. Around 1860, Potter opened up his own museum to display his dioramas, which often depicted animals in human settings, like at a wedding or cricket match. Potter was noted for his attention to detail; one museum-goer commented, "The kittens even wear frilly knickers under their formal attire!"



Rabbits in school.

By Potter's death in 1914, his collection, known as "Mr. Potter's Museum of Curiosities," included over 10,000 specimens. As Victorian whimsy declined, so too did Potter's museum, thanks in part to developing awareness of animal cruelty. Modern curators felt inclined to post notices saying that all animals had died of natural causes and, "in any case, they were all over 100 years old." The museum closed in the 1970s, and the collection was sold intact in 1984 and later in pieces in 2003. Many of the dioramas are currently on exhibition at The Museum of Everything in Primrose Hill, London.



Kittens at a tea party.