It is impossible to describe here the precise methods by which the various kinds of decorative objects may be produced, and surely in the light of all the methods and details that have already been given, it is unnecessary. It will be sufficient to describe by word and picture the character of the various classes of objects, and leave their production to be worked out according to the principles already laid down. The accompanying plate represents a carefully selected group of decorative objects which were displayed in the New York exhibition of the Society of American Taxidermists, and were afterward presented by their respective owners to the National Museum at Washington, where they are now displayed in the Society's exhibit.
Wall Cases.—The shallow box case with glass front, sheltering one specimen or a group, and garnished with certain accessories, is one of the most popular and pleasing of all pieces of decorative taxidermy. Its evolution is due directly to the desire to protect from destruction the more cherished of the single specimens that first began to grace the homes of the lovers of animated nature. In American homes there are to-day thousands of pretty wall-cases of choice birds mounted with suitable accessories, either natural or artificial, many with painted backgrounds, and an equal number without. There are also hundreds of cases of small mammals mounted in the same way.
Artificial Leaves.—The accessories most available are grasses and ferns carefully pressed, dried, and painted green, and set in the foundation work. Natural moss is used in the same way, and for bushes with foliage, artificial leaves are easily procured and wired on to the twigs of the branch that has been selected for use. These can be procured of any first-class dealer in taxidermists' supplies, or at large artificial flower establishments. If leaves of some special kind are desired, or leaves in great quantity, it will be best to procure them direct of C. Pelletier, 135 Wooster Street, New York City, who has supplied me for eight years. The cost of leaves varies from 25 cents to $2.00 per gross; and for some kinds even more.
Water and Ice.—To represent water, use a sheet of clear glass, and build up underneath it a bottom of sand, or gravel, or weeds, as may be necessary. Ice is easily counterfeited by coating a sheet of glass or wood with paraffin, which is quite white, and sufficiently transparent to give the proper effect. Icicles are manufactured by Demuth Brothers, 89 Walker Street, New York, especially for taxidermists, at very moderate prices, and are infinitely better than anything the taxidermist can produce. They are fastened to the sides of snow-covered rocks, or wherever they belong, by setting them at the base in stiff papier-maché with sinew glue.
Snow is made by flowing plaster Paris over the surface to be covered, and dressing its surface at once; and then, before it becomes quite hard, sprinkling its surface with painter's frosting, which is exceedingly thin flakes of clear glass, and must be ground up in a mortar to get it fine enough to use. If ground too finely, it becomes a dull white powder, like marble dust, and is useless. In order to give a glistening appearance to the surface the particles must be large enough to reflect light. Mica is of no use for this purpose. In making the snow that covers the ground underneath the group of musk ox in the National Museum, Mr. Joseph Palmer invented a compound composed of the pulp of white blotting-paper, starch, and plaster Paris, which made a white, fluffy-looking mass that could be sprinkled over the ground by hand, and closely resembles a light fall of snow.
For the preparation of boughs of evergreens for use in groups, so that the needles will not fall off the twigs, Mr. Jenness Richardson, taxidermist to the American Museum of Natural History, in New York, has, by long and patient experimenting, evolved a solution in which he actually effects the complete preservation of coniferous foliage. When the branches to be used have been put through this liquid and dried, they are afterward painted, and are really as perfect as when living on the parent stem. Mr. Richardson has kindly put me in possession of the knowledge of his entire process, but I am not at liberty to publish it at present.
Painted Backgrounds.—The beauty of a wall-case, or indeed of any group in a flat case, is greatly enhanced by the addition of a painted background of the proper character to represent the home surroundings of the living creatures in front of it. Of course the back must seem to be a harmonious continuation of the bottom, where the real objects are. The tints of the picture should be very quiet, and by no means gaudy or striking, and should not attract attention away from the zoological specimens. The objects to be gained in a painted background are distance, airiness, and, above all, a knowledge of the country inhabited by the bird or mammal. As an example of the value of a painted background in the production of a pleasing effect, the reader is respectfully referred to a group the writer produced nine years ago, entitled "Coming to the Point," and now in the National Museum (see Fig. 1, Plate XVI.). It is not boasting to say that that simple group, composed of a white setter dog, six partridges, a bush full of autumn-tinted leaves, and a really handsome painted background (by Mary E.W. Jeffrey) has given more pleasure than anything else the writer ever produced. The case is only ten inches deep, but the apparent distance is about a mile, and the autumn scene is very acceptable to the public, sportsmen especially.
As yet the museums will have no painted backgrounds. Ten years ago they would have no groups, and no birds with painted legs and beaks. They have all come to the two latter, and they will all come to painted backgrounds also, in due time, and it will be a good thing for them when they do. If I am ever at the head of a museum, it shall have groups with painted backgrounds galore, and there will be imitators thereof in plenty. There is in this direction a vast field which has hardly been touched, and when it is once developed the world will be the gainer. Museum managers the world over are too conservative by half. Some of them will get out of the ruts they are in by following others; some will not get out until they are dragged out, and a few others will never get out at all.
Twenty-five years hence the zoological museums of this country will be as attractive and pleasing as the picture galleries, and they will teach ten times as many object-lessons as they do now. To-day the average museum is as lifeless as a dictionary; but the museum of the future will be life itself.
In Plate XVI. are shown three other examples of wall-cases, of different kinds. Fig. 10 is a group of humming-birds, with choice accessories, under a hemispherical glass shade, surrounded by a black velvet mat, and set in a rich gold frame. This exceedingly artistic arrangement is designed either to stand on an easel or hang on the wall, and is the work of Mr. and Mrs. George H. Hedley. No. 11 represents a group of gray squirrels in a rustic case made of papier-maché, with glass front, top, and sides, and natural accessories, the work of Mr. Joseph Palmer, of the National Museum. No. 12 represents a group of south southerly ducks at the edge of a marsh, in a square case with closed back, and painted background. This was prepared by Mr. William Palmer. In Fig. 57 appears a representation of a very pretty wall-case, by Mr. F.A. Lucas. This was one of a series of four companion cases representing the four seasons, and it is only the very unscientific who need to be informed that the blue-birds building their nest are meant to represent "Spring."