Welcome to Victorian taxidermist Walter Potterโs fantasy world of rabbit schoolchildren, cigar-smoking squirrels and exemplary feline etiquette in Walter Potterโs Curious World of Taxidermyโฆ
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Walter Potter (1835โ1918), a British country taxidermist of no great expertise, built anthropomorphic taxidermy tableaux that became famous icons of Victorian whimsy, including his masterpiece The Death & Burial of Cock Robin. His tiny museum in Bramber, Sussex, was crammed full of multi-legged kittens, two-headed lambs, and a bewildering assortment of curios. Potterโs inspired and beguiling tableaux found many fans in the contemporary art world: it was reported that a ยฃ1M bid by Damien Hirst to keep the collection intact was refused when the museum finally closed. Here, perhaps for the last time, many important pieces from the collection are showcased and celebrated with new photographs of Potterโs best-loved works. Darkly witty and affecting, Walter Potterโs Curious World of Taxidermy makes a charming, whimsical (and yes, slightly morbid) gift.