Taxidermy

Taxidermy (from the Greek for arrangement of skin) is the art of preparing, stuffing, and mounting the skins of animals (especially vertebrates) for display (e.g., as hunting trophies or museum display) or for other sources of study (like species identification) or simply the preservation of a beloved pet. Taxidermy can be done on all vertebrate species of animals, including mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians.

A person who practices taxidermy is called a taxidermist. Taxidermists may practice professionally for museums or as businesses catering to hunters and fishermen, or as amateurs, such as hobbyists, hunters, and fishermen. A taxidermist is aided by familiarity with anatomy, sculpture, painting, and tanning.

History

Tanning and early stuffing techniques

Preserving animal skins has been practiced for a long time. Embalmed animals have been found with Egyptian mummies.

Although embalming incorporates the use of lifelike poses, it is not considered taxidermy. In the Middle Ages, crude examples of taxidermy were displayed by astrologers and apothecaries. The earliest methods of preservation of birds for natural history cabinets were published in 1748 by Reaumur in France. Techniques for mounting were described in 1752 by M. B. Stollas. There were several pioneers of taxidermy in France, Germany, Denmark and England around this time. For a while, clay was used to shape some of the soft parts, but this made specimens heavy.

Jacob Sardini

Jacob Sardini is a fictional character from the Judge Dredd comic strip in the British comics 2000 AD and Judge Dredd Megazine.

Sardini was a human taxidermist who "stuffed" dead human bodies. Among those he stuffed were the Yess family. In 2109 he had an encounter with Judge Dredd when he was forced to stuff the bodies of some gangsters who had been shot in a mob war, and then had to secretly dispose of the bodies when his client was killed by the Judges.

Several years later, he represented Mega-City One in the 2116 Nepal Olympics, where he won the gold medal in the taxidermy event. He is one of the very, very few criminals in the comic strip to escape detection by Judge Dredd. He died of a heart attack after being robbed in 2120.

Publications

All written/cowritten by John Wagner: