James Hutchings probably started preserving animals in the 1860s and his three sons followed him into the taxidermy trade. Based in Aberystwyth, the family business produced an extraordinary quantity of very fine taxidermy for over seventy years.  For such a small business, they appear to have been very prolific.  Moreover, their work was so well executed, and the cases so well constructed, that much of their taxidermy still survives, assisted by large quantities of arsenic preservative.

Examples of their distinctive work are now widely scattered, but are frequently seen in museums and in the antiques trade, where they fetch high prices. Other than a few obituaries and a newspaper article published in 1953, very little is known of the family and their prominent business in Aberystwyth.
This book brings together a record of the Hutchings’ taxidermy and provides a selection of photographs that illustrate the highly characteristic style of their work.

This A5 size book reviews the work of the Hutchings family. It describes the people, the species, the taxidermy and how it was done.

The limited range of species preserved is discussed and also where they originated. The many illustrations serve as a record of this firm’s distinctive work. Hutchings taxidermy deserves to be shown in colour and the book has colour throughout.
It comes in two forms:

• The softcover edition of 52 pages has 105 images in full colour and tells the story of Hutchings taxidermy in some 9,700 words.
• The hardcover edition, bound in black cloth, has the same 52 pages of description and analysis, plus a 16-page ‘Gallery’ of additional images illustrating Hutchings' work, including the Mark Godfrey Collection (sold at Bonhams Auction Rooms in early 2007).

By: [Pat Morris]

Item Location: London