Time: 2 pm EST
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We hope you’ll join us for a free, exclusive tour of the collection of Dr Pat Morris, who is not only a passionate and engaging speaker, but also a well-known taxidermy collector, biologist, and author of Walter Potter’s Curious Museum of Taxidermy and A History of Taxidermy: Art, Science and Bad Taste.
Tonight, Dr Morris will welcome us into his magnificent private collection with a ‘tour of objects’ that will introduce us to a number of unique and fascinating specimens, including a badly stuffed kittiwake, stamped with Queen Victoria’s Royal Cipher and presented to ‘The Gull’s Friend; a Wilson’s Petrel, named after the American ornithologist, but a very significant specimen for British ornithological history; as well as a number of extinct birds and half a kiwi. We will be scoring a ‘birdie’ in a lethal game of golf before checking out Mr Challice, the taxidermist whose house blew up.
Pat Morris MBE, BSc, PhD, FLS, FZS was Senior Lecturer in Zoology at Royal Holloway (University of London) and has a longstanding interest in the history of taxidermy. He has published several papers and books on the subject, including A History of Taxidermy: Art, Science and Bad Taste (2010), along with more than 50 other scientific papers and 20 natural history books. He is the first Honorary Life Member of the Guild of Taxidermists and a member of the Government’s panel of experts appointed to assess authenticity of antique taxidermy items. Widely known for his conservation-related research on mammals, especially hedgehogs and dormice, he is a former Chairman of the Mammal Society, was a Council Member of the National Trust and former Chairman of its Nature Conservation Advisory Panel. He was appointed MBE by the Queen in 2015 ‘for services to the natural and historic environment’, the latter being a reference to his contributions to the history and management of taxidermy collections. He has visited several hundred zoos and natural history museums, in more than 20 countries and has a devoted wife, married since 1978.
