Natural History Sale, 13th February 2019

One of the top lots of the sale is a very rare Van Ingen and Van Ingen tiger shoulder mount; pieces by the famous Mysore based taxidermists are always in demand, however, what sets this example apart is the inclusion of the original back skin with attached original delivery label. The Bengal tiger was taken from the Hatikhira tea estate in the Karimganj District in Assam, North East India. It was shot by the vendor’s father, Mr C M d’Angibau Esq. on 27^th October 1940, is sold with copies of pictures of the hunt, and has never been offered on the open market before (Estimate: £5,000-7,000).

Also by Van Ingen and Van Ingen is a very interesting Sloth Bear c1931, which is sold with the original Shikar’s game book containing entries documenting the hunt and the original zinc-lined packing crate with stencilled script relating to the first owner (Estimate: £600-800). The bear was taken by Lieut. Thomas Frederick James Collins in Chipgeri, North West India on 29^th June 1931.

Unusual decorative items of Natural History on offer in the sale include a blonde shell of a Giant South American River Turtle, a 19^th Century narwhal tusk, a polished coco-de-mer, a sawfish rostrum, cow and zebra hide rugs and a carved Inuit whale vertebra.

An excellent selection of Victorian, Edwardian and modern taxidermy cases and trophy mounts are also on offer. Included are period examples by the likes of Henry Ward, Rowland Ward, Macleay of Inverness, John Cooper, Cecil Bisshopp of Oban, H N Pashley of Cley, Norfolk, Bill Cox of Liverpool, James Hutchings of Aberystwyth, H Shopland of Torquay, R Duncan of Newcastle, George White of Salisbury, Peter Spicer, Van Ingen and Van Ingen of Mysore, India, Theobald Bros of Mysore, India, and C D Sassoon and Co. Ltd of India.

Modern taxidermists represented in the sale include H R Bennetts of Hainford, Dave Spatcher of Leicester, Adrian Johnstone of Gainford, Mike Gadd of Wetherby and Tony Armitstead of Darlington. Of note in the sale is the Cased Fish Collection by the late Mr Roland Stockdale of Newton Aycliffe. The prominent North-East fishing enthusiast had a love for mounting prized catches, whether they were caught by himself or friends. Highlights include A Pair of Cased Sea Trout (Estimate: £300-400); the 9lb cock sea trout was caught at Hunwick on the River Wear on 28^th June 2002, and the 5lb hen was caught in the same location the day before.

View sale details and further highlights, which include a large quantity of world-wide hunting trophies from a single owner European hunter.