Period & Modern Taxidermy Results

The market for high-quality period and modern taxidermy continues to remain buoyant, with some exceptionally strong prices seen in the 11th November Natural History and Taxidermy Sale. Overall, the sale achieved total hammer price of £154,460 for 371 lots and a 91% sold rate.

Amongst the fine period pieces in the sale was Bruno the Battling Bear, a relic of the harsh days of the Gold Rush in late 19th century California, which sold for £3,200 (all figures exclude buyer’s premium). In the rugged settlements bear fights became one of the chief forms of entertainment, and Bruno became famous in the gold fields of California, where he was trained to fight in boxing gloves, pitted against bears and other animals. Such was his celebrity, that he was set up to fight James ‘Gentleman Jim’ Corbett, the San Franscisco boxer who went on to become the World Heavyweight Champion and was known as the ‘father of modern boxing’ for the scientific approach he took to training and fighting and the technical innovations he introduced. After Bruno knocked out Gentleman Jim, his infamy grew and reached the ears of Queen Victoria, who gave Bruno the Knight of the Royal Bath, and at her request he was later stuffed after he died.

Two of the top lots of the sale both achieved hammer prices well above estimate following heated bidding; a Victorian Superb Lyrebird made circa 1870 by the naturalist Edwin Ward of London sold for £5,500, and a late Victorian Radiated Tortoise made circa 1880-1900 sold for £5,000. Of interest, too, was a Victorian Display of Tropical Birds Native to South America and Australasia, dating from circa 1857-70 and prepared by A. Grinnoneau, Bird and Animal Preserver of London, which sold for £3,200.

Cases by the Welsh taxidermist James Hutchings (1860-1942) saw very competitive bidding. Good results for pieces by the Aberystwyth-based taxidermist included a Cased Pair of European Merlins that sold for £2,200, a house record for a piece by the maker.

High-quality modern pieces were in demand, too, with the top lot of the sale going to a very fine Large Cased Golded Eagle, prepared in 2011 by A.J. Armitstead of Darlington, which sold for £6,200. The case was once part of the Dean Field Collection. Also selling well above estimate was a 2021 Burchell’s or Plains Zebra shoulder mount by Pan African Art Gallery or Durban, which sold for £4,500 against an estimate of £1,200-1,800.

View Sale Results