Walter Potter's Curious World of Taxidermy

About this book

Enter Victorian taxidermist Walter Potters fantasy world of rabbit schoolchildren cigar-smoking squirrels and exemplary feline etiquette at the kittens tea party... Walter Potter (1835-1918) a country taxidermist of no great expertise became famous as an icon of Victorian whimsy. His tiny museum in Bramber Sussex was crammed full of multi-legged kittens two-headed lambs and a bewildering assortment of curios. Closed in the 70s the museum was variously re-established before being auctioned off in 2003. It was reported that a 1M bid by Damien Hirst to keep the collection intact was refused but in 2010 many of Potters key pieces were exhibited by the artist Sir Peter Blake at Londons Museum of Everything attracting over 30 000 visitors in 6 weeks. The subsequent dispersal of Potters works has meant the loss of a truly unique Victorian legacy. Here perhaps for the last time the collection is preserved and celebrated with new photographs of Potters best-loved works.