wrinkles. Then plaster was applied over the entire skin- 

 covered model. After the plaster had hardened, the joined 

 plaster and skin sections were removed from the clay model. 

 (The clay model had now served its purpose and was dis- 

 pensed with.) These sections were now reinforced on the 

 inside. At this stage, the sections were composed of three 

 fused layers — reinforcement, on the inside, skin, in the mid- 

 dle, and plaster, on the outside. These layered sections were 

 next reassembled and joined together with the reinforcing 

 substance. When assembled, they were further strength- 

 ened as a imit. Finally, the outer plaster shell was removed 

 and the seams in the skin were covered. Last, the finishing 

 touches, such as the application of a gluten coating and the 

 insertion of tusks and artificial eyes were accomplished. 



This pair of elephants was noteworthy not only because 

 they were the product of this remarkable new technique, but 

 because they were posed in such a dramatic and life-like 

 manner. The static, vmimaginative eflforts of earlier taxi- 

 dermy seem particularly lifeless when viewed in contrast to 

 this pair. They are an excellent testimony to the statement 

 that Akeley "did more for taxidermy than any other man, 

 and but for him, museum exhibits would not be what they 

 are today." 



The elephants were placed on display in 1909 in the cen- 

 tral rotunda of the Field Museum, then located in Jackson 

 Park, where they remained until April 26, 1920 — the Muse- 

 um's moving day. It had required three years of work by the 

 entire Museum staff to dismantle exhibits and pack collec- 

 tions preparing them for the move. This move was un- 

 doubtedly one of the largest transfer operations ever seen 

 anywhere, involving 321 freight car loads, 354 five-ton 



truck loads and a total cost of just under $70,000. 



The pair of elephants travelled by rail and the Museum's 

 Annual Report for 1920 states that, "The African elephants, 

 after removing the head of the one mounted with its trunk 

 elevated, were placed on an open flat-car and came through 

 without mishap." 



The move was completed on June 1, 1920 and the staflF 

 began the huge task of arranging and reinstalling material. 

 A year later, May 2, 1921, the Museum was opened in 

 its present location and the elephants were again on display 

 to the public. 



It seems incongruous that so noble a pair should be in- 

 volved in anything so prosaic, but the elephants are dusted 

 regularly and vacuumed with an ordinary household vacuum 

 cleaner. They are periodically checked for signs of wear or 

 damage and are patched and treated as necessary, insuring 

 their continued standard of quality. 



Even being crushed by a charging elephant in 1912 ap- 

 parently never dimmed Akeley's enthusiasm for the great 

 beast. In a tribute to the taxidermist, Henry Fairfield Os- 

 born said, "Akeley's first love was perhaps for the elephant. 

 . . . Often did he dwell upon the nobility of the elephant, its 

 courage in the charge, its sympathy in removing the wounded 

 comrade. . . . Little wonder that, in the confines of the . . . 

 city ... he longed for the sweep of the African plains and 

 savannahs, for the unspoiled beauty of the African forests, 

 for the majestic march and trumpeting of the elephant. . . ." 



These sentiments were eloquently expressed by Akeley in 

 the superbly mounted pair of African elephants which re- 

 main a unique, impressive and enduring "trademark" of 

 the Museum. 



E^ 



Lake Elementeita, a small lake just west of the Aber- 

 dare Range, where Akeley shot one of the elephants. 



Christmas in Kenya, 1 906. 



JANUARY Paged 



