k&'^ * AT^ * 



"The results obtained by the Mintorns were very beautiful 

 but, as time showed, they would not stand the test of our 

 varying museum atmosphere, with its summer's moisture 

 and winter's dryness, but curled up"^ and had to be re- 

 placed. The Mintorn's process was also so slow and com- 

 plicated that it was too expensive to use for any large groups 

 needing hundreds or thousands of leaves. 



Following the Mintorn failure, interest in producing 

 durable and realistic foliage grew. Carl Akeley, the famous 

 taxidermist, was among those vitally interested in this prob- 

 lem and it was he who finally provided the solution. 



While Akeley was employed by the Milwaukee Public 

 Museum he began to plan an ambitious series of four habi- 

 tat groups showing the Virginia deer amid their appropriate 

 surroundings in spring, summer, autumn and winter. In 

 1896, when Akeley came to the Field Museum, he was still 

 planning and devising methods to create these groups. 

 Working in his own studio after his Museum day was over, 

 he used his now-famous manniken method to mount the 

 necessary deer for the exhibits. Next, he began the repro- 

 duction of the deer's habitat. Akeley "believed it as im- 

 portant that the natural abode of the deer should be cor- 

 rectly portrayed as that the deer should look like deer."^ 

 It was, then, necessary to "reproduce the budding trees and 

 the earliest flowers of spring; a thickly shaded lily pond deep 

 in summer woods; the brilliant foliage of autumn; and, 

 finally, the leafless trees and the mossy ground, covered with 



winter's snow. The production of such elaborate exhibits 

 required exhaustive research, a large expenditure of time 

 and a great deal of money."* 



He succeeded in finding a simple method of creating 

 lasting, scientifically-accurate foliage which became known 

 as the wax-leaf method. He made plaster molds of fresh 

 leaves and used these molds to cast wax leaves which he col- 

 ored and trimmed. Using this method Akeley proceeded 

 to make the 1 7,000 leaves needed for the four deer groups. 

 However, the manufacture of so many leaves was more than 

 he could accomplish alone so he employed "several men 

 and women helpers to work by the hour in his shop, imder 

 his direction, but all of the delicate and difficult work he 

 did himself."' Akeley patented his process, but apparently 

 never asked for any royalty for its use. 



As Akeley continvied to work at night, his payroll con- 

 tinued to mount. Finally, "he reached a point where he 

 had to know whether or not the Field Museum would pur- 

 case "The Four Seasons" once they were completed. The 

 curator of zoology finally agreed to recommend the pur- 

 chase of one of the four groups. Then Carl conferred with 

 President Harlow N. Higinbotham who asked whether the 

 Museum could not obtain alt four groups. Carl assured him 

 that it could."* 



Evidently Akeley was a far greater craftsman than busi- 

 nessman for when the four years' work was done and the 

 Museum purchased the groups at the agreed price Akeley 



i 



Accurate representation of a Michigan summer habitat of White-Tailed Deer was painstakingly devised by Carl Akeley. His four 

 exhibits showing these animals in all seasons were the first "trtie habitat" displays. 



.NOVEMBER Page 11 



