viu HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 



institutions j\Ir. Ogdeu was at once given employment and his work 

 on the largest mammals was successful to a high degree, as well 

 as in the modeling of birds, reptiles and fishes. A large number of 

 individuals outside of the large cities in those days might be uamed 

 who gave the subject of taxidermy much time and study and became 

 enthusiastic wholly for their own pleasure or for professional purposes. 

 A vast change however has taken place in the more recent productions 

 of intelligent and earnest American taxidermists. The most im- 

 proved methods of the world's best artists have been carefully studied 

 and often improved upon by American ingenuity. 



The climax of excellent work has indeed been left for the artists 

 of the New World to accomplish. The organization of the Society of 

 American Taxidermists did much for the diffusion of knowledge of the 

 art. Methods were no longer held secret, but their merits and demerits 

 were freely discussed by those of the profession, and the doors of the 

 studios were thrown open to the public. The knowledge of methods 

 alone does not any longer bespeak a man's genius in this art ; the 

 only secret being to imitate Nature. 



The superior work done at Ward's great Natural Science Estab- 

 lishmeut has also had its influence over the efforts of the new school 

 of American taxidermists. We now have many artists in the field. 

 A vast number of their productions, to be seen in the museums of this 

 country, attest the high order of excellence of their work, surpassing 

 anything in the taxidermic art the world has ever seen. The magnifi- 

 cent groups of mammals and birds in the American Museum of 

 Natural History, Central Park, N, Y., tell of the profound ability of 

 the late Mr. Jeness Richardson. The groups in our National Museum, 

 Washington, D. C, also stand as lasting monuments to the ingenuity 

 and skill of William T. Hornaday, Frederic A. Lucas, Joseph Palmer 

 and others. Among those who have likewise been identified with 

 the recent progressive period in American taxidermy may be men- 

 tioned the names of Jules F. D. Bailly, P. W. Aldrich, Elwin A. Capen, 

 William J. Critchley, John G. Bell, Prof. L. L. Dyche, Thomas W. 

 Fraine, C. W. Graham, John IMartens, Mr. and Mrs. G. H. Hedley, 

 William Palmer, Chas. K. Reed, J. Rowley, Thomas Rowland, S. 

 F. Rathbun, John Wallace, Frederic S. Webster, Frank B. Webster, 

 and a host of others who have gone into the rich fields of nature, 

 turned from the narrow trodden paths and plucked flowers whose 

 beauty was never before seen. They have discovered and reproduced 

 new scenes such as were never carved in stone or painted on canvas. 



