Leaving the date of the employment of the art in America, let us consider the 
advent of taxidermy in foreign countries. It is uncertain what degree of perfection 
the art attained previous to the founding of the British Museum and the Jardin des 
Plantes of Paris. The establishment of the zoological collections in these two great 
institutions must have been its first prominent acknowledgment. The British 
Museum, the largest institution of its kind in the world, originated in a bequest of 
Sir Hans Sloane, who, during his life-time, gathered together objects of natural 
history and works of art. Collections of the former then formed, and do now, one 
of the prominent features of the institution. Steadily from the establishment of 
this Museum in 1753 to the present time the art has increased in importance. Many 
of the specimens prepared at that time are still in good condition, and will last for 
an indefinite period. They are especially valuable to the artist of the present day, 
recording as they do the state of the art at that time, although we must bear in 
mind that specimens mounted more than a century and a quarter ago, must neces- 
sarily show some signs of decay. 
The accomplished naturalist, Buffon, was one of the first naturalists to con- 
nect himself with the Jardin des Plantes. His general love of science received a 
definite impulse towards zoology by his appointment, in the year 1739, as Intendent 
of the Royal Gardens and Museum. Hitherto zoology, consisting of a series of 
unconnected observations and fruitless attempts at classification, had been commonly 
regarded by the educated reader as a dry study, and by savans as play-work. 
Buffon conceived the idea of making it attractive to the first of these classes and 
securing for it at the same time the respect of the second. Whether or not he was 
himself a worker in the art of taxidermy, we cannot say, but one thing is certain, 
namely, that the collections of zoSlogy increased rapidly under his administration. 
I think it safe to say that there never was an age when nature has not had her 
students and devotees. True, in the seventeenth centnry there were but few, so far 
as we can learn ; but history has not recorded the efforts of the quiet, isolated 
student. As before stated, we cannot ascertain the exact period when the preser- 
vation of animals was first practiced, but we know it originated among ancient 
tribes. Those who have read Gatlin’s elaborate history of the older Indian tribes, 
will remember that in his descriptions of Indian ornamentation he mentions the 
frequency with which portions of wild animals were employed. The heads of 
foxes, raccoons, woodpeckers and eagles were prepared and stuffed quite naturally, 
and kept to be worn as decorations on special occasions. The ancient Egyptians 
employed some of their knowledge in a more progressive manner by embalming the 
bodies of ibises, cats, crocodiles, common people, and even kings. 
All these efforts only illustrate the fondness for preserving, in a natural state, 
the best of nature’s objects. It is safe to say that however good the work may have 
been at that time, it is far inferior to the style of work to-day. Taxidermy, as an 
art, has lost nothing, has suffered no decline, has experienced no rapid advancement 
since its birth as such, and although it has never reached the proud eminence, 
attained by its sister arts, it never stood higher than it stands to-day. When the fact 
is considered that as an art it has only been practiced less than one hundred and fifty 
years, it is not strange that it does not stand as high as the other fine arts. The 
plastic and graphic arts date back many centuries, and have enjoyed the lustre shed 
upon them by the achievements of a long line of masters. Consider how many art 
schools have had an existence and how many there are to-day. Even in America 
there is scarcely a large city which has not one or more. They are composed of 
