ADDRESS OF DR. J. B. HOLDER. 
41 
of the city in the year 146 before Christ, as stated by Pliny, who 
called them Gorgones. The history of the art of preserving skins 
would hardly be complete without the record of Shakespeare’s 
apothecary, within whose 
“ Needy shop a tortoise hung, ' 
An alligator stuffed, and other skins 
Of ill-shaped fishes.” 
In our own country, aside from the early work of the German 
taxidermist of the Prince’s staff, which was probably nearly con- 
fined to the preservation of skins, we are unable to date farther 
back than the year 1828. As our venerable friend, John G. 
Bell, is so fully identified with the history and progress of the 
art here as to be entitled to its chief apostleship, we naturally 
turn to him for light and information on these earliest days. 
He associates one Scudder with his earliest recollections, as the 
proprietor of a small museum in the old almshouse, situate where 
now stands the stately court-house, in the City-Hall Park in New 
York City. Here was accumulated, in the cruder manner of the 
time, numbers of beasts, birds, and probably many of the endless 
7 mrabilia of the typical museum of the past. A little later an- 
other Briton, bearing the name of Ward — though not he of later 
fame — came to do work in the museum, which had merged into 
a somewhat larger establishment under the charge of the Peale 
family. Some excellent work was done by Titian Peale, and 
the museums of the Peales in Philadelphia and New York were 
important patrons of the art in those early days. 
At this time Mr, George N. Lawrence, now distinguished as 
one of the most eminent of American ornithologists, became an 
earnest student of birds. Associated with him in friendly inter- 
course as an ornithologist was Mr. Daniel Holder, his merchant- 
neighbor in Water street. Both gentlemen were enthusiastic 
students and lovers of birds, and enjoyed the acquaintance and 
friendship of Audubon, Wilson, the Prince Bonaparte, Nuttall, 
and others nearly equally distinguished. While Mr. Lawrence 
collected largely of preserved skins, Mr. Holder indulged a pas- 
sion for the beauties of mounted birds. His ample means were 
a power in developing the growing art. 
It was about this time that our first impression of what a 
