And the theme is … Taxidermy

Various locations

Some people find taxidermy disgusting or at least disturbing. I have always been a bit fascinated by it. Taxidermy is quite diverse, running the gamut from the simple mounted trout above the mantel to appearing as fine art in various mediums. So, I guess it is not so surprising that it was sort of a mini-theme in my travels, especially if it is something you already seem notice.

The first taxidermy I encountered was in Ferndale Michigan, just outside of Detroit, at a restaurant called The Fly Trap. Not only was this establishment bold enough to have a somewhat unappetizing name for a restaurant, but it also even had art on the wall made from tiny taxidermized flies! My sister and I found it hilarious. The place was crazy crowded on a Tuesday at lunchtime (because the food was amazing!) so we took the first available table, although it would have been fun to be a “bar fly” there!  

The next taxidermy encounters took place again with my sister in shops in Chicago, the first at Woolly Mammoth Antiquities and Oddities. Okay, this one was a planned stop. I had always wanted to go into this shop when I lived in Chicago but had only peeked in the window one time when it was closed. That is where we saw the rodeo squirrels, boxing chipmunks, cigar-smoking whiskey-swigging raccoon, and the ubiquitous two-headed calf. Unfortunately, Stinky the Skunk was sold, otherwise I would have purchased him for a certain someone I know who loves skunks. She would have probably killed me. The next day as we were looking for parking we stumbled upon Astronauts and Cowboys, an adorable upscale shop that just so happened to have taxidermies of a whole, well-antlered deer and some beavers in the window along with a complete astronaut suit. Their display worked! We had to go in.

Besides the Astronauts and Cowboys thing, apparently, cowboys and taxidermy have a strong connection, as there were two pieces of taxidermy in a brothel in Deadwood, SD – a mounted peacock atop a piano and a stuffed baby zebra inexplicably wearing Mardi Gras beads. I really wish I had asked about that one; I am sure there was a good story. And I promise you, we will get to that visiting a brothel story … eventually.

I saw lots of deer, elk, and various other heads on walls at practically every restaurant out west. Aside from the usual use of taxidermy as décor or to entice shoppers or cowboys, there are also competitions devoted to the craft of taxidermy. 

Once, long ago, I attended a competition at a museum in Baltimore and that is when I became hooked on the art of taxidermy. (Links to more on that are in the bonus link below from a previous post of mine on taxidermy.) My personal favorite piece from that Baltimore exhibition was the tiny mouse dentist and his patient, with the moose head on the wall and cowboy hats on the hat stand. See, it all ties together.   

It is incredible what imaginations people who do taxidermy have. That became quite apparent when we took in part of the art exhibition at the 21c Hotel in Oklahoma City, where Denitta and I stayed after our long Route 66 haul. I would consider the pieces in this exhibit fine art taxidermy and by far the most bizarre that I saw on my trip. Yes, even more bizarre than boxing chipmunks or rodeo squirrels, because these pieces not just put recognizable creatures into amorphic human situations but created whole new creatures. I loved them, but even I was sort of glad that we had somehow missed that part of the exhibition the previous night when we got into town late and were enjoying the other art pieces after a very late-night dinner and drinks. That might have made for some very disturbing dreams, even for me.   

If you came to this first through the blog, know that there are lots more photos on the Facebook post.

Bonus: During the pandemic, I started writing and posting “My Virtual Smithsonian” and one of my pieces was the Smithsonian Taxidermy edition. If you haven’t gotten your fill of taxidermy from this post, there’s lots more in that Smithsonian post of mine, including tons of links in the comments.

Google Album of these photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/cku1jyeRkRvqSMvCA