Walter Potter’s Curious World of Taxidermy
Writing (with Dr Pat Morris), editing, photography, art direction, production by Joanna Ebenstein
Constable and Robinson Press. 2013. Order here
Walter Potter (1835-1918), a country taxidermist of no great expertise, became famous as an icon of Victorian whimsy. His tiny museum in Bramber, Sussex, was crammed full of multi-legged kittens, two-headed lambs and a bewildering assortment of curios. Closed in the '70s, the museum was variously re-established before being auctioned off in 2003. It was reported that a GBP1M bid by Damien Hirst to keep the collection intact was refused, but in 2010 many of Potter's key pieces were exhibited by the artist Sir Peter Blake at London's 'Museum of Everything', attracting over 30,000 visitors in 6 weeks. The subsequent dispersal of Potter's works has meant the loss of a truly unique Victorian legacy. Here, perhaps for the last time, the collection is preserved and celebrated with new photographs of Potter's best-loved works.
Reviews of Book and Related Morbid Anatomy Museum ExhibitionThe Bride and Groom Are Kittens. At Death They Did Not Part, The New York Times, 2016
The Kitten’s Wedding and Taxidermy’s Strange History, BBC, 2016
Morbid Anatomy Museum Unearths Some of Damien Hirst’s Favorite Taxidermy, Vice, 2016
Victorian-era Taxidermist Became Master of Weird Art, The New York Post, 29014
Dead and Beautiful: The Art of Taxidermy, The Daily Beast, 2014
Walter Potter’s Wonderfully Twisted Vintage Taxidermy, Vanity Fair, 2014
The Insane Victorian Taxidermy of Walter Potter, Fast Company, 2014
Walter Potter's Curious World of Taxidermy by Dr Pat Morris with Joanna Ebenstein –Review, The Guardian, 2013
T & C Must Read, Town and Country, 2014
The Curious World of Walter Potter – in Pictures, The Guardian, 2013