Basic Cleaning and Handling of Taxidermy Mounts - 1st Session

Course Overview:

Conservators Bethany Palumbo and Fran Ritchie share their years of experience caring for taxidermy collections and guide students through the cleaning of several museum specimens throughout this two-day course. Day 1 introduces health and safety concerns, followed by discussion and demonstration of materials and techniques for cleaning. Students try their hand at the procedures on mammals, birds, and other types of mounted animals. Day 2 continues the work and adds techniques for removing more stubborn soiling using wet techniques.

By the conclusion of this course, you will be able to safely and effectively take care of your taxidermy collection using learned skills that will be applicable throughout your career or lifetime as a collector. Even the most robust taxidermy mounts are not immune to the effects of time. Historic taxidermy requires different approaches to routine maintenance than freshly-prepared mounts. With proper handling and cleaning techniques that consider the vulnerabilities of age and of different types of taxidermy, collections can survive for hundreds of years.

No previous experience is necessary to attend this course. Information is aimed at taxidermists, taxidermy enthusiasts and early career museum professionals who are unfamiliar with taxidermy collections.

Course Outline:

Day 1: Health and safety concerns, examination and handling, cleaning materials and techniques

Day 2: Further cleaning techniques and guided hands-on work

What INHA Will Provide:

• A cleaning kit for each student.
• Multiple mounts to practice techniques. These mounts are on loan from a local museum, providing students the experience of working on actual specimens.

Supply list (to be supplied by student):

• Students may bring their own mounts to clean, if the taxidermy is not too large for the work space (maximum roughly 3x3 feet or 1x1 meter. These must be approved by the instructors at least 1 week prior to the course to allow time for planning.

About the Instructors:

Bethany Palumbo ACR is Head of Conservation Unit at the Natural History Museum of Denmark and is specialized in the conservation of Natural History collection types, foremost bone material and taxidermy. Previous to this, she was the Conservator of Life Collections at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History (OUMNH) from 2012-2019. She is accredited by the UK Institute for Conservation and has over a decade of conservation experience in the international museum field. Bethany has a BA (2010) and MA (2013) in conservation studies from the University of Lincoln, UK.

Fran Ritchie is an art conservator who specializes in the care and preservation of natural history collections. She has treated and restored taxidermy in museums across the United States, including the American Museum of Natural History, Zion National Park, Biltmore Estate, Buffalo Bill Center of the West, and the Alaska State Museum. A graduate of the art conservation program at Buffalo State College (M.A., C.A.S.), she has also taught graduate students at the Conservation Center of the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University and lead workshops at several meetings of the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections. She is a Professional Associate of the American Institute for Conservation