JOHN GOULD, CIRCA 1850

John Gould (1804-1881) started his career in natural history as a taxidermist. By the age of 21 he was working for King George IV, receiving several Royal commissions, including one for the stuffing of a giraffe in 1830. Gould also acquired an abiding interest in hummingbirds, forming an extensive collection, and publishing A monograph of the Trochilidae, or family of humming-birds (1849-61). In 1851, Gould exhibited a large number of his stuffed hummingbirds in glass cases in the Zoological Gardens in Regents Park, as part of the Great Exhibition. Gould remained an avid collector of hummingbirds; his daughter recalled that "their Victorian drawing-room...gradually became filled to overflowing with cases of humming-birds as her father's collection grew" (Jackson, p. 50). Gould continued to practice taxidermy until late in his life. After Gould's death in 1881, 50 cases of his stuffed hummingbirds were acquired by the Natural History Museum, and exhibited. However, a significant number were damaged during the war or suffered neglect during the early part of the 20th century, and today the Museum retains only six.

PLEASE NOTE. The buyer will need to identify the species to export outside the EU.