Antiques & Collecting: Antique taxidermy

What comes to mind when you think of Victorian antiques? Silver-plated tableware, delicate porcelain dinner services, early photographs and daguerreotypes, and souvenirs commemorating Queen Victoria herself?

How about taxidermy? Decorating with preserved animals became fashionable in England by the 1850s and caught on in America in the following decades.

This taxidermy bird diorama was made about 1870. It sold for $3,410, more than twice its high estimate.

If you are interested in buying or selling antique taxidermy, check your Department of Wildlife or Fish and Game for regulations. Some species are illegal to buy or sell.

Birds were especially popular in taxidermy. Bird feathers, and sometimes entire birds, appeared on stylish hats from about 1860 to 1920. Taxidermy was seen as an art and a science.

Displaying preserved animals in the home was considered a way to show both interest in nature and mastery over it. However, not everyone approved of the trend.

Opposition to hunting and killing birds in mass quantities led to the creation of the Massachusetts Audubon Society 1896. The name came from an earlier society founded by a student of wildlife illustrator John James Audubon’s widow.

Similar groups appeared in other states and the National Audubon Society was formed in 1905. It is still operating today.

Years ago, I was given a 3-cent postage machine with a hand crank that was used in drug stores during the war years. It gives three stamps for a dime and was distributed by H.M. Branson Distributing Company, 2nd Street, Louisville, Kentucky. I’d like to know what it’s worth.

The first-class postage rate was 3 cents from July 6, 1932, until Aug. 1, 1958. It was also the rate during World War I, from Nov. 2, 1917, to July 1, 1919.

We found advertisements listing the H.M. Branson Distributing Company as a distributor of Rock-Ola phonographs and Bally pinball machines in the late 1940s to the late 1960s.

Any coin-operated machine sells. Vintage postage machines sell for about $100. If rare, they sell for more.

Tip: Clean the feathers on a stuffed bird with chunks of fresh white bread. After cleaning, spray lightly with hair spray.

Current Prices

Doorstop, cat, lying down on oval rug, cast iron, black, green eyes, Albany Foundry, No. 77, 3 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches, $585.

Toy, motorcycle, camouflage pattern, military man rider in uniform, leather strap with rifle, Union Cord on tires, key wind, siren, Arnold, 7 inches, $925.

Salt and pepper shakers, sterling silver, frog form, textured backs, marked, Tiffany & Co., 1967, 2 x 2 inches, pair, $1,375.