We've already seen in this blog how museums use preserved animals as part of exhibits(i.e. Bushman, for one), but did you know that the father of the art of taxidermy has heavy connections to Chicago? Well you do now. We are talking about Carl Akeley, a naturalist from the late 19th/early 20th centuries, who(as previously stated) is noted for inventing the art of modern taxidermy(which is the act of stuffing animals in order to preserve them).
Akeley was born in New York in 1864. Growing up, he studied taxidermy before starting an apprenticeship in Rochester. When he was 22, Akeley brought his trade to the Milwaukee Public Museum, where he presented the first ever complete habitat diorama in a museum in 1890. After that, Akeley spend 8 more years perfecting taxidermy techniques in Milwaukee. During that time, he also worked with the Field Museum in Chicago. It was here that he would develop a cement gun that would help make exhibits. Not only that, but his cement gun is today used as the basis of shotcrete. Akeley's talents mainly were in the preservation of African Mammals. He was skilled in fitting skins over a framework, thus ensuring a realistic look to the specimen.
In 1921, Akeley went on a trip to the Belgian Congo, where he collected mountain gorillas for his exhibit. At some point in the trip, he became very enthralled with gorillas, and started to work with African authorities to safeguard them. Sadly, Akeley died of a fever in the Congo while on his fifth expedition to Africa. Carl Akeley was one of the groundbreaking pioneers in the field of taxidermy, a man whose stunning works can be seen at the Field Museum of Natural History.
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