ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the problematic issue of museum taxidermy storage based on research carried out from 2006–11 at museums in Doncaster, Leicester, Scunthorpe and Sheffield. What immediately became apparent was the sheer quantity of material stored, ‘hidden away’ from the general public, in inaccessible places in basements, under the rafters, and off-site, often uncased, and crammed together in environments which did not appear to be conducive to specimens susceptible to insect infestation, or deterioration from damp. The number of duplicated items and damaged specimens was a surprise, as was the admission that specimens were still being accepted that might never be used, compounded by the lack of qualified staff to restore specimens for possible display, belying their scientific validity. These stores are a vast untapped resource of forgotten histories of collectors and taxidermists, which highlight the partial nature of museum display. With a reluctance to display many items which curators think might cause offence, no doubt due to the discredited circumstances of their colonial acquisition, this serves to distort, if not intentionally censor, a cultural phenomenon that has largely disappeared. The ‘problem’ with what to do with such reservoirs of knowledge, which are costly to maintain, is exacerbated by a reluctance to dispose of items when museums see themselves as, and are seen by society as almost sacred repositories of ‘stuff’ that may be useful at some time in the future. But with cuts to the sector in recent years, they pose a threat to the existence of the ‘visible stores’ of the museum – those ‘lucky enough’ to be on display – especially if there is little supporting documentation to contextualise them. Thus, it is time to rethink museum functions, remove the barriers between delineated areas of display and storage, and create a unified open space that all can access.
