Walter Potter (no relation to the Peter Rabbit author) was an eccentric nineteenth century taxidermist who condemned small mammals to an eternity of indignities. Here’s a newsreel from the 1960s depicting a visit to Potter’s museum. According to the YouTube description from British Pathe:
The original narrations states “Potter was a genius who made fur-lined dolls into whimsical but veritable works of poetic art”. Of course some people today would see his life’s work as abhorrent and disgusting. He was undoubtedly a true British eccentric.
Some of the tableaus took years to arrange. The museum still exists today but has moved to Devon, and there is a sign there stating that the animals died of natural causes.
You can read more about Potter’s ghoulish little manimals on Morbid Anatomy.
