Taxidermy Sea Turtle Head

By Rowland Ward

Description: Victorian Sea Turtle Head mounted on original shield. Circa 1900.

We know rather more about Rowland Ward (1848-1912), the youngest and most famous member of the family, than we do about his father or brother, partly through countless references to his business in magazines and newspapers, but more particularly through his autobigraphy A Naturalist's Life Study in the Art of Taxidermy. This was published in 1913, the year following his death, by his own publishing company for private circulation. It was printed in very small edition, possibly as few as fifty copies. Not only is the book therefore rare, it is also a rare kind of book, and is indeed unique in being the only autobiography of a commercial British taxidermist of this era.

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