Dr. Peter Hughes of Trinford (1862-1908), in addition to his humdrum duties as a smalltown medical practitioner, was also an enthusiastic amateur taxidermist who constructed a vast quantity of novel and elaborately detailed tableaux featuring dressed and posed stuffed animals.
Dr. Hughes favoured the recreation of scenes from literature and fable, and current events, and his tableaux were immensely popular for a short while, being featured in contemporary popular publications such as Pearson's Magazine, and The Strand Magazine and similar publications. His most well-known was his 'House of Commons', which featured over three hundred vigorously gesticulating rabbits and kittens (representing Liberals and Tories respectively), and which can still be seen by special request at the Trinford County Museum, while his monumental diorama, 'The Battle of Isandlwana' - which sacricifed no less than 112 black kittens to represent Cetewayo's Zulus - met with considerable popular acclaim.
But there was a darker side to Dr. Hughes' taxidermy, which did not come to public notice during his lifetime. He had a number of wealthy admirers of his work who were willing to pay handsomely for various 'special' tableaux to be constructed to their particular specifications. These custom works were never intended for general viewing, and included the following unconventional examples of the taxidermist's art:
* A series of dioramas inspired by De Sade's 'Juliette' in which the unfortunate heroine is represented by a tabby cat and her tormentors by sadistic rabbits, constructed for Lord Bangor, and sadly destroyed in 1917 by order of Lord Bangor's widow.
* Twelve scenes from the works of children's author Beatrix Potter, constructed for a Mr. Hertz of Iowa, which depicted the author's familiar squirrels and bunny rabbits being imaginatively abused by foxes and cats (five of these scenes are known to have survived, but have disappeared into private collections).*
*The author writes "I am informed that "The Ravishment of Miss Jemima Puddleduck" was sold at auction in 2002 in Columbus, Ohio, USA to an anonymous buyer who paid $3,500."
Excerpted from http://www.sottisier.co.uk/victoriana/hughes/index.html
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