The Acquisitions Table: Taxidermy Without a Teacher

Manton, Walter P. Taxidermy Without a Teacher. So. Framingham [Mass.]: The J.C. Clark Printing Company, 1876.
The author describes how he originally wanted to call this book “Simple Chats on Taxidermy,” and in it he certainly takes a conversational approach after first setting the stage: “I ask the reader to take himself, in imagination, to my work-shop, and to proceed as if I were at his elbow, guiding his hand and explaining to him the mysteries of this mysterious and beautiful art.” What follows is a manual of instruction for preparing and preserving birds and animals, including information on hunting and hygiene. This copy has a blindstamp on the title page from Philbrick James Library and the bookplate of Deerfield Public Library, which declares, among other rules, that “All loud talking or unnecessary noise in the Library room is strictly prohibited.”