Two Allegorical Figures, Lithograph, Wellcome Images

Two allegorical figures: a skeleton holding a scythe and a ball of fire stands next to a female figure. Lithograph. 

Via Wellcome Images.

"Ink and Silver: Medicine, Photography, and the Printed Book, 1845-1880," Columbia University Medical Center, NYC

Stephen E. Novak--Head, Archives & Special Collections at A.C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University Medical Center--just sent word of this wonderful looking free lecture on 19th century medicine and photography taking place at Columbia University Medical Center on Thursday, April 3. Full details follow. Hope very much to see you there

History of the Health Sciences Lecture Series
Ink and Silver: Medicine, Photography, and the Printed Book, 1845-1880
Stephen J. Greenberg, MSLS, PhD, Coordinator of Public Services, History of Medicine Division, National Library of Medicine
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Refreshments, 5:30, Lecture 6pm
Russ Berrie Pavilion, Room 1
1150 St. Nicholas Avenue at West 168th Street
Sponsored by the Columbia University Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library
Free and Open to the Public

The impact of the introduction of photography after 1839 on the arts and popular culture has long been extensively explored.  The use of photography in medicine has also attracted the interest of historians and archivists, resulting in many significant collections of material both in public and private hands.

However, far too often, individual images have been made to stand alone, far removed from their original context, and therefore mysterious to the viewer. Why were these pictures taken? Who saw them? Were they meant for private study or professional publication?  How did they reflect the techniques and aesthetics of the rest of contemporary photography? Most importantly, how, in a purely technical sense, did one produce and publish medical photographs in the 19th century?

Dr. Greenberg will address the use of photography in 19th-century printed medical books, both from technological and aesthetic viewpoints, using the vast photographic resources of the National Library of Medicine to highlight milestones in the history of medical photography, and to explain how they were presented to the viewer.

The lecture is on Thursday, April 3 at 6pm in Room 1 of the Russ Berrie Pavilion.  Refreshments will be served beginning at 5:30.

Image: from G.-B. Duchenne’s 1862 Mecanisme de la Physionomie Humaine.

The Museo Roca, The Parade of Monsters, and Spanish Popular Anatomical Museums at The Barcelona Congress for Curious People!

Last week, we celebrated day one of the Barcelona Congress for Curious People with a special "Medicine and Science in Old Barcelona" walking tour; it featured a variety of anatomically-themed lectures, including one in the astounding 18th Century Royal Academy of Medicine's Anatomical Theatre, and another by Enric H. March--author of the wonderful (but sadly Catalan language only) blog Bereshit--on the history of popular anatomical museums in Barcelona such as the Museo Roca and its "Parade of Monsters."

March explained to me that he became interested in popular anatomical museums when he happened upon some ephemera related to The Museo Roca at a local antique shop in 2008. He has since done a great deal of research, including some in tandem with Alfons Zarzoso--curator of the Museu d'Història de la Medicina de Catalunya--who was the first to introduce me to the topic many years ago. We ended up featuring a number of pieces from this collection for the Wellcome Collection's 2009 exhibition Exquisite Bodies: or the Curious and Grotesque History of the Anatomical Model.

El Periódico, a much read Spanish newspaper, ran a lovely piece about our day of anatomy, featuring an interview with March about his work, popular anatomical museums in general and the Museo Roca; you can see the article by clicking here, or read it in English (via Google Translate, with a few of my own fine tunings) following.

Above are some images, and also an utterly mind-blowing video montage by Yolanda Fontal which March included in his talk. It features, among other things, a walk-through of the collection when it was still in private hands in Barcelona. VERY much worth a watch, but also, due to horrific diseased genitals, definitely NSFW.

If this is of interest, definitely check out Enric H. March amazing Bereshit blog by clicking here.

The Museum of Horrors

Museum Roca came to Barcelona in 1900 as a show where people queued to see naked bodies. A Belgian billionaire bought the collection and exhibits in Antwerp

Archive Museum of Roca
Diseases and newspaper. The consequences of venereal diseases were spreading to Chinatown.

Phenomena like the giant spider from Japan, the Siamese twins, monsters, real human fetuses, creepy close-ups of genitals deformed by venereal diseases. All this and many more dreadful images formed the Roca Museum, founded by Francisco Roca, a professional illusionist and promoter of shows in Carrer Nou de la Rambla 1900.

Locals lined up to see what was exhibited in those rooms: waxworks naked and slit open to show the inside of the body, and other amazing and creepy images aroused popular curiosity for the medical or educational interest. "Impressionable people should abstain from entering," warned a poster at the entrance of the museum, which years later moved to Parallel, and ended with the pieces stored for decades in a storage room.

Sale and transfer
"Francis Arellano, collector and antiques dealer, bought the entire collection. Nobody in Barcelona was interested, and they ended at the hands of a Belgian millionaire currently who currently exhibits them in his private residence in Antwerp," reveals Enric H. March, author of the blog Bereshit, yesterday during the first day of the Congress of Curious People, held until March 2 in Barcelona. He gave an illustrated lecture on the history of anatomical museums during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, notably the the Roca Museum.

"It was an exhibition of wax figures depicting the human body, its physiology in health and also ravaged bycertain diseases, especially venereal ones," explains March." It was the time when the scientific expositions revealed, and museums began to exhibit what until then were private collections. Between 1849 and 1938, there were 26 anatomical collections on view in Barcelona." March is particularly interested in the Roca Museum's sociological aspect, wherein the popular of such museum rose along with a more general interest in health and hygiene.

The museum was founded Roca supported by the gentry, but soon become a popular show."Went into decline when the film came to Barcelona," he says. No longer interested or famous anatomical Venus, who not only showed their female sexual organs, pubic hair also." Something unthinkable in any graphic expression of the time, even in artistic representations."

"Machina del Mondo," Etching with Hand-Coloring, 1675-1710

 

"Machina del Mondo, ogn'un cerca di star sopra il compagno;" etching with hand-coloring, 1675-1710

Described on the British Museum website thusly: "A pyramid of ten persons climbing on top of each other, the poor at the bottom, the king at the top; Death appears to take them all."

Found via BibliOdyssey; more here.

Happy Valentine's Day and Hope to See You at "Privately Published: A Descent Into Early 20th Century Mail Order Erotica": Our Very Special Valentine’s Day Event with Cocktails by Friese Undine!

Happy Valentine's Day to you all from Morbid Anatomy, and hope to see you tonight at Colin Dickey's illustrated talk "Privately Published: A Descent Into Early 20th Century Mail Order Erotica" with artisinal cocktails by Friese Undine!

Full information about the event can be found here.

Thanks to Friese Undine for finding this wonderful image!

“Folly and Death," Magic Lantern or Phantasmagoria Slide?

“Folly and Death,” from the Joel Rubin collection of Kliegl slides, Theatre Research Institute; magic lantern or Phantasmagoria slide?

Via Ohio State University Libraries. More here.

Congress for Curious People in Barcelona, Spain for Carnival Week! February 26 - March 2, 2014!

This year, Morbid Anatomy is delighted to be co-presenting--along with Aaron Beebe, Via Barcelona and Kriminal Kabarett--a special Barcelona, Spain-based Congress for Curious People! Scheduled to coincide with Carnival (February 26 - March 2), this week-long cultural festival is dedicated to the history of Carnival and to enlightenment-era Barcelona in general. It will highlight the unusual and hidden sides of Barcelona via special walking tours, conferences, dinners, decadent costume parties, and more.

A list of events follow; for full details on all, click here. All events will be in Spanish with English translation. Hope very much to see you there!

Also: if any of you out there have must-see suggestions for Madrid or Barcelona, I would love to hear them! Just shoot me an email at morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com.

Barcelona, Spain Congress for Curious People
Dates: February 26 - March 2
Admission: Varies; see website for more info
Tickets can be purchased by emailing curiouscongressbcn@gmail.com or calling 34677360980
Presented by
** All programs in Spanish with English Translation

This year, the Congress for Curious People will travel to Barcelona to help celebrate Carnival Week with a week-long cultural festival highlighting the unusual side of Barcelona. For a single, action-packed week, we will satisfy your curiosity through special activities, cultural itineraries, conferences and exclusive dinners and parties. The Congress is dedicated to the history of Carnival and to the city of Barcelona in its age of Enlightenment after 1714, and will take the form of special visits and walking tours, decadent parties, and talks on the history of medicine and science between the XV and XVIII centuries. 

SCHEDULE

Wednesday, February 26

Medicine and Science in Old Barcelona
A guided tour of The “Royal College of Surgeons,” which will open the doors of the sumptuous anatomical amphitheater, one of the best preserved in the world with lectures and discussions about natural history and sciences, medicine and Barcelona curiosities. More here. 

Thursday, February 27

Bunkers and Mansions: Secrets of Tibidado Avenue Walking Tour
An unusual tour through the splendour and the decadence of the bourgeois Barcelona in the former village of “Sant Gervasi.” The itinerary will follow the path of aristocratic and orientalist residences with enigmatic stories, featuring the luxurious mansions in the “Golden Twenties” to the lights and shadows of the Second Spanish Republic and the Civil War as well as a visit to the palace which hosted the Soviet embassy in 1936 and its impressive bunker, shelter for one of the most famous spies in the XX century. More here.

Friday, February 28
The Unusual Side of Gracia Walking Tour
A walking tour of "Gràcia”, an independent village until 1897, is well known today for being one of the biggest cultural centers in Barcelona, with dynamic societies and one of the most emblematic festivals in our country. Here, you to discover its history and above all, the most surprising curiosities in the district. Topics will include the legends in “plaça de la Virreina” and the “Devil’s House”, the clocks of Gracia, revolutions and freemasonry and the circle of spiritist women in the late XIX century. The tour will include a visit inside the private garden of fabulous fairy tale palace: “Casa Vicens”, designed by Gaudí. More here. 

Friday, February 28

Noir Masquerade
Tonight will celebrate our "Noir Masquerade" inside theAtelier de la Muerte Negra-- a private death museum in the heart of "Gràcia". This is the masterpiece of Otilio Salazar, a fashion designer and artist who paid a tribute to the anthropology of death in ancient cultures (Egypt, Rome, medieval Europe, Japan...) More here. 

Saturday, March 1

The Masonic Barcelona and the Athenaeum Minerva Walking Tour
This is a walking tour about the history of freemasonry and its privileged relationship with Barcelona. It will include stops at "Parc de la Ciutadella," not far from the “Arús Public Library,”a former lodge and a sanctuary for XIX century knowledge. We will continue with a fascinating tour exploring masonic urbanism and the “Congress of Spiritism” during the Universal Exhibition in 1888, the hermetic gates in the monastery of Saint Agustine, the Napoleonic invasion and freemasonry, XVIII century esoterism and the visit of count Cagliostro, and the secrets of the Templar Knights in the medieval royal palace. Specially for us, the members of the “Simbolic Lodge of Spain” will open their lodge, the "Athenaeum Minerva", in the heart of the medieval city. An exceptional oportunity to discover an institution which has been an enormous influence for arts, science, architecture and philosophy. More here.

Saturday, March 1
Surrealist Dinner
Kriminal Kabarett presents its first SURREALIST DINNER , an evening of Carnival in the mythical "Taxidermist" in Plaza Real, now occupied by the Mariscco restaurant. This is dedicated to the taxidermist as one of the favorite places of Salvador Dali in Barcelona, and whose fascination for good food eventually led him to publish in 1973 a book of culinary arts, "Les diners de Gala". This dinner will  join two passions of this Genius: gastronomy and the animal kingdom, to recall the surrealist dinners for which he was famous during his stays in Paris and New York. The menu will be inspired by Catalan and Mediterranean cuisine: opening tapas and then seafood. Water, wine and dessert are included. Gin provided by Hendricks. More here. 

Sunday, March 2

Libertine Barcelona- Erotic Tour from the XVIII Century
This is a walking tour of Rococo Barcelona, a city in the Age of Enlightement after the dramatic episodes of 1714. The count of Peralada and Diana, his courtesan, will guide you through the erotic adventures of Giacomo Casanova when he visited our city in 1768, the masked balls organized by the governor, the mysteries of Count Cagliostro, the erudite circle in “Palau Dalmases” and the libertine general Lecchi under Napoleonic rule. A theatralised and sexy tour for Carnival, performed by the artist Lady Bon Bon and sponsored by Isabel Capdevila from “aDa Art Gallery”, who created precious costumes. The tour will finish in the "Palace Gomis", a XVIII century building near Picasso Museum. Inside its spectacular ballroom, we will celebrate a conference about sex and pornography in the XIX century Spain (by Albert Domenech, writer in the bibliophile blog "Piscolabis Librorum"). More here.

Valentine's Week at Morbid Anatomy: Pseudo-Scientific Porn, Vintage Erotica, Chastity Belts, Occult Egypt and Singles Night with Jawbreaker's Blake Schwarzenbach!

Happy almost Valentine's Day! To celebrate (or express disdain!) why not join us for one of our very many excellent offerings this week at Morbid Anatomy Presents in Brooklyn, New York?
First up: tomorrow night (Monday, Feb 10) is our first ever Morbid Anatomy singles night (!!!) hosted by Daisy Tainton with DJ Blake Schwarzenbach (former frontman of Jawbreaker!) which is sure to be a great time! The following evening (Tuesday, Feb 11) we are delighted to present "Women Who Bite: Chastity Belts, Castration Anxiety and Feminism" with Art Historian Karen Bachmann followed by "The ‘After’ Life: Death in Ancient Egypt" with the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Ava Forte Vitali on (Thursday, Feb 13).

On Valentine's Day proper, we would love to see you at Colin Dickey's illustrated exposé on the pseudo-scientific underworld of "Gentleman's Erotica" entitled "Privately Published: A Descent Into Early 20th Century Mail Order Erotica" with artisinal cocktails by Friese Undine (Friday, Feb 14). If that is not enough vintage erotica for you, why not pair it with the inimitable Mel Gordon's "Erotic Guide to Paris at Night, Circa 1936" taking place the very next night (Saturday, Feb 15). This highly illustrated talk will be augmented by screenings of rare vintage films showcasing the illicit world of luxury brothels, gay and lesbian cabarets, nudist supper clubs, lavish music hall productions, and love cult initiations of 1930s Paris.

Other upcoming talks at Morbid Anatomy include "Hierarchies of the Dead: Bodysnatching in Old New York" with Bess Lovejoy, author of Rest in Pieces: The Curious Fates of Famous Corpses (Tuesday, Feb 18); "Selfies At Funerals: Postmortem Photography and Cultural Taboos" with Halli Gomberg (Thursday, Feb 20) and "Death in a Nutshell: Frances Glessner Lee and the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death" with special guest Bruce Goldfarb, executive assistant to the Chief Medical Examiner of Maryland (Thursday, Feb 27).

We also have a field trip on Saturday, March 29 to Baltimore with tour guide--and rogue taxidermist-- Robert Marbury, whose Baltimore credentials include a star turn as "Angelic Boyfriend" in John Waters' Cry-Baby. Stops along the way will include The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Baltimore, where assistant to the examiner Bruce Golfarb will lead us on a special tour The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death, a collection of obsessively detailed miniature dioramic death scenes, hand-crafted in the 1940s and Scarpetta House, a full-sized furnished room donated in which death scenes are staged to train forensic investigators. We will also visit the Great Blacks in Wax Museum and the grave of Edgar Allan Poe, where we will engage in a traditional Cognac toast.

For those more interested in perfecting their arcane skills, we also have a number of excellent classes including Anthropomorphic Mouse Taxidermy Class (Sunday, Feb 23); Bunny Taxidermy/ Jackalope Class (Sunday, March 2); Melanistic Pheasant Taxidermy Class (Saturday, March 8); Squirrel Taxidermy Class (Sunday, March 23rd); Bat Skeleton in Glass Dome Workshop (Sunday, March 26); and Winged Rats or Guinea Pigs Taxidermy Class (Sunday, April 6th),

Full details follow on all events and workshops follow; hope very much to see you at one or more of these terrific events! You can also always find a full list of events on our Facebook page by clicking here.

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Morbid Curiosity: A Morbid Anatomy Singles Night
Hosted by Daisy Tainton with DJ Blake Schwarzenbach, former frontman of Jawbreaker and Jets to Brazil
Date: Monday, February 10
Time: 8:00
Admission: $15 (includes one free adult beverage)
Tickets can be purchased here.
Location: Observatory (543 Union Street at Nevin, Brooklyn; enter via Proteus Gowanus Gallery)

Single? Different? Want to meet some like-minded New Yorkers? Do your perspective paramours often tell you you're weird, or ask you why you are so interested in those creepy things? If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, we hope you'll join us this Valentine's Day week for Morbid Curiosity: A Morbid Anatomy Singles Night!

More info here.
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Women Who Bite: Chastity Belts, Castration Anxiety and Feminism: Illustrated lecture with Art Historian and Master Jeweler Karen Bachmann
Date: Tuesday, February 11
Time: 8:00
Admission: $8
Location: Observatory (543 Union Street at Nevin, Brooklyn; enter via Proteus Gowanus Gallery)

Humankind's earliest cultures were matriarchal in nature. The advent of agrarian civilization witnessed women’s power gradually devalued by a growing patriarchy. Both Western and Eastern cultures have folklore and art history attesting to the leitmotif of the strong, fierce, and aggressively sexual woman rising against oppressive male authority. Tonight’s lecture--just in time for Valentine's Day!--will explore the myths, fables, and visual representations of the ferocious, toothed woman. Such imagery includes: chastity belts (and their development), male castration anxiety, vengeful goddesses, the femme fatale, Amazon warriors, and "vagina dentata." These subjects will be explored in all their frightening, savage, erotic and often humorous incarnations.

More info here.

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The ‘After’ Life: Death in Ancient Egypt: Illustrated lecture with Ava Forte Vitali, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Date: Thursday, February 13
Time: 8:00 PM
Admission: $8
Part of the Death and The Occult in the Ancient World Series
Location: Observatory (543 Union Street at Nevin, Brooklyn; enter via Proteus Gowanus Gallery)

When one considers Death and the Occult in the Ancient World, often the first culture that comes to mind is that of the Ancient Egyptians. Known for their elaborate tombs, complicated religious texts, and captivating mummies, the Ancient Egyptian fascination with death has captivated public interest for centuries. This inaugural lecture in our new monthly series will introduce the mortuary beliefs, traditions, and archaeology of the Ancient Egyptians and examine whether or not they were as morbidly focused as they have traditionally been portrayed to be.

More info here.
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Privately Published: A Descent Into Early 20th Century Mail Order Erotica: A Special Valentine's Day Event: An illustrated lecture by Colin Dickey, author of Cranioklepty and Afterlives of the Saints with drinks and music by Friese Undine
Date: Friday, February 14
Time: 8:00
Admission: $12
Location: Observatory (543 Union Street at Nevin, Brooklyn; enter via Proteus Gowanus Gallery)

Tonight, join writer Colin Dickey for a peek into the world of early 20th century mail-order erotica. In order to evade post office censors, smut peddlers like Panurge Press and Falstaff Press were obligated to dress up their offerings with a veneer of scientific dross, resulting in works that were too smutty to be of any real scientific or sociological value, and yet too riddled with academic nonsense to be properly erotic. A curiously forgotten and nearly nonsensical sub-genre, these books exist in between the finely-drawn lines of obscenity and free speech, pornography and literature, and titillation and scientific inquiry. Colin will share the history of these odd publishers and choice examples from his library, including works like White Meat, Praeputii Incisio, Black Opium, The Sword and Womankind, and An Anthropological Cabinet of Curiosities. Come for the lecture, and stay for delicious artisinal cocktails and thematic tunes courtesy of Friese Undine.

More info here.
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An Erotic Guide to Paris at Night, Circa 1936
Illustrated Lecture and Vintage Films with Mel Gordon, author of Voluptious Panic: The Erotic World of Weimar Berlin
Date: Saturday, February 15
Time: 8:00
Admission: $8
Location: Observatory (543 Union Street at Nevin, Brooklyn; enter via Proteus Gowanus Gallery)

Tonight, the night after Valentine's Day, please join Voluptious Panic: The Erotic World of Weimar Berlin author Mel Gordon for a highly illustrated lecture in which he traces the standard and atypical paths that international sex tourists followed during the heyday of Paris' most unfettered years. He will also screen rare filmic exposes of luxury brothels, gay and lesbian cabarets, nudist supper clubs, lavish music hall productions, and love cult initiations. The vast majority of the visual materials shown tonight have never been presented since the 1930s and were purchased from private collectors.

More info here.
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Hierarchies of the Dead: Bodysnatching in Old New York
Illustrated lecture by Bess Lovejoy, author of Rest in Pieces: The Curious Fates of Famous Corpses
Date: Tuesday, February 18
Time: 8:00
Admission: $8
Presented by Morbid Anatomy

Stealing corpses for anatomical dissection was a way of life for New York’s earliest medical schools. It was even the spark that led to the nation’s first riot, in 1788. But who were the earliest bodysnatchers, how did they operate, and whose graves were they plundering? In this illustrated lecture, Rest in Pieces author Bess Lovejoy will discuss this forgotten chapter of New York’s medical history, with some stops in points South. She’ll also cover some archeological research on the victims of the bodysnatchers, and how they have been remembered in the New York of today.

More info here.
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Selfies At Funerals: Postmortem Photography and Cultural Taboos: An Illustrated Lecture By Halli Gomberg
Date: Thursday, February 20
Time: 8:00 PM
Admission: $8
Location: Observatory (543 Union Street at Nevin, Brooklyn; enter via Proteus Gowanus Gallery)

Is the phenomenon of “Selfies At Funerals” a new manifestation of social media narcissism, or the last in a long line of older post mortem cultural practices? This talk will explore the complex attitudes towards death and photography over the course of American history, fom its precursors in painted deathbed portraiture, through Victorian postmortem and medical school dissection photographs and into newly emerging technologies. We will examine how society deals with our private and public mourning rituals, and why postmortem remembrance imagery can still be a cultural taboo.

More info here.

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Anthropomorphic Mouse Taxidermy Class with Divya Anantharaman
Date: Sunday, February 23
Time: 12:00pm - 5pm
Admission: $110
SOLD OUT; email morbidanatomylibrary [at] gmail.com to be put on wait list

Location: Offsite: Morbid Anatomy Museum (New Space), 424 A 3rd Avenue ( Corner of 7th Street and 3rd Avenue ), 11215 Brooklyn, NY

Anthropomorphic taxidermy--a practice in which taxidermied animals are posed as if engaged in human activities--was an artform made famous by Victorian taxidermist and museologist Walter Potter. In this class, as profiled by the New York Times, students will learn to create--from start to finish--anthropomorphic mice inspired by the charming and imaginative work of Mr. Potter. Your final project might take the form of a bespectacled, whiskey swilling, top hat tipping mouse; or perhaps a rodent mermaid queen of the burlesque world? With some props and some artful styling, your mouse can become whatever or whomever you want; this is the joy of anthropomorphic taxidermy.

More info here.

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Death in a Nutshell: Frances Glessner Lee and the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death: Illustrated lecture with Bruce Goldfarb, executive assistant to the Chief Medical Examiner of Maryland
Date: Thursday, February 27
Time: 8:00
Admission: $8
Location: Observatory (543 Union Street at Nevin, Brooklyn; enter via Proteus Gowanus Gallery)

The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death is an extraordinary collection of miniature dioramic death scenes, hand-crafted in the 1940s in obsessive detail by Frances Glessner Lee. They were -- and still are -- used to train police in the methods of forensic death investigation. Lee, a wealthy socialite with no formal education who in middle age was commissioned by the New Hampshire State Police, is considered the mother of modern, scientific death investigation; she is also said to be the inspiration for the character of Jessica Fletcher in Murder, She Wrote. Ttonight's illustrated lecture will tell the fascinating story of Frances Glessner Lee and her Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death. Later, on Saturday, March 29th, join Morbid Anatomy for a special field trip to Baltimore featuring a tour of The Nutshells and the forensic facilities by Mr. Goldfarb. Visits to additional "Charm City" highlights will be organized with the help of our guide, rogue taxidermist and "angelic boyfriend" Robert Marbury."

More info here.
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Bunny Taxidermy/ Jackalope Class with Rogue Taxidermist Katie Innamorato
Date: Sunday, March 2
Time: 12 – 6 PM
Admission: $275
***Tickets must be pre-purchased here
Location: Offsite: Morbid Anatomy Museum (New Space), 424 A 3rd Avenue ( Corner of 7th Street and 3rd Avenue), 11215 Brooklyn , NY Subway: 4th Av - 9th Street (R - F - G) 

This class will introduce students to the process and techniques behind more advanced basic small mammal taxidermy. Students will learn how to skin, prep, preserve, mount, and position the animal. Attention will be focused on how to properly split, turn, and position rabbit ears. Basic armatures will be used and custom made forms (made by me) will be provided. Students will learn how to make a custom body for their specimens using an old traditional taxidermy technique of wrapping a body. Using the carcass for reference, students will learn how to build up and craft the bodies. Students encouraged to bring in any props they may want to dress the animal up in. I will provide all specimens, materials, and tools for the class. Each student will leave with his or her own finished mount.

More here.
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Melanistic Pheasant Taxidermy Class-Intermediate level class with Divya Anantharaman
Date: Saturday, March 8
Time: 1 pm - 5pm
Admission: $435
SOLD OUT; email morbidanatomylibrary [at] gmail.com to be put on wait list
Location: Offsite: Morbid Anatomy Museum (New Space), 424 A 3rd Avenue ( Corner of 7th Street and 3rd Avenue), 11215 Brooklyn , NY
Limited class size of 3 people

In this exclusive intermediate level workshop, we learn about the melanistic pheasant and classic bird taxidermy. These large, beautiful birds are a mutation of the common pheasant, first observed in the 1800s, and bred as a mutation in the 1920's/30's. Known for their unique coloration, exquisitely patterned feathers and iridescent green/black/purple plumage, these are very special birds!

More info here.
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Squirrel Taxidermy Class with Rogue Taxidermist Katie Innamorato
Date: Sunday, March 23rd
Time: 12 – 6 PM
Admission: $300
Must Pre-Purchase Tickets Here
*** Offsite: Morbid Anatomy Museum (New Space) , 424 A 3rd Avenue (Corner of 7th Street and 3rd Avenue), 11215 Brooklyn , NY

This class will introduce students to basic small mammal taxidermy processes. Each student will be provided with his or her own squirrel, which they will skin, flesh, split, and prep for mounting. Students will learn how to make a custom body for their specimens using an old traditional taxidermy technique of wrapping a body. Using the carcass for reference, students will learn how to build up and craft the bodies. Students are encouraged to bring in any props they may want to dress the animal up in. I will provide all specimens, materials, and tools for the class. Each student will leave with his or her own finished mount.

More here.
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Bat in Glass Dome Workshop With Wilder Duncan (formerly of Evolution Store, Soho) and Laetitia Barbier, head librarian at The Morbid Anatomy Library
Date: Sunday, March 26
Time: 1 – 6 PM
Admission: $200
*** Tickets must be pre-purchased here
Location: Offsite: Morbid Anatomy Museum (New Space), 424 A 3rd Avenue ( Corner of 7th Street and 3rd Avenue), 11215. Brooklyn, NY

In this class, students will learn how to create an osteological preparation of a bat in the fashion of 19th century zoological displays. A bat skeleton, a glass dome, branches, glue, tools, and all necessary materials will be provided for each student, but one should feel welcome to bring small feathers, stones, dried flowers, dead insects, natural elements, or any other materials s/he might wish to include in his/her composition. Students will leave the class with a visually striking, fully articulated, “lifelike” bat skeleton posed in a 10” tall glass dome. This piece can, in conjunction with the other creations in the DIY Wunderkammer workshop series, act as the beginning of a genuine collection of curiosities!

More here.

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Morbid Anatomy Baltimore Field-Trip Featuring The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death
Date: Saturday, March 29th
Cost: $100 (includes luxury ground transportation in Baltimore and all museum admissions.
Tickets can be found by clicking here

Location: Baltimore, MD
Please note: This price DOES NOT cover bus transportation between New York and Baltimore, or meals. please email morbidanatomylibrary [at] gmail.com with questions.

Today, join Morbid Anatomy for a day of wondrous frolics in “Charm City” with special tour guide--and rogue taxidermist!--Robert Marbury, whose Baltimore credentials include a star turn as Ricky Lake's "Angelic Boyfriend” in John Waters' Cry-Baby.

Stops include The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Baltimore, where assistant to the examiner Bruce Golfarb will lead us on a special tour of The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death, a collection of obsessively detailed miniature dioramic death scenes, hand-crafted in the 1940s and still used to train police in the methods of forensic death investigation; Scarpetta House, a full-sized furnished room donated by mystery novelist Patricia Cornwell in which death scenes are staged to train forensic investigators; the Great Blacks in Wax Museum; and the grave of Edgar Allan Poe, where we will engage in a traditional Cognac toast. Throughout the day, our delightful guide will also share with us his favorite Baltimore sights, and regale us with stories of the secret, fascinating, bizarre and sometimes tragic history of the city known affectionately as "Mobtown.

Full info here.

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Winged Rats or Guinea Pigs Taxidermy Class with Rogue Taxidermist Katie Innamorato
Date: Sunday, April 6th
Time: 12 – 6 PM
Admission: $225
Must Pre-Purchase Tickets Here
*** Offsite: Morbid Anatomy Museum (New Space) , 424 A 3rd Avenue (Corner of 7th Street and 3rd Avenue), 11215 Brooklyn , NY

This class will introduce students to basic small mammal taxidermy processes. Each student will be provided with his or her own squirrel, which they will skin, flesh, split, and prep for mounting. Students will learn how to make a custom body for their specimens using an old traditional taxidermy technique of wrapping a body. Using the carcass for reference, students will learn how to build up and craft the bodies. Students are encouraged to bring in any props they may want to dress the animal up in. I will provide all specimens, materials, and tools for the class. Each student will leave with his or her own finished mount.

More here.

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Full list and more information on all events can be found here. More on the Morbid Anatomy Art Academy can be found here.

Top image: Vintage Valentine's Day card sourced here

Morbid Anatomy Library In The New York Times; Open Tomorrow (Saturday, February 8) 2-6 PM; No Appointment Necessary!

Curious to know more about our own Brooklyn-based Morbid Anatomy Library? If so, you could do much worse than to check out this lovely writeup in The New York Times entitled "Death in the Afternoon, Then Drinks."

If the library seems of interest, why not pay us a visit? We are open to the public every Saturday from 2-6 PM; our next open day is tomorrow, February 8. We are located at 543 Union Street, (at Nevins). enter via Proteus Gowanus Gallery. Admission is free although, as the article mentions, "donations are accepted, both monetary and material." Some of our donated object include "a pair of emu feet and the human skeleton — a medical teaching model — [which] are here 'basically because wives wanted to get them out of the house.'"

Hope to see you at the library very soon!

Photo by Michael Kirby Smith, drawn from The New York Times story.

Corpses of Siamese twins, Everard Crijnsz. van der Maes, 1630, The Hague Historical Museum

Corpses of Siamese twins, Everard Crijnsz. van der Maes, 1630, The Hague Historical Museum. This image was kindly sent in by Morbid Anatomy reader Pipi Lotta in the Netherlands, who explains:

This painting was painted by order of the Court of Holland and donated to the Theatrum Anatomicum. In 1628 the States of Holland had payed Gerrit Claesse from Woerden 50 guilders for the bodies of his Siamese daughters. The Government wanted to do autopsy in the examination hall of the Theatrum Anatomicum and do so research on conjoined twins.

Apparently it was such a special event that the painter Van der Maes was commissioned to make a painting of it. He got paid for 36 guilders.

To read about this painting in the original dutch, click here. To find out more about the exhibition in which it was shown, click here.

Invisible Cabinets: A Glimpse into the Morbid Anatomy "Gentlemen’s Erotica" Section: Guest post by Laetitia Barbier

In the run up to Valentine's Day and its attendent festivities, I asked Morbid Anatomy Library head Librarian Laetitia Barbier to write a bit about a "mini-collection" tucked discreetly away in our own "special collections" cabinet. Following is her post; To learn more about the history of these enigmatic publications, you won't want to miss Colin Dickey's Valentine's Day lecture "Privately Published: A Descent Into Early 20th Century Mail Order Erotica;" more on that can be found here. 

As a Parisian student, I was fascinated with the idea that our National Library once conserved its most licentious material in a reclused section conveniently named “The Hell.” Confiscated over the centuries by the French authorities, piles of erotic publications and other unchaste artifacts were gathered on the shelves of the storage room, labeled “ENFER” and cast away from general public appreciation. Stored aside to prevent “ moral contamination” and only visible to a few scholars under very strict conditions, the censored hoard flourished to become a secret yet abundant collection. “L’enfer” was the academic repository of mankind’s most untamed fantasies.

Is there such a “Hell” section in the Morbid Anatomy Library? Do we hide from public eyes risqué publications that might cause our visitors to blush? The answer is, of course, yes. And our very own purgatory section, locked in our dark wood Victorian cabinet, we call “Gentlemen’s Erotica.”

Among the bizarre treasures enclosed in our “Gentleman’s Erotica” section, two volumes bear nearly the same title in an identical layout with elegant, elegant typography. A private Anthropological Cabinet of the Hermaphrodite, supposedly from 1903 and his homonymous twin, published thirty years later, presenting 500 Authentic Racial-Esoteric Photographs and Illustrations. In fact, it is more likely that both “private Cabinets” were published around 1930, begat by Falstaff press - an American publishing house who discretely provide these pseudo-scientific compendiums by mail, sometime antedating their publication to avoid censorship. On a boastful frontispiece, both books indeed guarantee an illustrated journey through “scientific explorations” and “Museum archives” to “mature subscribers only” but because of their unassuming covers, the majority of the Morbid Anatomy visitors never give them any attention. These books were, indeed, just as invisible in a family man’s study, safely incognito in the multitude of books. Nonetheless, the few of us who did open them know how explicit and disturbingly sexy these aphrodisiacal little publications are. "Educational" literature, they blurred every line between good and bad taste with the latent vocation to arouse their masculine and voyeur audience.

If you want a better sense of what lies hidden within these books, join us this Valentine's Day for Colin Dickey's heavily-illustrated lecture "Privately Published: A Descent Into Early 20th Century Mail Order Erotica." And, for the boldest among you, feel free to ask the Gentleman’s Erotica section next time you’ll visit the Morbid Anatomy Library.

This is the second guest post Laetitia has written based on her favorite books in the Morbid Anatomy Library; to see all posts by Laetitia, click here. Click on images to see larger, more detailed versions.

Syphilitic Moulages, White Chocolate Carrion Crow Skulls, and Hand Printed Anatomical Postcards : Valentine's Day Gifts at the Morbid Anatomy Museum Giftshop!

Looking for a Valentine's Day gift for that special--and perhaps slightly eccentric and hard to shop for--someone? The Morbid Anatomy Museum Gift Shop might have just the thing.

Perhaps your beloved might appreciate a unique, ready to hang wax moulage depicting secondary syphilis of the face, handcrafted by our "Moulagist in Residence" Nicole Antebi (top image/$100; more here)? 

If that's not quite right, then perhaps one of our exclusive limited edition hand-printed anatomical postcards by Brooklyn artist Mark Splatter (second image down/$2; more here) would fit the bill? 

Or maybe a better fit would be one of our Morbid Anatomy Calendars (now on sale for only $12; regularly $20!) filled with photographs of uncanny objects found in obscure collections, and noting such dates such as the birthday of Edward Gorey, the first performance at Paris' Théâtre du Grand-Guignol, Dia de los Muertos and Santa Muerte's Feast Day (third image down/$12; more here)? 

If your sweetie prefers sweets, then perhaps our white Belgian chocolate carrion crow skull (now on sale for only $16; regularly $20!) by UK based Conjurers Kitchen might be of interest (fourth image down/On sale for $16; more here)? 

If not, then perhaps they might fancy a set of four Morbid Anatomy Museum coasters with our logo--a fetal skeleton from Frederik Ruysch's early 18th century book "Thesaurus Anatomicus," illustration by Cornelius Huyberts--might be just the thing (fifth image down/4 for $5; more here)?

You can find out more about all of these objects by clicking here. You can see all the Morbid Anatomy Museum offerings by clicking here.

Bound Teeth of Begum Hazrat Mahal, Warrior Queen of Oudh: A Guest Post Series by Kristin Hussey, Hunterian Museum, London

Kristin Hussey--Assistant Curator of the Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons with responsibility for the Odontological Collection--has kindly agreed to write a series of guest posts for Morbid Anatomy about some of the most curious objects in her collection.

The third post from that series follows; you can view all posts in this series by clicking here.

She has been called one of India’s greatest female warlords- who ruled the kingdom of Oudh (now in modern Uttar Pradesh) in the place of her exiled husband. The Begum Hazrat Mahal (c. 1820-1879; top image) was a major player in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and one of the only major leaders to never surrender to the forces of the British East India Company. She led the rebels to seize Lucknow in the name of her son Prince Birjis Qadra in 1858, but was exiled to Nepal after the British retook the city.

The teeth (middle image) first appear in the catalog of the Museum of the Odontological Society in 1882, leaving 3 years for them to have been presented to the collection. No mention of this gift has yet been found in the Transactions of the Odontological Society, we only know they were a gift from a certain W.A. Roberts. The Society’s interest in the teeth would have been twofold: first that they were, of course, the teeth of a famous person with the 1857 Mutiny having taken place within living memory. But more importantly, dentists at the time were very interested in the dental practice of peoples in the colonies, and particularly in the use of gold dental work. Gold was a material still frequently in use by dentists of the Victorian era to fill cavities and create bridges- although its usefulness was already being challenged by the introduction of an early plastic called gutta percha. The Transactions from the 1870s reveal a particular interest amongst the Society’s members in the use of gold-work in the teeth of ancient Egyptian mummies as well as contemporary people in Imperial India. The practice of binding loose teeth with gold wire was one that fascinated Victorian dentists –particularly because it was a very effective treatment. Indeed several similar specimens of bound teeth were acquired for the Museum in the surrounding years. The Queen of Oudh’s teeth formed a part of the ‘Artificial Work’ display of the Odontological Society’s Museum (bottom image) from 1882 until its loan to the Royal College of Surgeons in 1909.

The question then remains, are these actually the bound teeth of the Hazrat Mahal? As so little is actually known about her life, it is difficult to tell whether she would have had bound teeth- although considering her high position it is certainly possible she could have undergone this type of expensive procedure. But how the donor came by these teeth is still unknown. Was there a trade in relics from the 1857 Mutiny? Perhaps there was money to be made from British tourists interested in having a piece of imperial history? Does the fact that it is never mentioned in the Transactions indicate its authenticity was in doubt? These teeth have yet to give up all their secrets.

Images:

1. Begum Hazrat Maha; Sourced here
2. Teeth of Begum Hazrat Maha as seen at The Hunterian Museum
3. The Odontological Society’s Museum, 1900; Hanover Square, London

"A Skeleton as a Woman Warning of the Dangers of Fornication," Oil on Canvas, French or Spanish School, c.1680

"A Skeleton as a Woman Warning of the Dangers of Fornication"
French or Spanish School, c.1680
Oil on canvas , 174 x 73 cm

From Wellcome Images; More here.

Please Welcome Frederik Ruysch's 18th Century "Thesaurus Anatomicus" to the Morbid Anatomy Museum Collection!

We are thrilled to announce the newest addition to the Morbid Anatomy Museum library collection: "Thesaurus Anatomicus," an 18th century guide to anatomist and artist Frederik Ruysch's museum and cabinet, lavishly illustrated by Cornelis Huyberts. If you ever wondered where the image on our t-shirts and tote bags were sourced, this is the place!

This acquisition will be the inspiration for future lectures (by folks like Evan Michelson, our scholar in residence, seen above) as well as exhibitions and publications, so stay tuned for more on that as it develops.

You can find out more about the fabulous Ruysch--whom we consider the patron saint of Morbid Anatomy, with works that so beautifully blurthe boundaries of art, religion and science--by clicking here and here.

More about the book, from Christie's auction house:

Probably the most original artist in the history of anatomical preparations, the anatomist, Frederik Ruysch enjoyed making up elaborate three-dimensional emblems of mortality from his specimens. These fantastic, dream-like concoctions constructed of human anatomical parts are illustrated in the Thesaurus on large folding plates mostly engraved by Cornelis Huyberts, who also engraved plates for the painter Girard de Lairesse, illustrator of Bidloo's anatomy. In their dreamlike qualities many of the plates depicting the preparations reflect surrealism centuries before surrealism became fashionable. Ruysch's Thesaurus Anatomicus and his Thesaurus Animalium describe and illustrate the spectacular collections of "Anatomical Treasures" which he produced for display in his home museum between 1701 and 1716 using secret methods of anatomical injection and preservation.

Ruysch's unique anatomical preparations attracted many notables to his museum, including Czar Peter the Great of Russia, who was so fascinated with the preparations that he attended Ruysch's anatomy lectures, and in 1717 he bought Ruysch's entire collection, along with that of the Amsterdam apothecary Albert Seba, for Russia's first public museum, the St. Petersburg Kunstkammer. Over the years most of the dry preparations in St. Petersburg deteriorated or disappeared, but some of those preserved in glass jars remain. A few later specimens by Ruysch, auctioned off by his widow after his death, are also preserved in Leiden. Because most of the preparations did not survive, Ruysch's preparations, and his museum, are known primarily from these publications.

Ruysch's methods allowed him to prepare organs such as the liver and kidneys and keep entire corpses for years. He used a mixture of talc, white wax, and cinnabar for injecting vessels and an embalming fluid of alcohol made from wine or corn with black pepper added. Using his injection methods Ruysch was the first to demonstrate the occurrence of blood vessels in almost all tissues of the human body, thereby destroying the Galenic belief that certain areas of the body had no vascular supply. He was also the first to show that blood vessels display diverse organ-specific patterns. He investigated the valves in the lymphatic system, the bronchial arteries and the vascular plexuses of the heart, and was the first to point out the nourishment of the fetus through the umbilical cord. Ruysch's discoveries led him to claim erroneously that tissues consisted solely of vascular networks, and to deny the existence of glandular tissue.

Thesaurus Animalium first appeared in ten parts published in Amsterdam between 1701 and 1716.

Memorial Portrait of Prince Maurice of Saxe-Zeitz (1652-1653), Oil on Canvas, 1653

Memorial portrait of Prince Maurice of Saxe-Zeitz (1652-1653) The portrait shows the seven moths old second-born Prince Maurice after his death. Oil on canvas, circa 1653.

Via Museum Schloss Moritzburg Zeitz; you can find out more here.

Unton Memorial Picture, Oil on Panel, Unknown Artist, c.1596.

The Unton Memorial Picture, oil on panel, by unknown artist, c.1596. Note the wonderful skeleton on his shoulder (click on image to see larger version)!

More on the painting, from the London National Portrait Gallery's website (which houses the peice):

This highly unusual narrative portrait of Unton's life was commissioned as a posthumous commemoration by his widow Dorothy Wroughton, and is recorded in her will (1634). At the heart of the composition is the portrait of Unton, flanked by figures of Fame (top left) and Death (top right), and surrounded by scenes from his life and death. These are (anti-clockwise, starting in the bottom right hand corner): 1. As an infant in the arms of his mother, Anne Seymour, formerly Countess of Warwick, at the Unton house of Ascott-under-Wychwood. 2. Studying at Oriel College, Oxford, where he took his degree in 1573. 3. Travelling beyond the Alps to Venice and Padua (1570s). 4. Serving with Leicester in the Netherlands (1585-6), with Nijmegen in the distance. 5. On his embassy to Henry IV at Coucy La Fère in northwest France, in an unsuccessful attempt to avert a peace treaty between France and Spain (1595-6). 6 On his deathbed, with a physician sent by Henry IV. 7. His body brought back to England across the Channel in a black ship. 8. His hearse on its way back to his home at Wadley House, Faringdon, near Oxford. 9. (centre right) Unton's life at Wadley House, with scenes showing him sitting in his study (top), talking with learned divines (bottom left), making music (above left), and presiding over a banquet, while a masque of Mercury and Diana is performed, accompanied by musicians. From the house his funeral procession leads, past a group of the poor and lame lamenting his death, to : 10. (left) Faringdon Church with this funeral (8 July 1596) in progress, and, in the foreground, his monument with Unton's recumbent effigy and the kneeling figure of his widow. More detailed information about this portrait to be found at www.npg.org.uk/research/programmes/making-art-in-tudor-britain/case-studies/the-portrait-of-sir-henry-unton-c.-1558-1596.php.