Exhibit:

A Victorian Menagerie

Preview of images

The Victorian era witnessed the rise of animal protection, zoos, pet keeping, natural history, cattle and sheep breeding, vegetarianism, antivivisection, and dog and cat shows.  But it also beheld big game hunting, blood sports, animal abuse, a burgeoning fashion industry that threatened animal populations, and widespread fears of our animal ancestry, sparked by Darwinian evolution. Animal artists drew exotic specimens and animals of all species observed from life and on location. In addition, artists and authors humanized animals or dressed them in Victorian clothes to point out social vices as well as rampant inequalities across the social classes in regard to wealth, education, and quality of life in general. 

This exhibition, based in part on the digitized Norman M. Fox Collection at Skidmore College, illustrates the ways the Victorians treat animals, anthropomorphize animals, put animals on display, and make animals an indelible part of Victorian literature and culture. 

Images in this Exhibit

Anthropomorphizing Animals and Natural History, Side by Side in the Victorian Age

Encounters with animals and human-animal interactions shaped daily life in the Victorian age. Even in the built environment of cities, humans commonly encountered horses, cows, goats, sheep, and companion animals—principally cats and dogs..  Ladies and gentlemen traveled in horse-drawn carriages, sportsmen and sportswomen rode after foxes on horseback accompanied by their beloved hounds, people of all ages across the new class society flocked to zoos, and big game hunters traveled the Empire to hunt and later display exotic kills at home as a rug or a trophy mounted on a wall.  While...
Animals Across the Social Classes

Animals played different roles across social classes in the Victorian era. Families in the upper reaches of society could afford to have animals as domesticated pets. Those of the upper reaches were also able to use animals such as horses and hounds for sports and leisure like hunting. On the other hand, livestock was associated with labor and the working class, providing a source of income, rather than acting as companions. The social divide among the classes disappears when we consider animals in zoos, where people of all social classes came together to visit animals. 

John...
Harrison Weir: Parallels between Humankind and Animals

Harrison Weir was considered a "man of many parts" (Simon Cooke, Victorian Web). He was an  animal artist of the nineteenth century, naturalist, ornithologist, horticulturist, an advocate of animal rights, and lover of animals. These four Weir illustrations display his vision that parallels exist between humans and animals. 

Harrison Weir (1824-1906)—"The Father of the Cat Fancy," engraved from a photograph by R. Taylor, 1889.  Weir lived in pursuit of knowledge and was fascinated by Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and the pseudo-scientific theory of...
Naturalism in Beatrix Potter's Victorian Illustrations

Beatrix Potter's Victorian illustrations combine the whimsy important to children's literature and the anatomical and environmental correctness of a naturalist artist in the fashion of Sir John Everett Millais.  Potter (1866-1943) incorporates elaborately illustrated plants and animals into each of her works in order to recreate the natural habitats of the animal characters.  Potter also makes a great effort to replicate the movements of each animal model through the authentic depiction of their body parts, which contributes greatly to the success of her picture books.

Beatrix...
The Victorian Literary Cult of Pets

"By the middle of the nineteenth century what has been called the Victorian cult of pets was firmly established," notes Harriet Ritvo in The Animal Estate (86).  This era witnessed the birth of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Darwinism. Both influenced widespread concern for the protection of animals and, in turn, contributed to the advent of the modern household pet. Victorian culture viewed the family pet as a crucial component of domestic life. Literature of the period reflects this rise in popularity pf pet keeping as many famous authors...
Birds in the Victorian Age

During the Victorian age, the rise of naturalist illustration coincided with a burgeoning interest in the scientific world both within and outside of London. Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species (1859) inspired scientists to examine and catalogue the world’s animals. With Victorian women’s fashion owing much to the millinery, or hat-making, trade, the birds whose feathers adorned those hats also came under inspection. Ornithologists such as John Gould, Francis Morris, and Henry Dresser published in-depth, encyclopedic volumes on avian species in London and abroad. Naturalist...
The British Lion

Britain is famous for its diverse iconography, incorporating an immense array of animals into its symbolism. The British Lion is unparalleled in its recognizability and importance to Britain’s history and identity. The image of the lion has become synonymous with Britain itself, especially in the Victorian Age. During this time period, the British Lion made appearances in nearly every artistic form available.  

John Tenniel, "The Herdsman and the Lost Bull," from Aesop's Fables, adapted by Rev. Thomas James, 1848.  John Tenniel immortalized the British Lion in his...
Horses in Victorian Britain: Fighting Abuse and Exploitation

The misuse and exploitation of the Victorian horse is the focus of this case. Horses were essential to Victorian life for transportation and farming and also served as a vital tool for industrialization in Britain.  Disturbed by the abuse of horses she witnessed, Anna Sewell (1820-78) published Black Beauty in 1877 in the hopes of fighting the mistreatment. Through her work, she gave the horses their own voices to advocate for equine rights. With illustrations from Black Beauty and other Victorian sources,  this case reveals the dark fate of a Victorian horse for the...
A Reflection on Dogs in the Victorian Age

Man's best friend was not always man's most well-treated friend. Though beloved by most everyone, dogs have had a long, hard history--one which has been captured by countless authors and illustrators in Victorian literature, who use the innocent canine as a lens that shows us mankind's true nature. There are many books, such as Oliver Twist and The King of the Golden River, which feature the abuse or mistreatment of dogs in order to warn readers against the cruel nature of some humans and raise awareness of canine protection.  

George Cruikshank, "Sikes Attempting to...
The Fashionable Animals of Victorian Literature

This case presents a collection of animals in Victorian illustrated literature that just so happen to be dressed to in human clothes. What do their outfits say about them, and why are they dressed this way?  We can learn much about the values and culture of the Victorians by looking at what George Cruikshank calls "social zoology."

John Tenniel, "The Fish Footman and the Frog Footman," from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll, 1865. This plate shows us two different animals from two different kingdoms, a frog and and a fish, drawn as bipedal creatures in...