PANELS, SHIELDS AND NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL MOUNTS.
The preparation of a suitable setting for almost any mounted specimen
will add greatly to its attractiveness. If you know where it is to be
placed it is not difficult to make it suit its surrounding. For
instance, a head of big game for hanging in a dining or ball room is
suitably mounted on a polished and carved hardwood shield. While this
would hardly match its surroundings on the wall of a log camp, a rustic
panel of natural wood with the bark on would perfectly suit the latter
place.
Heads, horns, and antlers are usually mounted on what are called
shields. Fish and trophies of dead game birds and small game on panels.
Single specimens are placed on severely plain wooden bases (museum
style) or on those simulating branches, rocks, stumps or earth. These
are artificial, but those built up in part at least with natural objects
are most pleasing.
As we can not produce the best patterns of shields without special
machines we must patronize either the supply dealers or the wood working
mill for such. If convenient to a mill equipped with jigsaw and moulder
they can be made up after your own patterns.
[Illustration: SHIELDS--VARIOUS KINDS AND SIZES.
(A) Suitable for moose, caribou, deer, fox by making or ordering
according to size wanted; (B) Moose, caribou, deer; (K) Round shield;
(E) Bear shield; (Q) Combination--head and feet.]
[Illustration: SHIELDS, FOOT AND HALL RACK.
(C) and (D) Deer Shields (J) Four Feet Rack (V) Hall Rack]
[Illustration: GUN RACK, FISH AND GAME PANELS, HALL RACK.
(I) Gun rack (F) Fish panel (H) Shield, combination head and feet (S)
Hall Rack, small.]
[Illustration: SOME SHIELDS AND PANELS.
(M) Shield with carving (G) Panel for game, x, y, z, aa, bb Deer foot
thermometers (L) Deer foot thermometer and small animal panel.]
Some of the sizes most used are approximately as follows for mounted
heads:
For moose, elk, caribou.
20x30 inches.
For deer, goat or sheep.
12x18 or 16x21.
For fox or lynx.
8x10 inches.
For bear or wolf.
12x15
For birds, small fur-bearers and fish.
6x8 in.
Oval panels for mounting fish.
9x22 15x40
For dead game.
10x15 14x24 17x25
For mounting horns of elk and moose the size for deer heads will answer
nicely, while deer antlers are suitable with a shield of the fox head
size.
In order to draw a symmetrical pattern for the woodworker, take a piece
of stiff paper of the right length and width, fold it down the middle,
draw one half to suit and cut out with shears. The style of moulding
called Ogee is to be preferred. A simple diamond, heart, or oval shape
can be made at home with beveled or rounded edges, or if your tools
include a turning saw (which is most useful for a variety of purposes)
you may try a more pretentious shield. To achieve this, make your
pattern as just described and after marking it on a piece of wood from
3/8 to 7/8 inch thick, cut out with the turning saw. It should be held
in the vise for this operation. Place this cut out shield (1) on a piece
of board of similar thickness but somewhat larger and with a pair of
compasses mark out another 1/2 in. or so larger all around. (2) Also
mark the same distance inside the edge.
[Illustration: HOME MADE SHIELD.]
With a wood worker's gauge or something similar make a mark around them
both near the lower sides. Now with draw shave and rasp work the edges
off both Nos. 1 and 2. No. 1 on a bevel, No. 2 rounded. There should be
a number of holes drilled and countersunk in No. 2, from the back, and
when the two parts of the shield are properly adjusted they should be
drawn closely together with screws too short to penetrate the face of
the shield.
If the adjustment is perfect the screws are to be drawn and the surfaces
which come in contact coated well with glue, then drawn closely together
and laid aside until thoroughly dry, when it should be well sandpapered
before varnishing.
All shields and panels should be carefully sandpapered, filled and
varnished, and polished if you wish. Don't make the shield or panel so
ornate that the specimen will seem but an incidental, thrown in for good
measure, so to speak.
Rustic panels can be made by sawing the end from a log on a slant, and
planing smooth the oval. If this is heavily varnished on the front and
back and the bark left on it is a very suitable mount for small heads,
fish and birds. Artificial branches and trees for mounting birds should
be avoided if possible; they are made by wrapping tow around wires,
coating with glue and covering with moss or papier mache and painting.
The result I consider unnatural and inartistic.
[Illustration: SMALL BIRD.]
I would advise to use natural branches as far as possible; sufficient
labor will be required to make necessary joining and changes look as
near like nature as you can. Rock work is usually made of a wooden
framework covered with cloth, wire or paper and finished with a coating
of glue and crushed stone or sand. One of the most useful materials in
this work is the rough cork bark so much used by florists. It is light,
comes in desirable shapes, can be nailed, sawed or coated with glue or
paint. For constructing stumps for mounted birds of prey and rustic
stands for small and medium fur animals it has no equal. Some
taxidermists produce rock work of an obscure geological period by
covering screen wire forms with a mixture of flour, baking powder and
plaster of paris and water. This is put in an oven and baked hard, the
weird result being painted to the artist's taste.
Water worn roots such as are found along the shore, twisted laurel
branches, limbs of gum, oak and sassafras, all work up well in this and
should be stored up to dry against a day of need. Out door people have a
good eye for such things, but they are hard to find when you look for
them, so gather them on your rambles. Papier mache is also a good
modeling material for stumps, limbs and rock, being light, and readily
taking coats of glue or paint. The expert can copy nature closely with
it.
Some leaves and grasses can be pressed, dried and colored their natural
shades with oil paints. The dealers supply a great variety of artificial
foliage, some of which may be used to advantage, in case work
especially. Dried mosses and lichens of various sorts may be used in
this. Some of these powdered and glued on papier mache or cork bark
stumps and limbs produce a very pleasing effect.
Snow scenes are frequently attempted but are not always a success. The
peculiar fluffy and glittering appearance is rather difficult to
reproduce. Torn or ground up white blotting paper mixed with a little
ground mica has been used for this purpose. Glass icicles are listed by
dealers and are quite natural in appearance, but the simulation of water
is difficult and often disappointing.
It is often desirable to mount small specimens, of birds especially, in
cases of some kind which will protect them from dust, dirt and rough
handling and at the same time display them to advantage. The oldest and
at the same time the least suitable contrivance for this is the well
known bell glass or globe. It is difficult to find a safe place for this
in the average house and it is not at all adapted to many specimens.
A plain wall case with glass front and a painted or decorated background
will give the necessary protection with the least expense. For small
bird groups, and singles and pairs of game birds, the oval convex
glasses probably present the finest appearance. The backgrounds for
these may be either plush or wood panels or hand painted, and any style
of picture framing may be used. These are made in several sizes, listing
at $2.00 to $8.00 each without backgrounds or frames. This cost has
probably prevented their more common use.
There is on the market a papier mache background also adapted to any
picture frame, called the "concave dust proof case." This has the flat
face glass of the old style wall case, but with the square corners and
much of the weight eliminated. Any of these styles of wall cases may be
placed on shelves as well as hung on the wall like pictures, at once
preventing breakage and becoming valuable decorations.
Special cases are often built (as in museums) for large and valuable
mounted specimens. Of these the top and at least three sides should be
of glass. The preparing and placing of the accessories in some large
museum cases have required an unbelievable amount of time and expense to
attain the desired natural appearance of the mounting.