Widow finds lion, baboon and zebra in husband's hidden taxidermy collection

Kevin Gittoes from Blakedown, near Kidderminster, had been collecting taxidermy for more than 30 years but the scale of his collection wasn't known to his wife Julie until his death in August last year.

She said she became fully aware of how much her husband, who died of cancer aged 69, had collected when she was working to clear out the loft at their home.

She said: "I was never allowed into the loft but after I lost Kevin I needed some work done in the attic.

"The workman said to me, 'Did you know there are a lot of boxes up there', and I found 12 pieces of taxidermy I had no idea about.

"I’m amazed Kevin managed to squirrel them away without me knowing."

Following this discovery, Ms Gittoes said she then entered her husband's domain of the garage and found even more pieces inside.

She said: "The garage was Kevin’s domain. I didn’t go in there much.

"I knew he had some taxidermy in there but I never realised the extent of it as they were stacked one behind another on deep shelves.

"I think he felt a bit guilty about buying so many pieces so didn’t tell me."

She discovered 12 cased animals hidden in the loft and the garage housed many more examples, including several from the Victorian and Edwardian eras.

The menagerie of items included a circa 1920s lion’s head with real teeth, conger eel, otter, white rabbit, badger, fox, hartebeest (African antelope), plains zebra and albino blackbird.

The collection was auctioned off last week with each of the 69 lots sold, making a total sales figure of more than £11,000.

The most expensive item was an Edwardian cased full mount fox which reached £850.

Other sought-after lots included an Edwardian cased full mount otter by T E Gunn which sold for £520; a baboon shoulder mount which fetched £640, and an African lion head mount on a shield from the early 20th century which sold for £541.

Charles Hanson, owner of Hansons Auctioneers, said: "Kevin’s collection was quite extraordinary with examples dating back to the 1860s.

"Some people may find it a little bizarre but you have to put taxidermy into its historical context.

"In Edwardian and Victorian times people had a deep fascination with natural history, just as we do today.

"However, they couldn’t switch on the TV to watch nature programmes or tune into the latest series from Sir David Attenborough.

"Consequently, taxidermy became popular in the 19th century, particularly among the middle and upper classes who used it for educational purposes."

Ms Gittoes said her husband had a few pieces when she first met him 32 years ago.

She said: "Though it was never my thing I never stopped him displaying them in the house, I just limited it a bit, but I never begrudged him doing it.

"Kevin was very proud of his collection and that’s one of the reasons why I decided to sell it at auction as I wanted to pay tribute to Kevin and share something that was really important to him.

“I know some people think taxidermy is a bit strange but Kevin was fascinated by it. He loved country pursuits.

"When our daughter, Esther, was small and had sleepovers, some of her friends were terrified when they walked into the hall.

"I used to feel a little bit embarrassed when people went into the hall but most people were fascinated by the collection, even the medics who came to look after Kevin when he was ill.

"It makes me smile now to think of Kevin smuggling those pieces into the loft. I found out his son, James, helped him lift them in."

The Kevin Gittoes Taxidermy Collection was sold on February 28 in Hansons Auctioneers’ Fine Art and Antiques Auction at Bishton Hall, Wolseley Bridge.