Let's open the Curio Cabinet: Starting a collection + Meet Marina the Mink!

Hello Friends! Thank you for visiting. Today I decided to open up the curio cabinet and show one of my first pieces that I collected. Recently, I’ve had a few people ask me how to start collecting taxidermy and skeletal remains. Though I’ve always had a fascination with the bodies and bones that remain when souls pass beyond the veil, I’ve only very recently started collecting. When I was a teen in Southern California, there weren’t many local oddity shops to find taxidermy; I can remember a handful of “edgy” gift shops where, very occasionally, a few wet specimens (preserved specimens sealed in a jars) would be in stock. For the 15-year-old high school student I was at the time, a lot of the curiosities I wanted seemed so unattainable! As I grew up, I started to look further into buying my own remains to start my collection.

One of the first skulls I added to my collection is Marina the Mink! Minks are related to Weasels, Otters and Ferrets. In the wild, they subsist on seafood, eggs and small mammals. My favorite part about this piece is how beautifully intact the dentition is. While I don't really know if Marina was a boy or girl during her life on earth, her smile is certainly that of a beauty queen! It's a bit contagious, and I sometimes find myself smiling when I pick her up to dust her shelf.

As I’ve tottered along building my collection, I’ve learned a few things about collecting:

1. It’s OK to Start small
   Though you might want to start your collection with a beautifully prepared taxidermy piece or a human medical skull, by no means do you have to make these things the first items in your collection. It’s incredibly easy to find cleaned animal remains on various marketplaces, and even on social media platforms. The most budget-friendly bones usually include Coyotes, Raccoons, and smaller mammals like rats and moles. If human skeletons are more your speed, you can find a lot of affordable human bones that make great conversation pieces.

2. Always be respectful
   Everything in your collection was alive at one point; it’s good to remember to treat it as such and handle your treasures with care. Apart from this, bones can be very delicate and easy to crack or break. Teeth can be a bit loose postmortem, and too hard of a bump or too steep of a fall may cause them to fall out. If you’re eyeing a cool curiosity but you want to make sure it was ethically sourced before you buy, always double-check the item's description and contact the shop owner with any questions.

3. Legalities
   It’s always a good idea to research the legalities of trading and possessing remains in your country and State/Territory, especially when collecting human skeletal remains and the remains of an endangered species. For example, here in the US, it’s prohibited to trade human skeletal remains in Tennessee, Louisiana, and Georgia. Better safe than sorry!

4. Curio Care

For skeletal remains, a light dusting is enough to keep them looking their best; taxidermied remains require a little bit more TLC. Most mammalian remains with fur can be dusted with a dry cloth (no furniture polish), and glass eyes can be carefully polished with a cotton swab moistened with window cleaner. If your curio has horns, wipe those down with a soft damp cloth if you notice any cobwebs or dust. Keeping your curios in a temperature-controlled room away from excessive heat and humidity will keep bugs and deterioration at bay. When in doubt, ask the shop where you purchased your curio about how to properly care for it.

Thank you so much for your visit today! I hope you found this post informative and interesting. Do you have any oddities you’re proud to call your own?