Don't go thinking this is how I feel after all your wonderful birthday messages (thanks a million, really, it feels good to have so many people from all over the world thinking of you on a special occasion). No, this is simply one of the many animals featured in the taxidermy studio of Deyrolle, a two century Paris institution where you can find all sorts of nature stuff such as gardening tools and outfits, insect and butterfly collections, etc. Definitely a place to visit if you're around the rue du Bac - Number 46 - in the 7th.
Oh, I love this place! Sounds like you had a happy b-day—I'm so glad.
ReplyDeleteEric -- it's a great photo, but you didn't really think we'd think it was real, did you??
ReplyDeleteOh, and thanks for the link. The cobra skeleton is amazing. Must admi8t, I kind of like stuffed animals. Does that make me weird?
ReplyDeleteMake that 'admit'. (Should I just keep this up until someone else shows up?) Maybe not.
ReplyDeleteRAWR! Eric, if you wanted to give me a bear hug, all you had to do was ask.
ReplyDeleteLooks like an interesting place to visit! Alexa, what will you wear on your crown today - a rabbit, a fox, a big bear?
Oooh! This is one of the few places on my to do list in Paris that I read about but never got to see. Thanks for the inside view!!
ReplyDeleteSc-c-c-cary!!!! Now I know I have to go back - looks like the perfect pairing with the Musee de la Chasse et la Nature.
Yeah, I do hope this is not how you feel after a day with hundreds of people wishing you a happy birthday, Eric!
ReplyDeleteThis bear looks quite scary, but the little bird on its paw it's a nice and soft detail.
I don't really like stuffed animal. I'm always frightened by their eyes... dunno why.
Alexa, Gf!
Time to go to bed now...
The thing to watch out for with taxidermy is the formaldehyde. Not good to touch or breathe.
ReplyDeleteI'm not really taken by embalmed creatures, so it's good I didn't ever consider becoming a mortician.
Love the stuffed bear! I just read that Deyrolle was open again after the big fire. I feel lucky to have a few photos of some of the beautiful animals that were lost in the fire. I can't wait to visit again and see all the new animals! And happy belated Birthday Eric!
ReplyDeleteSuzy -- I think I'll embellish the crown with bear claws—the kind you eat for breakfast!
ReplyDeleteSo, Eric -- what did you do to celebrate your birthday, anyway?
A very interesting place, and once again, Eric, I would love to see you as you get into all sorts of positions to get the best picture for us!! You really go the extra mile and for that we thank you! By the way, S-c-a-r-y!
ReplyDelete(I also must admit that some friends of ours have several examples of taxidermy on their walls: fish, deer, and an otter catching a fish. Not my idea of decor for the living room, but they like it! I would much rather see it in a nice museum.)
Glad you had a great birthday!!
Hey for a moment I nearly wanted to shout 'I've been there!'. But wait, as soon as you mentioned taxidermy studio, I realised I got the wrong location...you know, I did visit the museum of natural history while I was in Paris 2 weeks ago!
ReplyDeleteIt was a really interesting place; full of 'stuffed' animals like the one in the photo. I remember being fascinated by the big elephants and giraffes! Guys, if you haven't been there yet, it's worth a look.
Because I couldn't spell or pronounce Deyrolle, I told my friend I wanted to go to the stuffed animal place. Beware of double entendres. He thought I wanted to see the kind of stuffed animals that you can buy at a toy store .
ReplyDeleteThat is a great shot, Eric.
Fun pic!
ReplyDeleteHmm, I think I'd spend more time in the 'gardening tools and outfits' section than the taxidermy aisle, but this gnarly bear with his whimsical companion make a striking photo, Eric! {I shall hope upon hope that all the stuffed animals died of natural causes...}
ReplyDeleteA taxidermied bear and a bird...ironic how these two stuffed creatures will likely be around longer than any of us...unless of course we decide to be stuffed too. Ouch! Yuk! (Did he just say what I thought he said?) Nope. Grrr!
ReplyDeleteI loved discovering this place recently (thanks PHX). I mean they have absolutely everything there you can imagine. It was almost too much and maybe they should have stuck with just the Bear Necessities...
ReplyDeleteWasn't there a terrible fire at Deyrolle that destroyed a great deal of the "stuffed animals"?? I love that shop so much. They made educational posters for the school children of France and I have several of them framed and in my apartment. I still remember buying them many years ago and how carefully they wrapped the posters so I could take them back to CA to have them framed. What a step back into time that shop is and so magical!
ReplyDeleteBTW congrats GF Alexa (perhaps a bear claw necklace to add to the crown?lol)
ReplyDeleteAussi Guille, merci for the email. Too funny! Bowie does rock!
Wait, Coltrane lives ... you could be onto something. I can see it now. "There once was a family of three bears. The economy in the forest was bad. One day, they carefully washed their breakfast bowls and went to the city to try their luck. They opened a charming little store, filled with honey pots, Birscher muesli (city-bears don't eat porridge) and a fine array of stuffed humans of all descriptions. Bears came from miles around to wonder at their variety of fur and very small teeth. Before long, the three bears were rich beyond their dreams..."
ReplyDeleteMerci pour cette photo Eric.
ReplyDeleteI like it very much. Though scary, this angry bear has put a little smile on my face! Strange!
Maybe I thought that my children's teddy bears were much more ... how to say that ... "hug-able".
Funny to see how the bear animal can be the kindest on earth (well, at least the teddy bear!) and the scariest (when 'he' is angry!)! Funny, did I say funny?? :)
Stuffed animals are scary, Guille, I agree, and just a little bit ...freaky, the thought of actually stuffing them. Brr.
ReplyDeleteI adore watching bears on tv in documentaries; they are so interesting! The people who spend time with them are completely bonkers though. Talking to them when they become playful, saying "No, now stop it." Dear God. I run out of patience with that sort of talk lol. It's a bear. A BEAR. A wild, human-eating bear. Get real. I do love the progs they make though ;)
What shall we name this bear?
I put forward Fred. He looks like a Fred. Your turn.
I loove that one!
ReplyDeleteAnd I will keep in mind the good tip (now I'll know) for another day.
Today, the Orsay museum is schedulded with my company!
wooo...
ReplyDeletehe is very frightening!!!
Yes Lynn, Frederick the Grrreat! Or if he is a she, how about Ursula Major?
ReplyDeleteNot something I'd like to have around the house!
ReplyDeleteI'm late, as usual. Hope you had a great birthday, Eric!
I woke up and clicked on your link this morning, Micheal. : )
ReplyDeleteThat suuuuure looks like a Fla. bear to me!
LOL Shell sherree!
Ursula Major! Drummond, that's a good one.
ReplyDeleteTonton, your memory serves you. There was an awful fire a year or two ago that severely damaged (I believe) the main floor of the Deyrolle building.
I am going on the assumption that the animals stuffed by Deyrolle are not killed for stuffing, but as someone said earlier, they die of natural causes. Does anyone know? Or would I rather not know?
Stuffed animal are scary, but clowns... keep away. I hope it was as Petea say natural causes. He does look a little grumpy, but then amybe I would be too with stuffing.. no I will shut up.
ReplyDeleteFrederick the Bear needs a little dusting. What is the French word for cobwebs?
ReplyDeleteThis is the view seen by my coffee maker every morning, cobwebs and all.
ReplyDeleteThat big guy about looks how I feel today, like he's had a beary bad day!
ReplyDeleteIt'll get better, Soosha. Just let today go by.
ReplyDeleteAfter the fire, Deyrolle accepted taxiderm donations from outsiders. As you can see from Tonton, it is a French institution.
ReplyDeleteFred's angry he wasn't invited to Eric's birthday party.
ReplyDeleteShell Sherree...funny! LOL
ReplyDeleteThank you jeff!
ReplyDeleteD : Odd feeling. Hope to be wrong...
ReplyDeletecette photo a inspiré mon post d'aujourd'hui... merci!
ReplyDelete