Wild Animal Skins in Victorian Britain

In her study of the challenges, preoccupations, and disordered circumstances that attended Great Britain’s amassing of wild skins, Ann C. Colley makes extensive use of archival materials, as well as of recent theories concerning skin and touch, to examine the collecting and exhibiting practices of individuals, museums, and a provincial zoo. She focuses on issues of empire, representation, and natural history to examine the meaning, metaphoric uses, and cognitive function of skin for the Victorian public.