History of taxidermy in Finland

Finland has a long tradition of taxidermy in the natural sciences. The first taxidermists of the FMNH were not just the top names in their field, but were also important in the history of Finland’s culture. Magnus von Wright and Jussi Mäntynen can be mentioned here, both better known as artists than taxidermists.

The collections of the FMNH have long roots. The first collecting expeditions in Finland were carried out about 200 years ago. In addition to Finland, the trips soon extended to all corners of the globe. Hunting was often used to augment vertebrate collections. In modern times, new additions include mainly animals that were found dead in the wild, as well as dead animals from zoos. Still, there are over 200 bird specimens that Magnus von Wright shot and prepared himself.

Magnus von Wright

The oldest vertebrate specimens in the FMNH were prepared by Magnus von Wright. Von Wright became acquainted with taxidermy in the 1820s when he visited the Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet in Stockholm to obtain models for his paintings. In Finland, he prepared animals for the collections of the country's oldest scientific society, Societa pro Fauna et Flora Fennica. When von Wright was assigned as the taxidermist of the FMNH, he returned to Stockholm to study the newest techniques in taxidermy, as well as arrangement of the collections. Later, in 1850 he travelled to St. Petersburg to study the subject further. In 1859, von Wright published the first handbook on the birds of Finland. He worked as the taxidermist of the FMNH until his death in 1868. Almost a decade passed before the FMNH found his successor.

Jussi Mäntynen

Another early taxidermy administrator of the FMNH was Johan Richard Mäntynen, better known as Jussi Mäntynen (1886–1978). As was true of many naturalists of his day, Jussi Mäntynen was an enthusiastic gunman. Nevertheless, wasteful discarding of dead animals seemed repulsive to him, and to avoid this waste, he began to mount the animals that he brought down. His career in taxidermy began with the animals that he prepared for learning purposes. Between 1902 and 1905, Mäntynen studied drawing at the Finnish Art Association and between 1910 and 1920, he was a student of the sculptor Alpo Sailo. At the same time he worked in the FMNH as a preparator's assistant and from 1917, as the preparator. He was appointed as the taxidermist of the FMNH after Finland's independence in 1919.

As the taxidermist, Jussi Mäntynen renewed the taxidermy tradition of the FMNH to a remarkable degree. Previously, taxidermy meant stuffing animal skins, e.g. with straw, wood-wool or rags without any attempt to recreate the living animal. Mäntynen followed a new method invented by the famous American taxidermist Carl Akeley, who started to present animals in groups, as they would occur under natural conditions. Akeley also invented a ‘sculpting method’ in taxidermy. Mäntynen especially focused on presentation of anatomical detail and, amazingly, succeeded in depicting motion in still groups of animals.

As a sculptor Mäntynen made a breakthrough with his exhibits in Stockholm in 1934 and in London in 1939, when he left the FMNH to move to Stockholm. Mäntynen's sculptures can still be admired in parks across Europe and the United States. His interest in animals is visible in his sculptures, the bronze moose in front of the Natural History Museum being one of Jussi Mäntynen's creations.

Eirik Granqvist

In 1971 Eirik Granqvist was assigned as the taxidermist of the FMNH. To his credit belongs the conversion of the third floor into the diorama section. The exhibition of Finnish mammals, 42 dioramas in all, was prepared in May 1976. Granqvist also conducted two material-gathering expeditions to Africa. The results of these expeditions were the dioramas depicting African animals in their original environments. Palaeontological taxidermy and anthropology were also part of Eirik Granqvist's wide scope of research. In 1979, he received an order to prepare a 36 000-year-old mummified bison that gold miners had found in Alaska. Now, the bison is located in the University of Alaska Museum of the North. In 1987, Eirik Grandqvist moved to Bidon in southern France, where he set up the anthropological diorama ‘Prehistorama’ that depicts the origin of human beings and evolution. The exhibit, which has sparked interest around the globe, was relocated to Rousson, also a village in southern France.

Tapani Kuivanen

During the short tenure of Tapani Kuivanen (1988–1992), an African elephant called Elmeri was mounted in the lobby of the FMNH. The elephant was acquired during the expeditions of Eirik Granqvist.

Ari Puolakoski

In June 1992, Ari Puolakoski began as head of the taxidermy team. The permanent exhibitions were renewed actively, and in the early 21st century there were 150 dioramas in four exhibition halls: fishes, birds, bones and mammals. In addition, on the fourth floor there was an exhibition on the history of life.

In 2005 the museum was packed up for a full renovation of the building. Everything was moved to warehouses and Elmeri the elephant was no exception. All the dioramas built over the decades were documented, dismounted and moved to storage.

As the technology of the FMNH building was totally renewed, the exhibitions also saw a full transformation. The new exhibitions were planned with close cooperation with the FMNH exhibition team. In May 2008, after a couple of year hard work, the new exhibitions were opened to the public. The basic idea was to use previously mounted animals as much as possible and Elmeri was also returned to the lobby. The new exhibition entities take the visitors to explore the natural surroundings of Finland as well as other parts of the world.