Draft:Tocher and Tocher Taxidermists

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Tocher and Tocher Taxidermists Contents Work Legacy References Work Connections Legacy References

Tocher and Tocher Taxidermists

Tocher and Tocher (1906 to circa 1968) were a firm of Anglo Indian Taxidermists located in Bangalore India. William Tocher was born in India in 1853 and was of Scottish ancestry. William’s father, James, had arrived in India with the East India Company. William became involved in taxidermy as a hobby and over a period of time his skills and techniques improved and he later started his own taxidermy business in 1906.

William Tocher died in 1938 and the business then passed to his son Herbert Tocher born 1899, who together with his son, George, continued the business at their home andstudio named Panthera[1] in Fraser Town, Bangalore India.

Herbert Tocher in India with some of his taxidermy tiger and leopard skin rugs .

Contents

Work Connections Legacy

References

Work

Tocher and Tocher’s taxidermy work was of a very high standard and the quality and craftsmanship were second to none. The company produced hunting trophies during an era when hunting was considered a gentlemen’s sport and very popular especially during the time of the British Raj in India. They worked on skins which were presented to them by the shikaris[2] of dignitaries, senior military and film stars etc. Tocher and Tocher manufactured full mounts, half mounts, head and shoulder mounts, head only mounts and rugs. Their taxidermy mounts were made from the skins of tigers, leopards, bears, foxes, deer and other mammals native to India.

As they were a small family run business they were able to spend more time on their work than their contemporaries and many items they produced have a very realistic life like appearance and the items they manufactured were on an individual basis. Herbert Tocher would personally hand paint the glass eyes for the specimens and, as stated in their catalogues, a tiger or leopard skin rug with head mount would take around two and half months to produce and a full tiger or leopard mount around six months. A Tocher and Tocher leopard skin rug with head mount from the 1920’s , The name Tocher and Tocher Taxidermists is perhaps not as familiar as larger photographed in 2017. taxidermy firms of the time such as the Van Ingens who were involved in taxidermy on what could be called amass produced scale.

Connections

During a 2005 visit to the Van Ingen factory in Mysore by the taxidermy expert and writer Dr Pat A Morris[3],whilst carrying out research for a book on the Van Ingens Dr Morris came across two discarded Tocher and Tocher price lists and catalogues at the Van Ingen factory. According to the price lists, in 1923 Tocher and Tocher were the taxidermy specialists to the Vernay Faunthorpe American scientific expedition to India. The expedition was to source tiger and leopard taxidermy specimens for mounting and display in the Hall of Asian Mammals at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

There are also references to Tocher and Tocher Taxidermy on pages 143 to 145 from a recent book named The Last White Hunter[4] written by Joshua Mathew[5]. The book chronicles the life of Donald Anderson who was once the movie stunt double for Stewart Granger in the 1958 film Harry Black and the Tiger . In addition to being A page from a Tocher and Tocher a stuntman and an accomplished hunter, interestingly Donald was also the son of the catalogue. well known writer and big game hunter Kenneth Anderson. Donald mentions that Tocher and Tocher were the preferred Taxidermists for all the big cats which both he and his father Kenneth hunted. Donald states that Herbert Tocher was friends with his father Kenneth and Herbert Tocher taught both the Anderson’s how to skin their animals and then prepare the skins for mounting.

Legacy During the 1960’s the Indian government began to open secure national parks and reserves in an attempt to preserve the numbers of wild tigers and leopards which were by now decreasing, this resulted in less hunting and the closure of the Tocher and Tocher business. During the late 1960’s the Tocher’s studio and house in Bangalore were sold and the family emigrated to London United Kingdom. In 1972 the Indian government finallybanned the hunting of tigers and leopards.

Due to the modest quantities of taxidermy work produced by ocherT and Tocher, it is quite rare[6][7]to come across an example of their work today, however an item may appear for sale occasionally at an auction house[8] or online[9]. There could be a few examples of their work in some museums around the world.

The trophy wall at the Secunderabad Club[10] in India also has some examples of their work still on display today.

References Review waiting. A full mount leopard from a Tocher This may take 8 weeks or more. Please be and Tocher catalogue. patient. Drafts are reviewed in no specific order. There are 2662 pending submissions waiting for review.

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1. "Re: TOCHER, Scotland/India - Genealogy.com" (https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/tocher/93/). www.genealogy.com. Retrieved 2018-08-08. 2. "the definition of shikari" (https://www.dictionary.com/browse/shikari). www.dictionary.com. Retrieved 2018-08-12. 3. Morris, P. A. (2006-08-10). Van Ingen and Van Ingen: Artists in Taxidermy (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Van-Ingen-Arti sts-Taxidermy/dp/0954559630/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1534014056&sr=1-1&keywords=Van+Ingen+and +Van+Ingen) (First Edition edition ed.). Ascot: MPM Publishing.ISBN 9780954559632. 4. "the last white hunter" (https://www.thelastwhitehunter.com/the-book). Donald Anderson, the Last White Hunter. Retrieved 2018-08-07. 5. "The Last White Hunter - By Joshua Mathew" (https://www.indussource.com/product/last-white-hunter/). Indus Source Books. Retrieved 2018-08-08. 6. "£50,000 fossilised egg and a DINOSAUR to be sold at Sussex auction" (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-33 29286/Incredible-collection-taxidermy-prehistoric-curios-auctioned-Sussex-including-50-000-fossilised-egg.html). Mail Online. Retrieved 2018-08-11. 7. the-saleroom.com. "Taxidermy: A magnificent Leopard head mounted on a large shield and labelled Tocher & Tocher ear" (https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/summers-place-auctions/catalogue-id-srsum10029/lot -f27625cb-6960-4bc8-b34b-a6ac00cc981c). www.the-saleroom.com. Retrieved 2018-08-11. 8. "An impressive half mounted bear skin, the head in full mount… - Natural History - Industry Science &echnology T - Carter's Price Guide to Antiques and Collectables" (https://www.carters.com.au/index.cfm/item/440606-an-impressiv e-half-mounted-bear-skin-the-head-in-full-mount-with/). www.carters.com.au. Retrieved 2018-08-08. 9. "Taxidermy Emporium Ltd - About us" (http://www.taxidermyemporium.co.uk/about-us/). www.taxidermyemporium.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-08-08. 10. "Trophy Wall – Secunderabad Club" (http://www.secunderabadclub.org/trophy-wall-2/). www.secunderabadclub.org. Retrieved 2018-08-07.

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