Jean Baptiste Édouard Verreaux (16 September 1810 – 14 March 1868) was a French naturalist,

taxidermist Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body via mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the proc ...

, collector, and dealer. Botanist and ornithologist Jules Verreaux was his older brother.

Career

In 1830, Verreaux travelled to South Africa to help his brother pack up a large consignment of specimens. He returned in 1832 before continuing to Sumatra,

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and

Indo-China Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

. In 1834, he took control of the family's natural history business in Paris.

''Lion Attacking a Dromedary''

Verreaux designed and constructed the orientalist

taxidermy Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body via mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the proc ...

diorama '' Lion Attacking a Dromedary'' for the

Paris Exposition of 1867 The International Exposition of 1867 (french: Exposition universelle 'art et d'industriede 1867), was the List of world expositions, second world's fair to be held in Paris, from 1 April to 3 November 1867. A number of nations were represente ...

, where it won a gold medal. After the exposition, it was sold to the American Museum of Natural History, who exhibited it at the 1876

Centennial Exposition The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair to be held in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the ...

. The diorama was sold to the

Carnegie Museum of Natural History The Carnegie Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as CMNH) is a natural history museum in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Pittsburgh-based industrialist Andrew Carnegie in 1896. Housing some 22 million ...

in 1898, where it was displayed until its removal in 2020. The museum cited the work's lack of cultural accuracy and concerns raised by the

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police br ...

movement as the reasons for the removal.

Associated writings

* ''L'Océanie en Estampes, ou description géographie et historique de toutes les Îles du grand océan et du continent de la Nouvelle Hollande ...'' (with Jules Verreaux), 1832 – Prints of Oceania, or geographical and historical description of all the islands of the Pacific Ocean and the continent of New Holland. * ''Catalogue des objets d'histoire naturelle : composant le cabinet de Mm. Veraux, pére et fils, naturalistes préparateurs, boulevard Montmartre, No. 6'', 1833 – Cataloged objects of natural history, component of the firm Veraux, father and son, preparer-naturalists,

Boulevard Montmartre Boulevard Montmartre is one of the four grands boulevards of Paris. It was constructed in 1763. Contrary to what its name may suggest, the road is not situated on the hills of Montmartre. It is the easternmost of the grand boulevards. History I ...

, No. 6. * ''Catalogue d'oiseaux'', 1849 – Catalog of birds. * ''Catalogue des Oiseaux disponibles dans la maison d'E. Verreaux'', 1868 – Catalog of birds found in the house of E. Verreaux.WorldCat Identities
(publications)

References

Verreaux, Edouard Verreaux, Edouard Verreaux, Edouard Verreaux, Edouard Taxidermists {{France-zoologist-stub