University of Minnesota
Department of Geology and Mineralogy
Minneapolis, Minn. 11 April 1876
Prof. Henry A. Ward
Rochester, N.Y.
The stuffed animals sent by you arrived in good order + they have been unboxed and stored in the room assigned to the uses of museum. Where also the casts purchased of you have been put in cases constructed for them. In arraying the casts I find the following without printed labels.
Nos. 109, 87, 21, 103, 186, 176, 17, 219, 330, 89, 382, 578, 540, 491, 484, 600, 492, 333, 315, 342, 268, 213.
I have two casts of trilobites prepared by you for Prof. Phelps of Winona some years ago. If you have printed labels of those I wish you would also send them as they are not numbered, + are not mentioned in your catalogue (old catalogue). I don’t know as I can designate them any better than as those prepared for Philips. The under jaw of the large Glyptodon was broken in moving. Your man tried to repair it with plaster of Paris, but made a poor job + it has fallen apart where he repaired it. Several were chipped on corners and the restored Pterodactylus has one wing + its head broken. I have procured paints + brushes + plaster of Paris for such restorations as I can do, to the amount of $2.00. I don’t know where your man is + I don’t think he can do the work if he should try, judging from his poor success in repairing those he attempted.
I don’t know whether Mr. Gibson had settled with you for the casts or not. He has no reason that lies in my power to reason for not paying you + had not had for some months. I collected and forwarded all the subscriptions + rendered him a statement showing balance due you, + requested its payment.
On the stuffed animals you render a bill for $445, which, I have not yet returned to Gibson, not knowing in what condition the contents of the boxes were till lately.
I believe I must say though that I think the animals are not well stuffed, indeed that some of them are poorly mounted, + that I cannot recommend your workmen in this line if I were to judge only by this job.
1st the moose is about 4 inches too broad across the shoulders and correspondingly too narrow up and down. His fore limbs should stand closer together and the breast bone + its long hairs should hang down between the legs. His rump parts and abdominal regions are too full. He should be higher behind than before, instead of vice-versa. The last is a fault of nearly all of the specimens especially with the elk.
2nd The Badger looks very much like a lynx – he stands too high, and his head is not filled out well.
3rd the hair has been clipped off on the belly of the moose and on some of the Antelopes. It seems to me it should have been left its full length.
4th The Elk + Moose lay on pads in the boxes + were not supported, so but that the pads made depressions. One hip of the Elk is thus deformed, and one shoulder. The Moose is also one sided for the same reason.
5th I sent you seven antelope skinds, more or less perfect all with skulls, and one head + neck with skull and antlers – you return these stuffed skins and two mutilated skins with no skulls. The rest ought to be accounted for. The head + neck with antlers was a very nice specimen, one I prepared specially myself. I think you have put the skull + antlers accompanying that head + neck into one of the returned specimens.
6th The claws of the Grizzly are some of them loose, + one of them dropped off in getting him upstairs. The Grizzly is the best job of the lot.
We shall bring this whole matter round satisfactory, I think. I make the above criticisms because I think you would rather know exactly my opinion than anything else. I judge you must have some inferior workmen + that you gave my job to them to do. I judge so also from the fact that you have not charged in your bill the full prices, as stated on a paper sent me by you dated Jun 22, ’76.
I have a caribou killed last winter in this state, + I aim to get a complete suite of the Mammals of the state as soon as I can get them together. I hope to let you do them.
In reference to the $18 worth of mounts for the Elk head in velvet. – I have not specified what I want for two reasons. – 1st I have no ready list of my own species. 2nd – I have no knowledge of what you have in your collection + do not find time to attend to, particularly. Let it stand at present + I will try by and by to fix out a specific order.
Very truly yours
N. H. Winchell