My Dad's Pickled Jar of Texas Creatures from 1950

I was at my parents' place in Tampa, FL. this past weekend. So I took advantage of being there and snapped off some high quality shots of my Dad's childhood jar of pickled reptiles, insects and spiders.

My brother and I have both looked at and lusted over this jar countless times growing up. We both want it, as well as my niece. My Dad has always joked that it will be in his will for my brother or I. Which wouldn't surprise me.

The story behind the jar:

Around 1950, when my Dad was about 10 years old he was visiting with his grandparents in Edina, MO. His second cousin, Alfred Kirn, was visiting from Texas where he taught Biology at a college there. Alfred had lots of cool things like stuffed armadillos and such. My Dad was fascinated and pleaded for "some preserved creatures from Texas". And Alfred said he would send him a package.

What my Dad got in the mail was this magnificent collection of creatures preserved in formaldehyde, along with a letter. It still blows my mind that this was mailed from Texas to Missouri in the early 1950s! All of the specimens are still very well in tact although somewhat muted in color.

They specimens are also all labeled with tags. But because most of them are flipped around I could only read two tags:

"Lubber Grasshopper, Somerset Texas, A J Kirn"

"Walking Stick, Somerset Texas, A J Kirn"

No scientific names but they can probably all be identified fairly easy.

I'm hoping my Dad locates the letter. It lists everything in the jar.

I meant to get a photo of the bottom on the jar. I think you can see the snake's head there as well as some other insects.

Also, check out my Dad's wonderful writing here:

guarkspacetravel.com

Photos are turning the jar counter clockwise:

Texas Horned Lizards, Giant Centipede, Lizard or Skink


The head of the unidentified lizard/skink can been seen between the two Horned Lizards.

Texas Horned Lizards, Giant Centipede, Lizard or Skink, Wood Boring Beetle (Possibly Click Beetle), Faded Coral Snake, Giant Male Eastern Dobsonfly



Texas Horned Lizard, Giant Centipede, Wood Boring Beetle (Possibly Click Beetle), Faded Coral Snake, Giant Male Eastern Dobsonfly, Other Insect/s



Faded Coral Snake, Giant Lubber Grasshopper, Giant Walking Stick, Scarab Beetle, Tarantula or Other Spider



Texas Horned Lizard, Giant Lubber Grasshopper, Giant Walking Stick, Giant Centipede



Jar Lid (would love to find more of these jars/lids!)

In My Cabinet of Oddities: Part 1

I've collected strange things since I was a child. Many of those I still have. But probably my most desired collectables were not acquired until later on when I had more money to spend.

I'm going to feature a few items from my collection from time to time. Today I present to you:

A Faux Shrunken Head Made From Goat Skin:



I was told when I purchased this that it was made by a member of the Jivaro tribe of the Amazon River forests, of southeastern Ecuador and northeastern Peru. They make real shrunken heads from the heads of their enemies. Trophies of war, they were believed to be powerful talismans. Since the skull would not shrink, it was removed prior to boiling and other preparation. Since the 1940s, it has been illegal to import shrunken heads into the United States. So the Jivaros now produce imitation shrunken heads fashioned of goat skin for commercial purposes.

Perhaps I will try to make my own shrunken head one day from roadkill.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrunken_head

Dog Skull, Vintage Camera & Medical Tools:



Besides bones, I collect vintage (and a few new) medical related items. Here you can see some of them including a modern hand operated bonesaw. The box that reads "A.S. Aloe Co." contains a real used vintage electric bonesaw. I'll open it up and get photos for another edition of "In My Cabinet of Oddities".

In the vintage glass Pyrex lab containers are various used medical tools. Including a metal syringe, some very intimidating pliers, and an assortment of other various tools. I can only imagine how they were previously used in surgeries.

I have medical books dating back to the 1800s. The beliefs and procedures back then seem barbaric and more like torture now. I will get a full set of photos of these to share in the future, including diagram examples.

Badger Skull & Working Vintage "Musical Jolly Chimp":



When I was young my family would sometimes go to this pizza parlor in Tampa, for dinner. It was a sit down novelty theme place that had bubbles that would fall from the ceiling and showed silent films. While you ate and watched movies there was a man that played piano on a pedestal in a spotlight. He had a creepy toy monkey that would play cymbals along with him and when it behaved badly he would strike it on the head with a mallet. Then it bared its teeth, screeched and eyes popped in and out. Disturbing.

I wouldn't say I was "scarred for life" but it certainly left a strange impression on me. As much as the monkey frightened me it also intrigued me, and so I wanted my own. Many years later with the birth of eBay I sought and purchased the exact same style of toy monkey, in working condition.

I have since unintentionally made someone cry when I showed it to them. Ooops.

You can hardly see it in the photo but he rests on a fossilized manatee bone my father gave to me as a gift. And in front of him is a badger skull I picked up at a fantastic roadside store on a highway in the middle of nowhere, in Colorado.

You can see the same kind of monkey working here: