Stuffed squirrels don’t sound like expensive collectibles, but four pairs of 19th-century boxing squirrels, each mounted in a wooden box, sold for $17,700 to $22,420 at a Rachel Davis Fine Arts auction in Cleveland in September 2013. We counted about 50 bids for each pair. The red squirrels were mounted by William Hart & Sons in about 1850. Hart was one of the most famous taxidermists in England and did several sets of squirrel “Pugilists.” His son, Edward, was also famous as a taxidermist and made more of the anthropomorphic squirrel sets. The c.1850 squirrels that sold at auction wore boxing gloves, which weren’t required in real boxing rings until the Marquess of Queensberry rules went into effect in 1867.
Photo: Rachel Davis Fine Arts
Oh gosh these squirrels used to be in what was called “The Little Room,” a very small executive dining room (seating for only 4 or 5 people) on the fifth floor of Goodyear corporate headquarters on East Market St. in Akron, Ohio. I knew they were valuable and old but for me they were a bit creepy being on display in a dining room. It made me feel like we could have squirrel for lunch! Despite the squirrels — meals in the Goodyear executive dining rooms were always superb and served with class on fine china. Back in the day it was an honor to be invited to those rooms for lunch. Ah good times.
In the late 70s, I visited my sister while she was in college in Geneva, NY. There was a bar with a large window on the main street. In that window
was a display of stuffed squirrels playing instruments in a band. It was quite awesome, from what I can remember.
I have over 120 Ladies Home Journal magazines from 1903 to 1915, are the valuable?