The Victorians' popular interest in natural history led them to bring living nature indoors, to share space that was marked off from the domestic but readily observable. Wardian cases (a sort of miniature greenhouse / terrarium) are one example of how plants were brought into the parlor,
illustration from 1852
in addition to the solarium or conservatory, which was a room set off for this expressed purpose.
Living creatures were also introduced into living space in what were called vivariums (mainly insects, especially butterflies)
as well as bird cages.
Click above to see examples of how Victorians sometimes "housed" their birds
-- a house within a home.
When the living were not preferred, the dead might do as well. Tables with wood sample (and rock sample) tops were popular. So too were natural history domes, with their taxidermically preserved inmates and found natural object displays. Two types of displays were especially popular: shell sculptures, usually a type of fancy work ladies enjoyed after a trip to the seaside, and the more professional bird trees, which displayed a range of species. Male collectors, on the other hand, tended to keep their presevered samples of insects (butterflies and beetles) in sample drawers, cases, and cabinets.
The Victorians even experienced a craze for petrified artifacts, such as this bird's nest, which was immersed in a naturally occuring calcified water source.
.
in addition to the solarium or conservatory, which was a room set off for this expressed purpose.
Living creatures were also introduced into living space in what were called vivariums (mainly insects, especially butterflies)
as well as bird cages.
Click above to see examples of how Victorians sometimes "housed" their birds
-- a house within a home.
When the living were not preferred, the dead might do as well. Tables with wood sample (and rock sample) tops were popular. So too were natural history domes, with their taxidermically preserved inmates and found natural object displays. Two types of displays were especially popular: shell sculptures, usually a type of fancy work ladies enjoyed after a trip to the seaside, and the more professional bird trees, which displayed a range of species. Male collectors, on the other hand, tended to keep their presevered samples of insects (butterflies and beetles) in sample drawers, cases, and cabinets.
The Victorians even experienced a craze for petrified artifacts, such as this bird's nest, which was immersed in a naturally occuring calcified water source.
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