Edwardian Taxidermy Badger Dumb Waiter

A well-executed example of British anthropomorphic taxidermy, modelled here in the form of a standing European badger (*Meles meles*) serving as an entrance hall card receiver or dumb waiter.

The animal is posed on its hind legs atop a stepped, moulded timber plinth, its head tilted in a snarling grimace with open jaws and inset glass eyes. Supported firmly between its forepaws is a circular electroplated salver, decorated with a bead-and-reel border and bright-cut engraving to the well.

Such novelty mounts flourished in the late Victorian and Edwardian sporting tradition, frequently adapted to hold visiting cards, match-strikers, or hall brushes, reflecting the period's taste for eccentric natural history cabinet work.