Thomas Edward Gunn was the largest taxidermy business in Norwich and was based in St. Giles Street. Competitors included Cole of Norwich and Roberts of Norwich. He ran the business from 1844-1923 bearing his name. His son, Frederick (FE Gunn) retired from his fathers business in 1941 aged 72. The firm closed its doors in 1950, ending nearly 100 years of continuous trading.
TE Gunn cases tended to follow a very similar pattern of ebonised pine cases lined with paper, which was then either left plain or subtley painted a light blue. These cases were in the main "flat fronted", with only glass at the front. That said, wall hanging domes and multi-sided glass cases were also produced but the "mass production" for want of a better word was flat fronted cases.
Gunn also produced three sided glass cases and also wall domes and of course cased fish. Domes tend to be rarer, as you can imagine not many survive 100 plus years of general wear and tear. The mounts in domes tend to fade more readily as they exposed to sunlight from all sides. The groundwork however was universally similar. Branches were used but mainly the specimen was exhibited upon a earth mound within the case. The flat fronted cases did much to preserve the work as they tended to shield the subject from direct sunlight. Hence why sometimes TE Gunn cases give the appearence of being "fake", as they retain much of their original colour. The quality of the taxidermy and their own style makes them hard to copy truly effectively.
We have listed below a small selection of the work carried out by the Gunn family. We hope you enjoy it. We would also welcome any pictures or information relating to the taxidermy work carried out by the Gunn family.
One of the last Taxidermists to work for the Gunn family in Norwich was Fred Ashton. Any information pertaining to Mr Fred Aston would be most welcome Of course we would also welcome the opportunity to buy such cases by TE Gunn and FE Gunn.
