A 'whale' of a project
Milltown taxidermist restores 73-year-old behemoth for museum
BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer

David B. Schwendeman works on the eye of a 32-foot whale shark during the restoration process. The specimen was unveiled recently at New York's Vanderbilt Museum.

MILLTOWN — David B. Schwendeman recently found out that size does matter.

The third-generation taxidermist, along with a team he assembled, restored a 32-foot whale shark to its full, large-aslife glory, helping to reverse the clock for the 73-year-old weatherworn fish specimen. It is the largest piece of taxidermy work ever to be mounted, Schwendeman said.

"It was quite a challenge, and we did things that had never been done before," Schwendeman said. "It was definitely one of the highlights of my career."

The refurbished whale shark was unveiled recently at the Vanderbilt Museum in Centerport, N.Y. While it was a project that others in the field said could not be done, the Milltown-based taxidermist took it on with the passion that was passed on by his father and his grandfather. Schwendeman and the others worked on it for over a year at the museum.

Suspended over a glass floor in the museum's Diorama Hall, the deteriorated whale shark swayed precariously as the team worked their magic. They built scaffolding in order to reach the fish and to first secure the original skin back onto the mannequin. They then applied protective coatings and got the skin back to its original texture, color and strength.

"That's what taxidermy is — trying to achieve the illusion of life," Schwendeman said.

William K. Vanderbilt II paid to have the whale shark mounted in 1935, Schwendeman said. Over the years, it has needed restoration on several occasions. The most recent decline was caused by a leaking ceiling in the museum, which eroded the protective coating on the specimen's skin and resulted in the closing of Diorama Hall in 1996.

According to Schwendeman, taxidermists at the time the whale shark was caught off Fire Island did not have the ability to know the true color and other features of the fish, because of the changes that take place after dying. To achieve a true-to-life specimen as possible, Schwendeman consulted with the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, which is home to four of the mammoth creatures.

"This is state-of-the-art," Schwendeman said. "It's really neat."

The restoration of the whale shark and nine surrounding dioramas was paid for with a $135,000 Save America's Treasures grant from the federal government and a matching contribution from Suffolk County, N.Y.

Schwendeman has been in his family business for 30 years. He started at the age of 10, when he would help his father, David J. Schwendeman, and his late grandfather, Arthur Schwendeman, around the family's studio, which was established in 1921 on South Main Street in Milltown.

After earning a master's degree at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, Schwendeman returned to Milltown to again help with the business, since his grandfather's health was waning. He has manned the oldest familyowned business in Milltown ever since.

Since having animal specimens mounted is a luxury for hunters and other enthusiasts, about 70 percent of Schwendeman's business comes from museums and nature centers, he said. One example of such an undertaking was Schwendeman's work for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. In partnership with Yale University, he helped to re-create a scene from the woodlands of Connecticut, installing mounted wildlife creatures of various species.

Currently, Schwendeman is working with his sister, Mary Ellen Schwendeman Davis, who teaches biology in the South River school system. During her summer vacation, she is working to put together displays that can be brought to area schools for study purposes. She also installed a temporary taxidermy display at Milltown's Parkview School.

"She's pretty excited about it," Schwendeman said.

The connection between taxidermy and biology is a strong one, he noted, and he is excited about delving deeper into it. In line with his aim is his work with the Lawrence Brook Watershed Partnership, an area organization that strives to preserve water quality in the area.

Schwendeman also finds himself doing more eclectic projects for high-profile clients. He provided his workmanship for "Crybaby Lane," a Nickelodeon movie, and rented a number of specimens to the late news anchor Peter Jennings for a party at his New York penthouse. Schwendeman's studio was featured on the Martha Stewart television show. He also did mechanical animals for window displays on Madison Avenue in New York.

Prices start around $600 for birds and other small animals, and increase from there, depending on the animal. Alaskan brown bears can cost up to $5,000 to mount, Schwendeman said.

"We're not in it for the money. We're in it for the specimen, the animal. It's a tribute to the animal. Taxidermy is art," he said.

Other family members help out in the studio, making it truly a family business. From the time when the eldest Schwendeman taxidermist mounted a pair of birds at the age of 14 back in 1913 until now, the family business has seen animals of every type.

While the Schwendemans are willing to stuff deceased pets if they are fish or reptiles, cats and dogs are strictly out of the question. Still, the studio fields calls from grieving pet-owners who want to hang on to their beloved's memory.

"We advise people to get a new pet," Schwendeman said. "We find it distasteful. It's like having Aunt Tillie in the corner."