[Colin's Royal Stag] 1856

Horatio Ross made this photograph of a stag's head at an unknown date using the calotype process. The image evokes a Victorian fascination with natural history and sport. The stag, a symbol of wildness and the Scottish Highlands, was a popular hunting trophy among the British upper class. Ross himself was a keen sportsman, writing books about deer stalking. We should consider the cultural context of hunting in 19th-century Britain. The sport was not simply about killing animals; it was deeply entwined with ideas of land ownership, social status, and masculinity. To fully understand this photograph, we might explore the history of hunting practices, taxidermy, and the romanticization of the Scottish landscape. The photograph is more than just a record of a dead animal; it reflects the complex relationship between humans and nature in Victorian society. The photograph asks us about the social structures of its own time: about class, about the relationship to the natural world and the place of the photographic image in this relationship.