Archibald E. Moss threw the paper into the fireplace in disgust, watching it sputter into flames. Another rejection letter from the Royal Society, this time for his brilliant observations on the altered weaving patterns of arachnids under the influence of laudanum. Meanwhile, that twit Darwin had yet another paper published in the last quarterly - about an orchid and a made-up moth no one had ever even observed! Preposterous.

The many specimens lining the walls of his study gave Archibald no comfort on this stormy autumn night; their dainty forms seemed to be mocking his failed efforts at professional acclaim. Why those idiots at the Society couldn’t see the brilliance of his entomological research was a mystery. Moss had ventured further into the field than any other biologist he knew - catching and pinning rarities from Borneo, Panama, and even once deep in the Arctic Circle. The many Saturnid and Hawkmoths, Swallowtails and Mantids glimmering from his cases were an irrefutable testament to his brilliance.

Maybe it was time to resume his most controversial work. Archie’s eyes glanced to a book nestled deep into a dusty crevice of his study. The flickering candle-light glimmered on its faded leather spine as if in reply. Many years before, he’d rescued the tome from a tiny village deep in the Amazon jungle, where the leather was beginning to rot in the humid air, the pages stuck together with layers of mold. The village shaman had muttered about the knowledge contained within being “muy peligroso”, very dangerous, and hadn’t met Archibald’s eyes as he wrapped the volume in traveling rags. He’d suspected the secrets contained inside were very old, and could help him unlock mysteries of insects never before observed by Western science. Yet somehow, he’d never found the time to immerse himself fully in the volume - once back in his study its forbidden jungle knowledge seemed less pressing, and the Society would scoff at such a thing even more than his usual research.



Now, as he retrieved it from its shelf and opened the pages, a thick and fecund smell of vines and rotting leaves filled his study. For a moment, it seemed to him the shadows on the ceiling moved, like a tapestry of spiderwebs. Along with the sound of wings - thousands and thousands of them…

"What the Entomologist Saw" is an installation by Moth & Myth for Ghost Gallery

The realistic specimens in this installation are designed, printed, and laser-cut by Moth & Myth in downtown Seattle. 

View the window at Pacific Place.

Shop Moth & Myth Fine Paper Specimens