Mortimer & Gaunt: A Most Curious Legacy
In 1848 Thomas Mortimer and Philibus Gaunt mistakenly sat down at the same empty table in the dark corner of an Edinborough pub just inside of Cooper’s Close. Due to the gloom, neither saw the other sit down until it was too late. Seeing conversation as the only polite solution to the awkward situation, a most curious relationship began.
You see, both Mortimer and Gaunt were collectors of the unique and unusual. Mortimer was a British naturalist and had traveled the empire collecting, cataloging, and trading in biological specimens. Gaunt, on the other hand, collected a very different variety of artifacts. Through channels and sources that still remain unclear, Philibus collected and traded in objects of magical origins. Both Mortimer and Gaunt found each other’s work phenomenally fascinating and decided to enter into a mercantile partnership – Mortimer & Gaunt Curious Mercantile.
For the next 60 years, Mortimer and Gaunt Curious Mercantile amassed an enormous collection of artifacts collected by Gaunt’s extensive (albeit shadowy) network. All were cataloged and shelved in the ample cellars under their emporium in Edinburgh. Unfortunately, the demand for their relics declined over those years with the new trend of science taking control of the popular imagination. Interest in the magical waned. Their significant collection sat cataloged but unsold. Both Thomas’ and Philibus’ posterity eventually lost interest in the increasingly unprofitable endeavor and the emporium was finally closed and forgotten to history.
But the meticulously organized cellars remained.
My name is Belinda Matisse and I had never heard of my great-great-grandfather Thomas Mortimer, let alone his shop in Scotland. But after one bewildering discussion with my grandmother I found myself scouring records and deeds, delving into otherworldly research, and tromping through Edinburgh looking for more information on this emporium’s history.
I’ve always had a taste for a darker aesthetic. I wasn’t just interested in this family story - I identified strongly with Mortimer. Could these supernatural creatures really exist?
A year, several rusty padlocks, and two rotting trapdoors later… we found it. Row after row of 8 foot shelves filled the spacious cellar. Dozens of perfectly preserved specimens filled each shelf. All were labeled with precision.
For those of us who seek the magical and unbelievable: steal a glimpse of our mercantile. Who knows? This could be the beginning of a most curious relationship.