Bartlett died in the zoo premises on 7 May 1897, after suffering from an illness. He was buried at St James's cemetery, Highgate. His son, Clarence, who had been assistant superintendent at the zoo, took his position as superintendent. Another son, Edward Bartlett, also became a taxidermist who collected specimens in Peru and became a curator at the Maidstone Museum and the Raja Brooke's museum, in Sarawak. Several writings by Bartlett were published after his death in two books, "Wild Animals in Captivity" (1898) and "Life among Wild Beasts in 'the Zoo (1900).