Birds of a Feather

Taxidermy pieces are turning up at every antique show I am in these days. While beautiful and definitely interesting (if not alarming depending on the animal’s pose) I understand it is not for everyone. At a show I was in last fall I offered a gorgeous red fox I would have loved to “adopt” to put on top of the primitive white cupboard that houses our television. I was met with resounding opposition from the rest of my family. They simply could not imagine watching TV with this fox “watching” them. They even likened it to the rescue panther commercial!!

 

If you feel the same way as my husband and children there are certainly other ways of achieving the curated feel of nature. A simple and certainly less expensive way is by adding antique chromo lithographs from the late 1800's of your favorite fauna subjects. 

 

If you are looking to do a large collection of prints try looking for them on one of the royalty free photo websites such as shutterstock.com, istockphoto.com. Print and frame yourself or take to a printing shop to have them put onto artist’s canvases.

Search your favorite antique haunts for the real McCoy. You might be lucky enough to find a gem! If the print quality is excellent and the production numbers were low, you may score a litho with significant value! Happy hunting…of paper not fur.