About.com Rating

The Bottom Line

Birders and non-birders alike will appreciate the elegant beauty of the bird artwork products available from Charting Nature. Vintage images are well complemented by cream mats and papers, and the images are reproduced with modern techniques for extraordinary detail and protection against fading or discoloration.

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Pros

• Securely but not excessively packaged for shipping.

• Paper, mat and frame colors and options complement the art style and colors.
• Easy to use website features online previews and ordering.

Cons

• Some bird names are outdated for modern terminology but accurate to the art era.
• Only features bird species found in North America.

Description

• Company Name: Charting Nature
• Products: Bird posters, art prints and note cards
• Location: Eugene, Oregon; worldwide shipping is available
• Cost: Note cards - $12.95/set; Prints - $8.95-119.95; Posters - $19.95-24.95

Guide Review - Charting Nature

Charting Nature offers a wide range of high quality bird prints, posters and note cards featuring vintage bird artwork drawings from 18th and 19th century artists including John James Audubon and Louis Agassiz Fuertes. The colors of the artwork are luxuriously rich as befits artwork but are still accurate for the pictured birds, making them not only beautiful art, but also stunning representations of familiar North American birds that birders can appreciate. The detail is exquisite on every drawing, and birds are pictured in different plumages and poses with a glimpse of their natural habitats as background.

The blank-inside note cards are available in sets of eight with assorted species in similar groupings, including songbirds, ducks and game birds. The cards are printed on ivory cardstock, and both the cardstock and envelopes are a high quality medium weight for easy use. The bird species are named on the back of each card, and while the names may be outdated or incomplete, they are accurate for the artwork's era. A brief artist biography is also printed on the back of each card.

The artwork prints are available as both giclee and lithograph prints, and the giclee prints are available in 5x7, 8x10 and 11x14 sizes, each of which maintains the exquisite detail of the original prints. More than 50 bird species are available in prints, and the common and scientific names are discreetly printed with each image. Prints can be purchased alone or may be purchased with a choice of mats and frames that coordinate with the vintage images to suit a range of home decors without distracting from the beauty of the print. The frame is sealed on the back to prevent dust or dirt contamination, and a sturdy hanger is attached for convenience.

Bird posters are the third type of bird-themed product available from Charting Nature. These 24x36 inch posters are available on art paper or laminated, and each one features multiple species in beautiful renderings with accurate field marks. Posters include garden birds, hummingbirds, owls, state birds and birds of prey.

In addition to bird artwork and related gifts, Charting Nature also offers similar products with trees, flowers, fruits, fish and other nature images, all with the same attention to detail and high quality found in the bird artwork. This makes Charting Nature products a great choice not only for bird-lovers and birding enthusiasts, but for all nature lovers.

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Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.