Crap Taxidermy

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For those of you keeping score – and God knows I am – Crappy Taxidermy boasts itself as “the Internet’s oldest and largest image gallery of crappy and awesome taxidermy since 2009.” Dave drinks two dozen Coors in the woods with friends. Dave shoots bear. Dave pays taxidermist to turn bear into furniture. Dave puts bear in living room. Dave’s kids wet bed until they’re 33. Su explained that “blogging isn’t a zero sum game, and everyone wins when you spread the love for this particular type of taxidermy. I just like making people laugh.” You’ll see plenty of uncanny faces and furry figures that seem to be something straight out of a Tim Burton movie… except on steroids! For the book, she is going to write a tutorial on how to stuff a mouse. And her good friend, Daisy Tainton, happens to be an insect preparatory for the Museum of Natural History, and also a hobbyist taxidermist.

But even for those of us who don’t necessarily enjoy the idea of killing animals for the sake of impressing dinner guests, somehow it’s not all that difficult to be amused by terrible craftsmanship Our new book, titled Crap Taxidermy, is out now! A big shout out to Octopus Books & Ten Speed Press for turning this Tumblr into a book. Thanks for all the support!

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Should I tell you that I am one of the rabid followers of all things relating to The Bloggess and on one fateful day while perusing my local thrift shop my life was changed forever? A relaxed toad enjoying a smoke and a brew. A cat with eerily flexible front legs. A smiling lion with receding gums. Whether you choose to laugh or cringe at these spectacularly bad attempts at taxidermy, you won't be able to tear your eyes away from the curiosities inside. This volume brings together the very best of the worst (along with a DIY Stuff Your Own Mouse lesson by an Insect Preparator from the American Museum of Natural History), showcasing the most perverse yet imaginative anatomical reconstructions of the animal kingdom you'll ever see. It’s called @CrapTaxidermy, and it’s completely dedicated to images of the very worst animal mountings.

Because quality taxidermy really depends on the skill of the taxidermist, and a simple hunting mount can turn exponentially more creepy if it isn’t done with precision or mild sobriety. a few of these examples aren't in the book itself, but they are on the blog, and they are pretty damn creepy, so worth including. The reason for the name change, Su explained, is that her book is actually being published by a British publishing house, and that British people don’t use the word “crappy.” I brought Mitchell home and we became instant BFFs. We continued our chats and got to know each other on a deeper level. Friends and family found our relationship to be a bit strange, but it was only because they couldn’t appreciate what it was like for me to FINALLY have a fellow book lover in the house. Of course, Mitchell’s idea of a “comedy” isn’t quite the same as mine . . .Crap Taxidermy makes the promise of an entertaining and comedic read concerning distasteful and terribly positioned taxidermist “art”. The author starts off by explaining that taxidermy can come in two speeds: well done, and crap – you can guess which the book focuses on. Regardless of the author’s note that the book does not mean to be disrespectful, but rather shine a humorous light on the strange and unique works. The author includes quite a few photos: all of which are high-definition and full color. Within the taxidermy community I think I’ve built up a pretty bad rep,” Kat Su says, “because they think I’m making fun of what they do.”

In the meantime, Su maintains her day job as an active-wear designer, but says she’s actually going to have to try her hand at taxidermy. For real. Five years later, I’m so excited to report that I finally said yes to a publisher this February. After months of nonstop hard work, Crappy Taxidermy is finally going to live up to its full potential and become a book, thanks to the efforts and talents of the amazing people at Octopus Publishing Group, Ten Speed Press, Inkwell Management, and the photographers, artists and taxidermists who contributed to the project.So, although I’m sort of weirded out by this practice (and, hey, to each their own) I can absolutely appreciate bad taxidermy. There’s a section with step by step instructions on performing taxidermy on a mouse. It would have been much better if the author had included a picture of her own project. The chapter explaining how to taxidermy your own mouse was particularly fascinating, but I don't think I'll be giving it a go myself!