Charley Harper (1922–2007)

Gorgeous book- I'd heard about [a:Charley Harper|74562|Charley Harper|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png] through friends and fell in love with his modernist style. I rescued this book from my grandparents' house after my ngin-ngin passed (Yeh-yeh was downsizing and had no need for kid books now that his kids and grandkids were grown, otherwise this would've gone to goodwill). I also have a fascination with old science texts, and it's interesting to see what the state of cutting edge biology was then, or how prehistoric events were interpreted. Remember, this was published in 1961 and therefore predates when the Alvarezes theorized and proved that an asteroid impact killed the dinosaurs, as well as before we even went to the moon (the last section wonders about life outside of Earth whether alien or ours in spaceships)!… (plus d'informations)

I received Charles Harper's Birds & Words from my husband for Christmas, a book that has long been on my wish list. It is a reprinting of Harper's 1972 book presenting the bird portfolios sold at $5 each in the back of the Ford Times, the Ford Motor Company's lifestyle magazine.

Harper's original introduction was of great interest to me as I knew little about the life of the artist. He grew up on a farm, but farm life disagreed with him. He was repulsed by how farm animals were treated. After his service in the army, he spent some unsatisfying time in New York City before studying at the Cincinnati Art Academy. A trip out west gave him direction. As he studied nature he began to understand the complexity of human existence and our relationship to nature.

He wrote,
"...the more I learn about nature, the more I am troubled by unanswerable questions about human exploitation of plants and animals and our casual assumption that the natural world is here only to serve people. I see all living things as fellow creatures with as might right as I have to be here and to continue living. I have to ask myself how man, the predator with a conscience, can live without carrying a burden of guilt for his existence at the expense of other creatures. Where does none draw the line between preservation of nature and preservation of self?"

Western Tanager from Ten Western Birds
The book is divided into the six portfolios:
Ten Western Birds, from Ford Times 1956
America's Vanishing Birds, from Ford Times 1957
Ten Southern Birds, from Ford Times 1958
American Bird Architects, from Ford Times 1959
American Bird Census, from Ford Times 1960
Ten Collector Prints

Each bird is given two pages, one page showing the illustration and a page for Harper's descriptions, which are often whimsical, a pure delight to read. The title font Kismet was specially chosen by Harper for the book.

Readers also learn about how Harper developed his unique style, paring images down to geometrical shapes.

Although I do love all the illustrations, it was the section of America's Vanishing Birds that moved me the most. These birds became extinct directly by human hands: The Great Auk, destroyed by 1844; the Carolina Paroquet, gone by 1904, hunted for ladies' hats; the Passenger Pigeon last seen in 1914; the Heath Hen which in 1830 was commonly found around Boston; and the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, Labrador Duck, and Eskimo Curlew. Endangered, but still with us, he included the Whopping Crane, Trumpeter Swan, California Condor (extinct in 1987 but being reintroduced), and the Everglade Kite.

I knew the book would be a visual feast, and that a study of the art would be interesting. I had not realized that Harper was also "an alternative Audubon" who was an environmentalist at heart.… (plus d'informations)

Gorgeous book- I'd heard about [a:Charley Harper|74562|Charley Harper|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png] through friends and fell in love with his modernist style. I rescued this book from my grandparents' house after my ngin-ngin passed (Yeh-yeh was downsizing and had no need for kid books now that his kids and grandkids were grown, otherwise this would've gone to goodwill). I also have a fascination with old science texts, and it's interesting to see what the state of cutting edge biology was then, or how prehistoric events were interpreted. Remember, this was published in 1961 and therefore predates when the Alvarezes theorized and proved that an asteroid impact killed the dinosaurs, as well as before we even went to the moon (the last section wonders about life outside of Earth whether alien or ours in spaceships)!… (plus d'informations)