Dover Publications has distinguished itself by publishing numerous inexpensive booklets of twelve tear-out cardboard bookmarks. The core collection probably still dwells among the seminal late 19th-Century European masters like Monet and Van Gogh, but other themes have emerged and TWELVE AUDUBON BOOKMARKS is one of the best. Based on the prints of 19th-Century naturalist John James Audubon (1785-1851), these bird prints made-into-bookmarks are realistic, uniquely American, and so timeless as to constitute works of art in their own right. Each bookmark portrays two birds (noted on the back of the bookmark), sometimes male and female of the same species and sometimes two different species: not a "postage stamp" colletion of avian fauna, but in the realistic settings Audubon researched and knew so well while searching out his birds. Color and line are detailed and accurate. Rarely have the specific/scientific and the heroic/esthetic realms of visual art been portayed so simultaneously and so stunningly.
It's no secret many of us use these low-cost booklets to push an Amazon order over $25- and thus qualify for free shipping. I recommend buying them under any circumstances, as a little treat for friends, or as companion to an Amazon art or nature book. Cheaper than a greeting card, these twelve bookmarks constitute a unique species of Americana that has endured and will endure. Anyone who loves domestic birds, art prints, or nature in general is a likely recipient for such a charming little present. And don't forget yourself! Strongest recommendation.