Taxidermy has come in from the cold. Stuffed animals are appearing everywhere from chic apartments to luxury boutiques. Museums have been dusting down their collections to put them back on display, while contemporary artists have rejuvenated the practice.

This book reveals the art of taxidermy in all its weird and wonderful glory, from its beginnings as a tool of natural history research, through crazes for anthropomorphic, zoomorphic and fake taxidermy, to its rediscovery by the art, fashion and design worlds of the 21st century.