vintage photo time

image courtesy J McDermott

Actually, more like "vintage ad time." All I know about this one is that it's a promotional postcard for a company called "Sache Fils." Cute, huh?

the cat garden of cairo

Once upon a time, in 13th century Cairo, a Mamluk sultan loved cats. Then as now, there were many felines to be found roaming the city streets, with homes or not, probably mostly the latter. So Sultan al-Zahir Baybars funded a "cats' garden," to house and refresh these creatures.

It is a curious fact, that, in Cairo, houseless cats are fed at the expense of the Kadee (chief judge); or, rather, almost wholly at his expense. Every afternoon, a quantity of offal is brought into the great court before the Mahkemeh; and the cats are called together to eat. The Sultan Ez-Zahir Beybars (as I learn from the Biish-Katib of the Kadee) bequeathed a garden, which is called "gheyt el-kuttah" (or the garden of the cat), near his mosque, on the north of Cairo, for the benefit of the cats: but this garden has been sold, over and over again, by the trustees and purchasers: the former sold it on pretence of its being too much out of order to be rendered productive, except at a considerable expense; and it now produces only a " hekr" (or quit-rent) of fifteen piasters a year, to be applied to the maintenance of the destitute cats. Almost the whole expense of their support has, in consequence, fallen upon the Kadee, who, by reason of his office, is the guardian of this and all other charitable and pious legacies, and must suffer for the neglect of his predecessors. Latterly, however, the duty of feeding the cats has been very inadequately performed. Many persons in Cairo, when they wish to get rid of a cat, send or take it to the Kadee's house, and let it loose in the great court.

-- from Edward William Lane and Edward Stanley Poole, An account of the manners and customs of the modern Egyptians (London: John Murray, Albemarle Street, 1871), vol. I, p, 362. I wanted to find a photo of whatever may remain now of this gheyt el-kuttah, but I couldn't. There are many photos online of the sultan's mosque, though. Just to give a sense of place.

"homage to a catflapper"

This is one of those "curator mails it in" posts, but you're going to be so glad I did. Besides, it's sunny out and it's going to rain for the next week or something.

Over at B3ta.com, one of the folks who regularly posts there calls himself The Twisted Omentum. He happens to have a deft hand with video animation, a great sense of humor, and a black cat named Lou Lou. . .

You can bring Pearl, she's a darn nice girl, but don't bring Lou Lou.
You can bring Rose with the turned up nose, but don't bring Lou Lou.
Lou Lou always wants to do, what we boys don't want her to,
When she struts her stuff around, London bridge is falling down

So goes the 1925 Ray Henderson song originally titled "Don't Bring Lulu." An uproarious celebration of the roaring decade's party girls, this is music that makes you Charleston like a fiend, even if you don't know how -

and even if you're a black cat named Lou Lou.

**You MUST sit through the credits. You will not be disappointed.

a lone dog and liking it

I'm a lean dog, a keen dog, a wild dog, and lone;
I'm a rough dog, a tough dog, hunting on my own;
I'm a bad dog, a mad dog, teasing silly sheep;
I love to sit and bay the moon, to keep fat souls from sleep.

I'll never be a lap dog, licking dirty feet,
A sleek dog, a meek dog, cringing for my meat,
Not for me the fireside, the well-filled plate,
But shut door, and sharp stone, and cuff and kick, and hate.

Not for me the other dogs, running by my side,
Some have run a short while, but none of them would bide.
O mine is still the lone trail, the hard trail, the best,
Wide wind, and wild stars, and hunger of the quest!

-- "Lone Dog," by Irene Rutherford McLeod (1891 - 1960s). She's fallen out of fashion, so very little biographical information exists on McLeod. But I recall reading this poem as a little girl and being oddly beguiled by the dog's fierce independence. This poem was included in a collection named Modern British Poetry in 1920, so written around then.

the medical dog

Did you know the Tibetan Terrier is one of our biggest weapons against Batten Disease? This is a rare degenerative disoder, currently fatal and uncurable. But thanks to the pure DNA of the Tibetan Terrier, which can suffer from a related disorder known as ceroid lipofuscinosis, researchers at the University of Missouri are learning how to test for and possibly control Batten Disease. At the same time, dogs with CL get to live in an environment where they not only help with research, but are pampered and provided with safe play areas and good care - very comforting for their sad owners.

That's just one of the 10 ways dogs have helped to advance medicine. I'd like to thank J. for contacting me and telling me about this article, which she had just posted on her blog. You know me: I read carefully to see if there was anything of older science on there, since I find most research of past decades/centuries so distressing. There is not (other than Pavlov's dogs, but you have to include those on any list!). There are very interesting entries on sniffer dogs and therapy dogs. I wish that dogs were not used in certain medical research at all, but it is fair to think that there are good people who deal carefully and well with their animals.

this would never work

"In Lorraine, if parents wish to discourage the addresses of a young man to their daughter, they send him a kitten. But sometimes love laughs at kittens as well as locksmiths."

-- from a book dated 1898 on The Angora Cat: How to breed, train and keep it. (Lorraine is an area in northeastern France.) And here's the curatorial spouse's take on that custom: "That's ridiculous! Then you're stuck with this kitten you didn't want and can't take care of that reminds you of the girl you're in love with -- how's that a good idea?" Actually, I think he might have hit the nail partially on the head. I'll let you know if I find out more about that.

a cat smile

public domain

Sunday night has rolled around all too soon, and I am sleepy. What I would like to do is grab a kitty and tuck myself in. Hopefully when I do, I will get a smile like this out of whichever feline deigns to snuggle. This is Julie Manet, also known as Child with Cat; it's Renoir's 1887 portrait of Berthe Morisot's daughter. You may enjoy it at the Musee d'Orsay.

Berthe Morisot was married to Eugene Manet, brother of the painter Edouard Manet, but notice it was their good friend Renoir who got the commission to paint their young daughter. I think I'd have done the same. Manet, for all his excellence, has a certain grey pragmatism in his portrayal of people. I wouldn't care to sign my child up for that worldview too early (it'll come soon enough, more than likely). No, I prefer the tender, spring and summer palette of Renoir, and the kind spirit that led him to find the loving detail. Witness, once more, the grin on that cat. And a goodnight to all Museum friends.

he really did surf with a cat

I'm sure you heard this on NPR yesterday too. Domingo Pianezzi, a Peruvian surfer, took an alpaca named "Pisco" surfing off the beach at San Bartolo. In his surfing career he has ridden the waves with dogs and cats and other beasties, but wanted to take along a creature symbolic of his country. (You didn't hear that? I have a YouTube here.)

So of course the first thing I want to know is "Who is this guy? and where can I see those other surfin' pets?"

I found footage of Domingo surfing with his calico cat Nicolasa, and I have to say it's pretty amazing - that kitty just hangs onto that board as cool as you please, and that's not calm water. Now if anyone finds anything about Domingo's surf exploits with the parrot and the hamster, let me know!

(a little later) But I'm not satisfied. I always want to see if I can find the extra thing, and I think I have - a short film from Hawaii made in the 1920's introducing "Night Hawk," the surfing dog. Though the film touts this as "World's First Surfing Dog," I'm sure that isn't strictly true, but you are going to love this anyway. Thanks to the LiveVideo page that found this in the first place.

kaspar, lucky number 14

London's Savoy Hotel prides itself so much on its quality of service that it will even provide you with a fourteenth guest, should you sit down unlucky number 13 at dinner. For whatever reason, your extra guest will be a cat. And to make sure the cat stays put, it's made of wood.

That would be Kaspar, a three-foot-tall sculpture of a black cat sculpted for the Savoy in 1926. When pressed into service, he is served every course, and is seated in one of the nice cushy chairs. For a little more of his story and some photos, go to Purr-n-Fur UK's webpage here.

the puppy takes over

Well, sort of - I've just been too busy with getting things settled here; that is why I haven't posted much. The sticker on the window says: "Dog is good."

a jolly sportsman writes about his dogs, 1898

From the January 1898 issue of Sports Afield (Vol. XX, No. 1), in the "Our Friend the Dog" department: a very friendly, likeable letter to fellow readers, including mention of a long-awaited setter pup. By the way, note that this gentleman has no problem mentioning he still has his childhood toy. How cool is that?

* * *
MY DOGS.

Do you own a dog? Did you ever own one? Well I do and have owned more or less of them ever since I can remember.

The first dog I ever owned was when I was a very little "tot" hardly old enough to toddle. It was a little wooden dog, painted black, one ear was badly chewed up, not from fighting, but from the fact that I used it to cut teeth on; but, as I look at it now (I still have it as a relic of childhood days) I am inclined to believe the teeth must have been pretty well advanced. I think it was a "house dog" and a great favorite at that, for it was allowed to sit on the mantle, table, bed or most anywhere I happened to leave it.
One day I came to the conclusion that my doggie needed fresh air, so I climbed on a chair and reached for his dogship, but I must have made a miscalculation some where, for just as I put my hand on the dog, the chair tipped and down came I, doggie and all, including a valuable vase; as a result, I carried a red bump on my head for several days, and the poor dog had his head knocked off; but we stuck it on with glue and he didn't seem to mind it at all. The vase was forever beyond repair.
At present I am the possessor of two real live dogs. One is a genuine fullblooded Gordon setter and goes (and comes also) by the name of "Jeff." The other is a genuine full-blooded mongrel known as "Nat." Both are leaders of canine society and also seem popular with the common dogs of the neighborhood. Jeff is a dark complected dog, of medium size and splendid disposition. Nat is more of a fawn color, rather below medium height, but also of good disposition.

It would take twenty-five dollars to buy one (although he isn't worth twenty cents) but money couldn't buy the other. I have at different times been the owner of several bird dogs but none of them ever suited me as well, or gave as good satisfaction as Jeff.
As a rabbit dog Nat is good enough for me; Nat is also an excellent watchdog. If it came to a test I believe that either would fight to the death in defense of their master.

I have lately bargained for the purchase of a fine English setter puppy, which I hope to successfully train as a companion and successor to Jeff.

Get thyself a dog!

Morris Browning Rice, Rinloch, Missouri.

* * *

uh oh

What is this?

A setter puppy?

In Elizabeth's house?

Yes. Yes it is. Meet Briar, our new dog.

He arrived yesterday, and the girls (E. and Bac') are less than enchanted at present. He, for his part, has never even seen a cat, and has no idea what these weird little dogs are that keep hissing at him. He just wants to be friends!

oh, man. it's going to be a busy weekend.

a french cat's manners

While watching Elizabeth put an uncompromising headlock on poor Bac' while the latter was trying to eat the good squishy cat food, I thought of this French poem from the 17th century. (My lovely Elizabeth could stand some old fashioned manners. What are the chances, do you think?)

Grisette Dines

Always well behaved am I,
Never scratch and never cry;
Only touch the diner's hand,
So that he can understand
That I want a modest share
Of the good things that are there.
If he pay but scanty heed
To my little stomach's need,
I beg him with a mew polite
To give me just a single bite.
Greedy though that diner be,
He will share his meal with me.

-- by Antoinette Du Ligier de la Garde Deshoulières

i will hug him and love him

public domain

Abbesses used at times to live by different ideas of the vow of poverty. And with that I introduce to you this vignette painted among many others upon the ceiling of a private room belonging to the Abbess of San Paolo. The convent is in Parma, Italy, and a hometown boy did the work in 1519: Correggio (1489-1534).

Look at that dog getting hugged all over by that little boy. The dog is clearly thinking "Aah I want to go quit loving me so much." Since the goddess of the hunt, Diana, appears elsewhere in the room, it may well be that the dog is afire to go upon the chase. And it is this vivid expressiveness, as well as a bravura ability with perspective and foreshortening, which earned him his place as one of the more forward-looking Mannerist (late Renaissance) artists.

Want to see what the whole ceiling looks like? (The dog is at right, around the middle)

sunday game

It's Sunday. The Oscars are on shortly. You want to relax. You want something cute and funny and colorful, and if it's a situation where you can't lose no matter what, all the better. (We may actually be talking about me more than you here, but stay with me.)

This is why you need to play Sushi Cat.

The adventure starts with a tubby blue kitty trying to figure out the heft it would take to be united with the pink toy kitty of his dreams, and before you know it, you're dropping him on pieces of sushi while a variety of harmless shenanigans and jolly music (at one point sounding a lot like the Clash, I swear) spur you on. Just fall on 30 pieces per stage. Don't make it? You get to repeat the stage over and over till you do. But you'll usually get all 30 right off the bat.

According to Wikipedia's entry on Kawaii/Cuteness in Japanese Culture, "Other translations of kawaii can include adorable, precious, lovable, or innocent." Sushi Cat is utterly kawaii. And I feel cheerful all over now.

sweet dreams of winged kittens

public domain

"Some Cat-land fantasies, drawn and dressed / To cheer your mind when it's depressed." This funny and small-scale drawing with its upbeat verse welcomes you to A Book of Cheerful Cats and Other Animated Animals, by J. G. Francis (New York: The Century Co., 1903). I have often found in books of years gone far by a small, positive note and/or image tucked among its beginning pages. I'm sure that's a result of a culture that always big into "the improving thought." We could stand more improving thoughts!

aesop's lesser-known fables

The ant toiled away while the grasshopper played, and very ill indeed it went for the grasshopper when winter came. The Thracian slave Aesop came up with that story in mid-sixth century BC Greece, and people learn and consider the tale to this day. How about sour grapes? Aesop told that story in "The Fox and the Grapes." Slow and steady wins the race? That's him again: "The Tortoise and the Hare."

But did you ever hear of "The Hare with Many Friends," who had no friends at all when it counted? Or "The Eagle, the Cat, and the Wild Sow," in which a cat (unfortunately) uses her gossiping tongue for her own selfish ends? Or perhaps you have puzzled over someone's passive-aggressive behavior, in which case you'll appreciate "The Dog and the Hare."

You will find all three at this online collection of Aesop's Fables, neatly arranged with the lesson told out for you next to each title. I'll let you scroll through the list (it's alphabetical) so you may see all the others you don't know. I'm fond of "The Cat and Venus": "A cat fell in love with a handsome young man . . ."

diego: small dog big adventure

photo courtesy b. o'brien

That's what the subject line of the email said this morning, and if you have been around long enough at the Museum, you know I cannot resist anything about my favorite Pomeranian. He was accompanying his human on a trek through the wilder part of his property, and had dropped out of sight for a while - and suddenly appeared out of nowhere, perched on this log like the little red king of everything.