vintage photo time

by mail from berlin!

That's right:  I caught sight of this kitty on eBay and try as I might, I couldn't forget that face.  It took me a week to cave in, but I bought the photo and here it is after a trans-Atlantic trip.  Not sure how old the photo may be.

dewey extols his fine qualities

This is an ad from the April 1907 issue of the breeders' periodical Dogdom (you'll find it on p. 745, vol 8 #2). "I have been told again and again that I am one of the best of his sons, and I, therefore, feel it my duty to announce my services to the breeding public."  I find this advertisement vastly entertaining!

a favorite dachshund

thanks wikimedia commons {{PD:US}}

That's the title of this oil painting by the Victorian British painter Frank Paton (1855-1909), who made a solid career from his portrayals of animals and rural scenes.  I admit I normally approach works (and artists) of that description with my kitschmeter on a hair trigger.  However, after looking it over a bit I think Paton's work has a soulfulness and sympathy, particularly in his dog pieces.  (His cats do tend to be a bit cutesy.)  There's also a piece called "Disturbed by a Ferret," starring two rabbits, that has a fellow feeling to it I like.  Queen Victoria liked him, too.

vintage photo time

ampersand stikes again : )

Is that a really tall dog?
Or a very little girl?

curiosity...entertained the kitten

thanks wikimedia commons {{PD-Art: US}}

We've seen Henriette Ronner-Knip (Dutch, 1821-1909) here at the Museum before.  I couldn't resist this little oil-on-panel today.  Titled "Curiosity," all we know is that it was painted before 1909. It's a swift, active sketch, showing her usual attention to naturalistic portrayal.  I think she's perfectly captured one of those split seconds when a kitten is about to go wham! on a handy bug.  Elizabeth loves to leap after bugs.

I see it's Earth Day.  Happy Earth Day, everybody!  I hope you get to take some time outside and meet some other creatures with whom we share the world.  The robins are finally back out here in the Northwest, and if I go walking I'm going to look for deer (they are surprisingly numerous in the city where I live).

a great lady doesn't fear parroting

thanks wikimedia commons {{PD:US}}

Certainly not if you're the great French queen Marguerite de Navarre, portrayed here by Jean Clouet circa 1530.  Here's what the philosopher Erasmus once wrote to her:  "For a long time I have cherished all the many excellent gifts that God bestowed upon you; prudence worthy of a philosopher; chastity; moderation; piety; an invincible strength of soul, and a marvelous contempt for all the vanities of this world."  To add to all that, she wrote many thoughtful and well-received works.  So when I followed up on the symbolism of her pet parrot - I knew it had to be in there for a reason - I was not surprised to discover that the bird has been variously used to signify eloquence, prudence and spiritual virtue, due to its ability to imitate the human voice.  After all, if you have a bird around that can sound just like you, you really want to say only the wisest things.
**Note:  Marguerite's best known written work is The Heptameron.

"only a dog"

They say it is only a dog who had died, And many think it is weak to have cried, But those who know the heart of a dog Have caught just a glimpse of the love of God. For there never has been a friend more true Than the dog who has passed away from you. And never more will you find a friend More faithful to you till your life shall end. There are many people who just pass by— Never lift an eyelid or heave a sigh At sight of the wrongs and cruel pain Inflicted on those who call in vain. Yet these are the people who often pray To a God whom they think they serve each day. But would never lend a hand or pause To see justice done to the good dog's cause.

Then they sit by the hour and watch a show Of animals trained by whip and blow, Then kept in misery day by day That you may be pleased by their brilliant play.

Oh, you men and women who love to pray To a God whom you think you serve each day. Just lend your help as you're passing by To lessen the pain and weary sigh.

Then the prayer that you often need to pray 
Will be answered by God, as day by day 
You seek to help, and never in vain, 
When you heed the call of a dog in pain.


-- Alice E. Wright, "Only a Dog," in Journal of Education (Boston University School of Education). Vol. 92. (December 16 1920): 602.

queen victoria: excellent pet mother

Or so at least The Spectator periodical asserted in a sympathetic article shortly after her passing.  The whole article is worthy of a read, but I thought you might like this part best - especially at the end where Kipling name-checks Her Majesty in a bit of genteel dognapping.

* * *

. . . After the death of the Prince Consort the Queen never lost her fondness for her animals, and without in the least being over-sentimental with them, set a most desirable example to people who love their pets "not wisely but too well" how to make them happy themselves and a source of happiness to herself and others. As very many people who are by way of being devoted to animals make the creatures' lives by no means a success, and anything but a source of pleasure to other people who do not happen to be their owners, some of her late Majesty's methods have a practical value. She only kept good, wellbred creatures, and she saw that these were maintained in good health and wholesome surroundings, and that people looked after them properly. 

At Windsor her dogs, instead of being kept in cold kennels in some sunless court of the Castle, or banished to various keepers' lodges in the park where it would be nobody's business to look after them, were all housed in a cosy part of the Home Park, in niort sunny kennels near her own cottage, where she could have them let loose upon the lawn when she breakfasted there, and see them when she pleased without waste of time. Nothing could be better managed than the Royal stables. But her Majesty would occasionally come round at tbat happy hour, afternoon feeding time, and see for herself how her horses were eating their com. Kipling's private in " Soldiers Three" condones his terrier-stealing proclivities by remarking that the Queen herself likes a well-bred dog. . .

   -- from (anon.) "The Queen's Love for Animals," The Spectator, No. 3,789, February 9, 1901 pp. 199-200.

a black cat, the glorious outdoors

courtesy wikipaintings.org, public domain

By 1902 the Russian painter Konstantin Korovin had established a thriving career.  He'd designed part of the Russian pavilion for the 1900 Paris World Fair, and been awarded the Legion of Honour; he'd joined the groundbreaking artistic group Mir Iskusstva (World of Art); and after decades of easel painting had moved to designing major theatre sets.  And yet sometime that year he found a while to work up this study of a pleasant room and the black cat that would probably like to get out of it.
I don't find that surprising.  Korovin was one of the leading Russian Impressionists, and as such would have loved to capture such moments as this:  look at the difference between the muted, grayish light of the comfortable interior, compared to the clear blue radiance outside the window.  He was a hard worker, it seems, and I wonder if he felt the same way the cat did:  I want to go outside.

but why not a sweet little cheetah?

I'm still on this cheetah kick from a couple days ago. I'm expressly not saying that cheetahs are a good pet choice.  They're not.  Do I wish I had a pet tiger?  Sure I do.  I wish a lot of things.  Wild animals do not make good pets and that's that.  But darn it, some people got to have pet cheetahs and I can't look away!
...Like this lady frolicking with her A. jubatus in this clip from British Pathe.  I do hope that's a fake fur round her shoulders (look at it), or this would be too wrong for words.
...Also at British Pathe:  the modestly off family at the Thame estate trots Chui the cheetah round their simple little yard, don't you know. (Not, of course, a modest house. Or a small yard.)
...And once more from BP and the what the h*** is wrong with these people files:  Andre Mercier, Paris, 1960:  snug apartment, dead big cat skins, one live cheetah.  SO Texas Chainsaw Massacre.  If you're a cheetah.  Run, cheetah, run! They're going to make a chic accessory out of you!

josephine baker had a cheetah

...named Chiquita, who was male.  She brought him with her seemingly everywhere, and bought him a diamond  choker.  I wish I could find a photo I was allowed to post!  But I can at least send you...
... to a photo of Josephine and Chiquita having a stroll
...to a wonderful short article on Josephine Baker and Chiquita from the Victoria & Albert Museum
...and a charming Casino de Paris poster of Baker and buddy by artist Zig (Louis Gaudin), about which I can find not a whit of info.

By the way, the third Mughal Emperor, Akbar the Great, kept as many as a thousand cheetahs at a time.  

The Mogul emperors constantly used this animal, and kept surprising numbers of them. Akbar the Great, Emperor of Hindostan, 1556—1605, had one thousand cheetahs to accompany him on his hunting expedition, forming ia itself a large encampment, for they were kept with great state, and the chief one called Semendmanick, used to be carried to the field in a palankin attended by his appointed servants, and a kettledrum beaten before him. -- John Fortune Nott, Wild Animals Photographed and Described, 1886, p. 88.

ni hao (hello). talk about your pet in mandarin

I'm excited to have found the BBC's "Schools" section online - particularly "Primary Languages," in which you can pick up a little chat in French, Spanish or (ooh!) Mandarin.  The BBC keeps it simple and important: part of the "Families Vocabulary" includes short chapters on "Pets" and "Describing Your Pet."
So how can I tell about Elizabeth in Mandarin?  Hm...
Wo you yi ge chong wu. 
Yi zhi mao.
Ta shi hui se de, mei li.

I have a pet.
A cat.
It is grey, beautiful.


Or maybe I want to talk about Veronica, in which case that last sentence can be:
Ta shi hei, ke xiao.
It is black, funny.  (But she is also mei li.)

Doesn't this sound fun!? Want to try?  Here is the Mandarin Pets page at the BBC.

vintage photo time

from a bin somewhere in fremont

There they are, man and dog, sitting on top of the world.  Wherever in the world that is.  I can't for the life of me guess.

happy easter!

public domain

Here's Theodor Kleehaas before 1929 with "Vergnugtes Spiel auf dem Hofe," which translates roughly to "Fun Playing in the Yard."  Kleehaas' work was noted for its luminous innocence, and you can surely see that here (I love how those rabbits are wary, but staying faithfully at their baby-supporting posts).  I hope you all have a beautiful holiday Sunday, and if the sun is shining on you, do have fun playing in the yard.

Happy Easter, Museum friends!

the proverbial dog, in hindustani

Even when a dog sits down, he brushes the spot with his tail.  ( Said in recommendation of neatness.)

 If dogs could live on grass, every body could keep one.

Indulge the familiarity of a dog, and he will jump on to your head. (That is - Keep the mean in their own place.)

Go at the dog's pace and come back at the cat's.  (That is, post haste: both animals travel rapidly.)

Put a dog's tail into a straight pipe for twelve years, and it will still be as crooked as ever.  (Said of a man incorrigibly bad.)

My heart beats like a dog's.  (The sensation of a throbbing over the ribs is supposed to indicate the approach of an absent lover or friend.)

He has eaten dogs' brains.  (Said of a great talker.)

-- from 

A Dictionary of Hindustani Proverbs:

 

Including Many Marwari, Panjabi, Maggah, Bhojpuri and Tirhuti Proverbs, Sayings, Emblems, Aphorisms, Maxims and Similes, S. W. Fallon, (Benares and London, 1886), pp. 144-5

meet murphy the cat

Image copyright and by kindest permission of the artist V. Arlington

Viza Arlington lives outside Spokane WA and her prints find homes all round the world.  "I love animals and they have always been a favorite subject for my art," she told me.  Here's her "Murphy the Cat" with its clever use of the woodblock's grain as a subtle amplifier of those fine kitty stripes.  Want to see more inventive work by VIZArt? Look at her Etsy shop.

the pet museum in times square

Argh! I wish this were big enough for you all to see it, but that's my tweet to Purina Cat Chow on why I'm a cat person...up on the billboard in Times Square!
Here's what I said:  "Cats are like pocket tigers...wild, beautiful & free, yet I can tend & love them within the little jungle of my heart & home"
I'm sure it was just up for a few minutes but OMG how thrilling!

sleeping cat, eve sand

copyright and by kindest permission of eve sand, artist

Vancouver, B.C.'s Eve Sand is a painter and graphic/web designer with a lyrical and pure touch, as you can see at her Etsy shop.  Most of her work there consists of simple forms against soft color, but now and again she throws in a linear pet study such as this.  I had to ask her if she'd let me share this with you, and she said yes along with this note:


"Interesting thing is that I always had dogs as pets, never a cat! Yet I am completely fascinated with them and enjoy drawing them! The cat in the picture is my best friend's pet. I don't have a single drawing of a dog for that matter.   Maybe I should work on that!"

I would love to see her dog studies when she does some.  Please do, Eve!