kittenful of mice

courtesy and thanks to Library of Rennes - Les Champs Libres. public domain.

They don't make giveaway calendars like this any more.  If only.  This chromolithograph of a kitten holding a cage of six mice dates from 1885.  It's a typically high-quality product from Oberthur Printing, which among other accomplishments published the first French telephone directory.  Though this may not be the finest of fine art, in its day Oberthur Publishing brought attractive and well executed ephemera to the general public.  There's a lot to be said for teaching people how to look via their everyday materials.