thoughtful

flickr, no known copyright

The holidays are over.  In January's chill, the scene at the Museum is basically this without the artistic embellishments of 1874: older dog relaxing, cats wondering what they can get into.  Have a closer look:

If you're curious, here's how this looks on the book page.  You may notice that this is one of those books of "improving" poetry of which the 19th century was so fond, which I think rolls over into the slightly grim feel of the illustrations: a sly kitty, heavy funereal-looking wreaths.

cats on the page

Oh boy!  The British Library's "Cats on the Page" exhibit is up through March 17, 2019!  Read all about it here.

book review: kaibyo, the supernatural cats of japan by zack davisson

image courtesy of publishers

 A young samurai and his mistress take a leisurely stroll outdoors in a print dated 1777 by Isoda Koryusai.  The man turns to his love with an eager face. He either hasn't noticed, or doesn't care, that his girlfriend walking so gracefully in her chic kimono is . . . a cat. Specifically, she's a bakeneko yujo, a shapeshifting cat prostitute.  She's only one of the many supernatural felines we meet in Kaibyō: The Supernatural Cats of Japan by Zack Davisson ($18.95, Chin Music Press and Mercuria Press, copublishers).
This gorgeous little book is full of creatures which will give you new respect for your own household demons.  After all, if they've been around long enough, they might grow a second tail and start walking upright, becoming fierce and frightening magical spirits known as nekomata.  Even scarier are the corpse-eating cat monsters known as kasha, and the Cat Witch of Okabe who lured travelers to their deaths.  Other, more benign creatures are found here too, such as the gotoku neko, who wears a trivet for a hat and likes to keep the fire stoked, and our friend the maneki neko, the inviting cat who's somehow gained a reputation for bringing luck.  Not least is the giant prehistoric Iriomote Great Mountain Cat, rumored but never proven to be stalking the highlands of a remote Japanese island, as illustrated below by Kyosai c. 1860-70:

image believed PD; any omission unintentional
Seiseiyousaiga, Kawanabe  Kyosai

This illustration, I might add, is uncannily like what faces me every morning that I have overslept the cat food alarm.
Davisson's scholarship is detailed and engagingly readable, and includes period stories and folklore as well as a wealth of full-color illustrations.  While it makes a wonderful gift, it's also a solid and useful resource for anyone who takes their cat folklore seriously.

Curator's note: According to the publishers, this is the first of an upcoming series on Japan's supernatural animals.

a beautiful puss in boots

digitalcollections.nypl.org 1704515 (no known copyright)

Walter Crane (English; 1845-1915) was one of the most important illustrators of children's literature in the late 19th century.  A student of the Arts and Crafts Movement, he chose natural forms presented in a tidied, romantic fashion.  In this opening page from the tale of Puss in Boots, Crane chose a background of traditional village occupations and its intersection with wildlife.  The Arts and Crafts Movement chose this as a way to turn popular visuals away from industrialization and a resulting decline in beauty and human values, and back toward honest craft and the environment.  Learn more about Walter Crane and see more of his lyrical and rich work here.

Art and Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. "Puss in boots" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/6c7f0ada-1804-0ff1-e040-e00a18065957

this is the cat of jack's diverting story

thanks hathi trust (PD)
http://bit.ly/2EoSjAp

Remember the house that Jack built and all the things that happened to him thereafter? (Spoiler: He got married and did really well for himself.)  Sometime in the years 1800-43, a prettily colored version was published by John Harris of London.  Titled "A History of the House That Jack Built: A Diverting Story," it includes this picture of the Cat doing in a strangely unconcerned Rat so that it won't eat up Jack's malt.  Jack must have been a brewer. Oh, I guess that explains why he did so well.  Want to see the whole book?  Look here.

sitting so beautifully

thanks british library flickr (PD) id: 003471451

Here's a soulful portrait of Greyfriars Bobby. It's from the pages of Aileen Aroon: a memoir, with other tales of faithful friends and favourites, written (and illustrated? The book doesn't say!) by Gordon Stables and published in London in 1884.  I can't let the dedication go by unremarked: "This Book is dedicated to my wee Daughter FREDABEL INEZ GORDON, By her fond Papa."

we have often sat just so here at the museum

public domain re hathi trust

"I liked to go into the garden.  She used to sit under a tree and read a book, and I used to sit on the seat close to her, and if she stroked me I purred loud." This illustration is from page 129 of Abby Morton Diaz's 1881 book,  The Cats' Arabian Nights, Or, King Grimalkum. (Boston: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co.)

who's watching whom?

Rare Book Division, The New York Public Library. "Three cats watching fish in an aquarium" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1938. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/b992a521-9c85-2498-e040-e00a18063ad7

This illustration by Clyde A. Copson is from a children's book called "A Day with Bum; and the Smart Little Fish," by Morris Wilson, published in 1938.  I can't find anything about Copson or Wilson, but the record for this piece at the New York Public Library notes that the book was created under a Works Progress Administration program for new reading materials.

a brave dog in a children's book, 1843

public domain scan from hathitrust.org

No clue who Bose is, or whose dog.  He simply appears on the last page of a little children's book published in New Hampshire 150 years ago, for no apparent reason than to be an object lesson. 

Bogert, J. Augustus., Eastman, H., Merrill, R. (1843-1854). Stories about dogs. Concord, N.H.: Rufus Merrill.

a dog watches over words

public domain, courtesy of the british library. link to page here

This floppy-eared boy lies in watch over one page of a Dutch Book of Hours dating c. 1420 and very likely belonging to a nun.  He shares duty with a dragon, so he's not too worried.

From the British Library, below:
Book of Hours, with the Hours of the Virgin, the Short Hours of the Holy Cross, Prayers and Suffrages (ff. 8-179v), imperfect. Netherlands, N. (Utrecht or Guelders), c. 1420, Dutch, by The Master of the Morgan Infancy Cycle. Full digital coverage available for this manuscript: see Digitised Manuscripts at http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts.

kitty silliness victorian style

british library flickr, no known copyright status

This bit of jolly randomness is from an adorable book, Lilliput Lyrics, published in 1889.  The author, William Brighty Rands (1823-82) was a major figure in Victorian children's literature.  The illustrator was the splendid, multitalented Charles Robinson.  The book a a whole surprises me with its modernity - the stream-of-consciousness of the poetry, the goofiness of the line drawings.

cat commentary 1900

thanks british library flickr

We have seen words of advice from the Biggle Pet Book before. Here's J. Biggle introducing us to the domestic cat:
***
I am one of those who believe that cats are capable of deep affection for their guardians, for I have seen many cases where cats have mourned the departure, or gladly welcomed the return, of those they have loved and trusted.
Cats have some advantages over dogs as home-pets. They are less clumsy, they take up less room, do not eat so much, are not so noisy, nor do they track dirt into the house on a muddy day. They are as good, or better, as ratters and mousers, and seldom have any odor, a fault from which few dogs are free.
Cats, in their nature, are clean, sagacious, tenacious of life, brave, independent, and usually self-sufficient. They are irritable by temperament, sensitive to changes of weather, to frost, to thunder : they are excitable, and naturally disposed to bite and scratch when at play; there is a tendency in them to lose their heads when in high spirits.
***

 Biggle, J. (1900). Biggle pet book: a collection of information for old and young whose natural instincts teach them to be kind to all living creatures. Philadelphia: W. Atkinson. 52.

a cat becomes queen

thanks hathitrust (PD)

This morning I'm giving you a spoiler:  this is the last page of a funny little book from 1899 titled Dunigan's Tortoiseshell Cat: or, the Life of Queen Tab and her Kitten.  Only a few pages long, the verse narrative follows a scrappy mama cat as she finds a job with the local miller, slays vermin, sees her child become a beloved playmate of the miller's son, and generally wins every which way.  Want to have a few minutes of feel-good pep talk from a surprising source?  Have a look, why don't you? (Quick note: the link given by HathiTrust jumps right into the book's middle - page back for full effect.)

meditation

thanks british library flickr. PD.

That's the title of this spot illustration found in "Round the Calendar in Portugal," by Oswald  Crawfurd (published in London in 1890). The identity of the illustrator? Take your pick:
"Illustrated by Miss Dorothy Tennant, Mrs. Arthur Walter, Miss Alice Woodward, Miss Winifred Thomson, Mr. Tristram Ellis, Mr. Ambrose Lee, and the author."

"before the cat can lick her ear"

thanks british library flickr (PD)

From a book of proverbs collected c. 1700 (and published in 1817):

984.  Biting and scratching gets the cat with kitten.
1015.  Brag's a good dog, but will not bite.
1051.  Can a mouse fall in love with a cat?
1071.  Cats are hungry when a crust will content them.  (All too true - curator)
3230.  Like lambs, you do nothing but suck and wag your tail.
3236.  Like the smith's dog, that sleeps at the noise of the hammers, and wakes to the gnashing of teeth.
6025.  You'll keep it no longer than you can a cat in a wheelbarrow.

Fuller, T. (1817). Gnomologia: adages and proverbs, wise sentences, and witty sayings. New ed. London: T. and J. Allman [etc.].

a history of exotic pets in england

thanks vintageprintable (PD)

Samuel Pepys, the English diarist, had a pet eagle.  It "fouled the house mightily," so he handed it off to someone else.  Anne Boleyn was given a monkey and didn't like it one bit.  George IV fed his adored giraffe milk, not knowing any better; the poor creature died, of course. These anecdotes and more are given in the course of scholar Caroline Grigson's new book, "Menagerie: The History of Exotic Animals in England" (Oxford Press).  What drove this need for strange and rare creatures to be captured and shipped to a country where hardly anyone could guess how they needed to live?  I've found a couple of excellent book reviews that you'll enjoy reading:
The Guardian's review here.
The London Review of Books review here.

friday fun, courtesy of 1903

A Raging, Roaring Lion, of a Lamb-devouring kind, 

Reformed and led a sweet, submissive life.

For with face all steeped in smiles

He propelled a Lamb for miles,

And he wed a woolly Spinster for a wife.

You need to see the excellent illustration for that - and you can, on page 11 of Joseph Greene Francis's  A book of cheerful cats and other animated animals (New York: The Century Co., 1903).
Here's the link to it at Internet Archive, where you may page through it there or download it for your superlatively goofy pleasure.  Plenty of innocent silliness and critters caught in non-sequiturs!

"tis good to watch"

thanks archive.org; not in copyright (PD)

This is a page of illustrated mottos, found in a book published in 1735 by Richard Ware.  Here's the whole title (take a  deep breath):
Emblems, for the entertainment and improvement of youth: containing hieroglyphical and enigmatical devices, relating to all parts and stations of life: together with explanations and proverbs in French, Spanish, Italian, and Latin, alluding to them and translated into English : the whole curiously engrav'd on 62 copper plates
Do you have a saying that keeps you going through the tough times?  Perhaps you would find it in this book and have a convenient emblem to keep in your sight for the encouragement thereof.  Here's a couple that struck my fancy from the page above:

13, a rabbit on the edge of its burrow: 'Tis good to watch.

7.  A hog among flowers: They do not suit well.

Anything here that speaks to you?

new lions, new life

courtesy the british library (cc0 1.0 universal PD)

Not pets (I should hope not), but too strange and beautiful to pass up.  This illustration of lions breathing life into their cubs is found at the British Library, a manuscript cataloged as Royal 12 C XIX (citation page here): a bestiary dating from the 1st quarter of the 13th century.  Want to see the entire bestiary chapter?  You can.
What's even more charming about this is the deeper meaning behind the illustration.  Newborn lions were often believed to sleep as one dead for their first three days of life, until their parents roared to bring them to life (or, as here, breathed it within them).  This was used as an illustration of the Resurrection, not only of Christ, but of all those saved.  For examples of various bestiaries' entries on lions, check out this page over at The Medieval Bestiary.

waiting for the master

found on pinterest, believed PD. on p f.50v-51r

This quiet and domestic vignette is found in the Book of Hours of Joanna of Castile (Libro d'Ore di Giovanna di Castiglia, 1486-1506 - here is the link to the digitised book at the British Library).  Also known as the "Hours of Joanna the Mad," the book contains a calendar, devotional texts, and prayers.  There are holy scenes from the life of Christ, but there are also pages and pages of open margins with scattered flowers, birds, and charming animals both everyday and fanciful.  It's a serene thing to behold, which makes it all the more poignant to me that Joanna's life was complicated and subject to politically motivated cruelties.