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.

cool old cat illustration

from british library flickr (PD)

This cat is serious.  He may be only a piece of decorative embellishment in a 19th century novel* but he is going to do his damned best at it, sir. 

*From p. 115 of "Jardyne's Wife. A Novel, etc." (Etc.? - curator) (London: Trischler and Co., 1891).

wishing you all

Leonard A. Lauder Collection of American Posters, Gift of Leonard A. Lauder, 1984 https://www.metmuseum.org

I borrowed from the great American illustrator Edward Penfield to help me say:

Merry Christmas!

I am grateful for every one of you

and wish you warmth and joy today and always.

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.)

in which i treat myself to a tiger for friday

hathitrust.org has source as PD

As longtime readers of the Museum know, every so often, your friendly Curator caves in to her forbidden craving . . . to have a tiger.  This fellow is found on page 3 of "Bennie and the Tiger," a moral tale of innocence (Bennie, all of three years old and temporarily unwatched by his nanny) protected by faith from the forces of evil (the Tiger, getting the usual bad rap).
Can't see the fierce majesty?  Tigerhance:

 -- Dean & Son. Bennie And the Tiger. London: Dean & Son, 11, Ludgate Hill, 1857-1865.

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."

enjoy easter fiercely!

thanks internet archive (PD)

"This is a fierce bad Rabbit; look at his savage whiskers, and his claws and his turned-up tail."

I always had a soft spot for Beatrix Potter's thug bunny.  If you recall that you did too, you may refresh your friendship with him here at Internet Archive.  I think that Beatrix Potter knew she had a streak of Fierce Bad Rabbit herself, thinly veneered.  It's right there in her style - creatures recorded down to the last realistic hair, dressed up for civilized life but ready to shuck it all off at any moment.

Happy Easter to you all, dear Museum friends.  

Remember to share your carrots!

And be careful where you shuck off your veneer.

a cheerful "story of a lost dog," 1933

thanks fr.wikisource.org (PD)

This colorful cover, and the cheerful tale within, is by the pioneering cartoonist and animator Benjamin Rabier.  You see his work very, very frequently, though you don't realize it:  he's the best-known illustrator of the Laughing Cow logo.

cats and books

british library flickr (no known copyright restrictions)

Cats, books, life is good.
Illustration is from page 233 of Gordon Stables' 1884 book "Aileen Aroon: a memoir [of a dog]. With other tales of faithful friends and favourites, sketched from the life."

mistaken? yet beautiful

thanks vintageprintable.com (PD)

This serene and elegant natural history illustration was labeled as a Doberman, but I think otherwise.  Not only does this creature not resemble any Doberman I've ever seen, but the inscription at the side reads "Canis venaticus Tunicus."  My usual rough Latin translation is coming up with "Hunting dog, Tunisian."  (Got a correction?  Seriously, tell me.)  So - a saluki, an Afghan Hound?  In any case, worth the moment's savoring.  If the actual piece glows like this illustration, it might be on parchment.  Look too at how fresh those colors remain after what I'm betting is at least a couple centuries, if not three.

a dog, circa 1800

yale center for british art, paul mellon collection. PD

British naturalist and illustrator James Sowerby (1757-1822; check out his goofy and adorable walruses) might have been using this paper for some other notes or doodles, but what he ended up with was one enthusiastic wire-haired dog.  Sowerby was known for the spirit of scientific inquiry he brought to his illustrations, but here he's simply illustrating the momentary joy of a friend.

it's monday - run!

thanks british library flickr (no known copyright restrictions)

Yes, it's the Monday morning after a long weekend, I got back into town late last night, and - what?  I'm late for the day job?. . . See why this is a perfect image for this Monday?
It's found on page 13 of Robert Ellice Mack's Round the Hearth (London: E. Nister, 1889).

idylliczny

thanks wikimedia commons. PD

(Idylliczny = Polish word for "idyllic.") Here's something gentle for TGIF: an illustration found in a book by Polish educator Stanisław Jachowicz (1796-1857).  This is found in an edition dating 1902 and published by  Jaroslaw Leitgeber.

write in cat

Oh boy.  Want to write in a font made out of cats?  Sure you do.  Then get yourself over to the Japanese website Nekofont, where tabby cats Raizo and Mondo will spell out anything you type into the little box. (Almost anything. Special characters such as "&" are a no go. Cats can only do so much.  Plus, you'll need to translate the page to find the font size choice.  This is "small.")
For example, here's the first line of the Edith Sodergran poem, "Luck Cat": ("I have a luck cat in my arms")

the last fat cat, i promise

statens museum for kunst/national gallery of denmark, inventory #KKS6916.  (PD)

I ate rum-soaked butter cake for breakfast, so. . . 

Now, I can't be the only one who has fellow-feeling for the glutton cat in Niels Skovgaard's illustration.  The cheerful soul poking him is the parson, whom the story describes as carrying a crooked staff.  Parsons seem to pop up in the same broad-brimmed hat and sensible outwear whenever one spots them in art and literature, so that was easy.

the fat cat observes hors d'oeuvres

statens museum for kunst/national gallery of denmark, inventory #KKS6914.  (PD)

Holiday snacking, right?  No wonder I'm on a Niels Skovgaard Fat Cat (Tykke Kat) kick.  Here the Cat is scoping out a group of girls (he eats them) and a flock of birds (he eats them).  You get the theme.  Don't be too upset.  Everyone gets out of the Cat's tum in the end, none the worse for wear, and very little wear to their "host."  I have one more of these I want to share this week.  Stay tuned!  Don't you like how deft and lyrical Skovgaard's lines are?  These are pen and ink sketches, whipped out with hardly a misstep.

a fat danish cat, 1911

statens museum for kunst/national gallery of denmark, inventory #KKS6920.  (PD)

Isn't he something?  He's "Den tykke kat" (The thick [fat] cat), and his story was illustrated in 1911 by Danish artist Niels Skovgaard (1858-1938).  It's an old folktale of a cat with bad manners and big appetite, and how he learns the error of his ways.  Skovgaard's images for this are droll, and perfect for this week of holiday eating.  
The penciled note reads "Over indholdsfortegnelsen" - "over the table of contents."
Skovgaard was not only known for illustrative work, but for naturalist painting and perhaps most for his sculpture.

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.

little dog big pillow

thanks discardingimages. (PD), Guillelmus Fichetus, Rhetorica, Paris 1471,
Cologny, Fondation Martin Bodmer, Cod. Bodmer 176, f. 1r

The "Rhetorica" of Guillelmus Fichetus recorded ten years' worth of that scholar's teaching.  The white pup above is a detail of the book's introductory illustration, in which Fichetus is presenting his manuscript to Princess Yolanda of Savoy.  (This page tells you that and a bit more.) Want to see the whole page of this illustration?  This should take you there.