good companions

http://digitalcollections.library.ubc.ca/cdm/ref/collection/bookplate/id/189
no known copyright restrictions

From the Thomas Murray Collection at the University of British Columbia's library.  Exact date and creator unknown, but the charm and style of these two friends at the window is easy to see.  I personally think the style looks circa 1910-1920.

naptime

Gift of Bishop Monad, 1869
https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/

This peaceful scene is an etching on blue paper from the late-Baroque artist Francesco Londonio (Italian, primarily Milan, 1723-1783).

the young squire

Print made by Alfred W. Cooper, active 1850–1901, British, The Young Squire (tail piece), undated, Wood-engraving with hand coloring on moderately thick, slightly textured, cream wove paper, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection recto

Who's The Young Squire?  Is it one of these two, or are they waiting on the young squire to come down?  Why can I find lots of artwork by Alfred W. Cooper (British, d. 1901), and almost no information about him?  By the way, this is a "tail piece," and that's not a pun; a tail piece is a design or illustration at the foot of a page or the end of a chapter or book.

double hedge

www.rijksmuseum.nl (PD)
https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/nl/collectie/RP-P-OB-16.632

This strong, playful image of two hedgehogs meeting over an ivy leaf dates from - hold on to your hat - 1892.  It's by Gerrit Willem Dijsselhof (Dutch, 1866-1924), one of the more important figures in Dutch Art Nouveau.
You'll spot a theme when I tell you that the Dutch variant of Art Nouveau was called Nieuwe Kunst; both titles mean "New Art."  In Germany it was called Jugendstil, "youth style," and in Austria, Sezessionstil ("Secession style," that is, created by artists who had seceded from accepted art styles).There's a lot going on in the ideas behind Art Nouveau, and you might enjoy reading more about it on this very informative page.  Where I feel it begins is in its drive toward making even everyday useful things beautiful, in its celebration of sinuous lines, and not least in its delight in natural forms, as we see here.  This seems to have been a vignette or a small book decoration.  There's more examples of Dijsselhof's spot illustrations of creatures here and here.

butterfly kite

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of the Friends of Arthur B. Duel
https://www.harvardartmuseums.org/collections/object/207663?position=106

Only 8 5/8 x 7 5/16 in., this surimono print by Totoya Hokkei (Japanese, 1780-1850) is a little treat of a print.  As it happens, that's what surimono prints were meant to be; they're specially commissioned images for a private group.  They might be a gift, or an announcement; they were not available to the general public.  This "Cat and Butterfly," from around 1825, is from Hokkei's series A Collection of Thirty-Six Birds and Animals (Sanjûroku tori zukushi).  Oftentimes surimono contained poetry, and were commissioned by the poets.  If that's the case here, and if that calligraphy above is a poem, I wish I could find a translation.  Whose kitten got to play with a butterfly kite?

I have not been able to find all 36 prints in one place to show you, but I'd like you to see a few more.  Have a look at:

a monkey with a toy dog

sparrows and a basket

a doe with her fawn

a cat woodcut a day keeps the blues away

images copyright and by kindest permission of the artist

Boston, MA artist Hillary Sprague loves woodcuts.  She comes by this love naturally; as the daughter of a master furniture maker, she grew up watching the beauty of natural materials being shaped in tandem with good craft.  "I find beauty in how their unique properties can influence the direction of your craft- as if you are collaborating together," she writes.  

For 2018 she's decided on an intense and fun engagement with her chosen medium.  She's doing a cat-themed woodcut per day till 2019, and that's freehand. No prep drawing, no tracing, just cutting.  Above is "First Light," and below is "Window Seat."  I'm going to reiterate that - one cat woodcut every day.  Longtime readers know how fond I am of woodcuts, so you know I was thrilled.

Want to keep up with the challenge and see her other work? 

Here's H M S Printmaking on Etsy.

Here's her website.

Enjoy!

sitting cat, 1918

• Gift of G.A. de Graag (PD)  http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.205698
• https://www.rijksmuseum.nl

Here is another wonderful Julie deGraag, for no reason other than I love it and want you to love it too.  Look at those shoulder stripes!

pug

gift of Paul Schweitzer, https://collections.artsmia.org

This 1930's color woodblock print by Ohara Shoson is called "Pug Dog," but really it's a Japanese Chin. Shoson was known for his kacho-e - elegantly simple portrayals of flora and fauna - which he geared toward the Western market. 
-- Note: Shoson worked under a number of names: Ohara Koson and Ohara Hoson are the same artist. 

white mice have fun c. 1816

H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
www.metmuseum.org

In this happy surimono (color woodblock print), Kubo Shunman shows us "White Mice Playing." Shunman was a novelist and poet as well as an artist; I bet that's a poem written to the right, but alas, I cannot read it.

rita on a rainy afternoon

image copyright and by kindest courtesy of the artist

That's the title of this charming piece by L.A. artist Stephanie Birdsong.  Rita's looking out the window at a friend across the way - see him?  He's above the bookstore.  It's a completely plausible situation, presented as the coziest escape.  I wish I were sitting at the table with her.
"Rita on a Rainy Afternoon" and many other bright jolly scenes are available at Birdsong's Etsy shop.
Just for instance, here's a few I also loved -
Snowflakes
Radio
The elegant Sneaky Panther
Go and find some fun!

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.)

george carlson's beautiful black cat

found on pinterest. believed PD (US publication before 1923)

What an elegant image.  Mind you, this is on a children's periodical, so imagine young eyes and minds getting used to work of this quality.  That was easily done if you were a child lucky enough to subscribe to John Martin's Book, published from 1912 to 1933.  Illustrator George Carlson (1887-1962) was the primary contributor of that periodical's covers and illustrations.  This is his cover for October 1918, which leaves you to interpret the cat's expression based on sketched whiskers and luminous eyes.  See, too, how the cat is stepping out of the cover's frame.  It's dynamic, and it's clever - have you spotted the tiny gray mouse yet?

feline fine with tessa worley...and a Pet Museum announcement!

image copyright and by kindest permission of the artist

Eugene artist Tessa Worley has a light, clean-lined, joyful style.  I find it a perfect mix of modern approach and timeless sweetness, as you see above in her print "Feline Fine."  (Have a look at this Gainsborough series of cat studies for the timeless part! See what I mean?  Are you feline fine too?  Then you can pick up this happy print at Worley's Etsy shop, Fox and Bear Paper Co.)

That is why she was my final artist of choice for the newest Pet Museum project - pet votives based on the 7-day saints' candles.  Though you could light these in memory of a beloved dog or cat, they also serve perfectly for a new-puppy gift, or simply because your pet makes you happy.  Shine a little light!  Here's Worley's perfect work, two watercolors that I commissioned from her specially:

copyright 2017 the pet museum 

copyright the pet museum

The back label is also a work of art.  I'll post that tomorrow or Sunday.

I asked Tessa Worley about her work, and here's her statement:

Watercolor and illustration are a type of creative therapy for me. More specifically, illustrating animals brings so much joy to my everyday life. I feel lucky to do what I do and get so much fulfillment out of the various projects I have my hands in. This project with The Pet Museum meant a lot to me because I, like so many others, have experienced pet loss and the lasting devastation that comes with that. These votives are a thoughtful way to remember our old friends and a reminder to stay in the present moment with the animals that are still with us.

These watercolors, immediate, simple, heartfelt, were exactly what I wanted.  My great thanks to Tessa Worley!  Stay tuned, all.

a cat threatening goldfish

Gift of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., 1946 philamuseum.org

That's a brave cat.  I wouldn't take on those fish - they look like they mean business.
This is Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861) with one image from his 1849 woodcut series "A Set of Goldfish" (see more of them here).  This one is called "A Cat Threatening Goldfish, or Ghost Stories (Hyaku monogatari)," and is based on a fascinating ghost story game that originated in Edo-period Japan.
The game itself is called Hyakumonogatari.  In essence it involves a number of players lighting 100 candles, then each person tells a scary story, dousing one candle at the end of their tale.  When all the candles were out, some frightening spirit would be waiting.  So who was brave enough to blow out the final candle?  You can learn more about the game (and find some Japanese ghost stories, or kaidan) at this excellent site.    I haven't been able to find the story behind this image, though.  Let me know if you do!

kitten playtime

wikiart.org. (PD)

This gentle, playful scene is an example of shin-hanga, an art movement of early 20th-century Japan in which traditional printmaking was bent to subjects that reflected an artist's individual view and mood.  This one, "Cats with Ball," is by Shotei Takahashi (1871-1945), who produced work designed to appeal to Western audiences.  I wonder if he meant to sneak in the yin/yang reference, or if he just thought white and black were delicious against that soft periwinkle field (which it is).

just a bird on a vine

http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.46008  image courtesy the rijksmuseum (PD)

Here's Utagawa Hiroshige, the master known for the "100 Views of Edo" of 1848 on, with a look at a smaller world entirely: a woodcut dated round 1833-7, known at the Rijksmuseum as "Vogel en blauwe winde" (Bird on a blue bindweed).  Though known for his landscapes, Hiroshige was also lauded for his birds and flowers, and you see why.  This gray fellow has a typically alert face, but with a comic quirk to his beak, an interrogating look:  what, buddy?  I also love the smooth oval of his body.  So much bird, so little gesture to create him.

joyride

image copyright and by kindest permission of mimi williams

Mimi Williams lives and works in Olympia WA. She finds endless riches in her world there, both in its natural beauty and in the everyday stories of her neighbors - every and any neighbor, including the friend shown here in "Joyride."
"I created [Joyride] to capture the spirit of the freedom on the road together with a wistful yearning as the dog looks at the birds he would so love to chase," Williams says. This piece is a linoleum cut block print, as is all her work, and the strength and clarity of the medium lends itself very well to a vivid image and the equally vivid feelings it evokes. You can feel the wind in the dog's ears, and see the beady-eyed yearning as he scopes out those unmissable crows.
Williams' work can be found at her website, www.mimiwilliamsprintmaker.com; I found her first at her Etsy shop.

a tiff howick hare

image copyright and by kindest permission of tiff howick

Here's a hare of elegance and energy from the studio of English artist Tiff Howick.  When I first spotted this I thought to myself that it had a feel of midcentury fashion illustrations, and I was right: "I love vintage picture books and contemporary fashion illustration," Howick writes, and I see the mix.  You should definitely go to her site's gallery page and see her dogs, squirrels, and other excellent creatures.

inconsiderate

Given by Dr E. J. Dingwall, © Victoria and Albert Museum, London, as permitted 

That's what "Sans Gene" means - inconsiderate.  Why anyone (possibly German, circa 1904) thought this would be an appropriate postcard image is beyond me, but I'm not complaining.  According to the V&A, this is #57 of a series....what's in the rest of that series?

this matchbox too

found on flickr, user wackystuff. creative commons attribution-noncommercial 2.0 generic 

I admit it, I've gotten on a vintage matchbox label kick.  

This one is a great excuse for the about-quarterly "Curator wishes she could have a tiger for a pet" post.  As was true last time, I know nothing about this label except that it's attributed to Japan circa 1935 and I would love to translate it.  Although someone over at the original Flickr posting suggested "Trust Constipated Tiger Brand matches!" If only that were true.