Poor Fish!

Pam’s Pictorama Post: This is among the last of my British purchases made on a whim before the Trump tax kicked in and made all my purchases from England (a favored source) more expensive. Postage had already started to get out of control and the extra bit is a combined big bite. That’s not to say I won’t buy from my beloved dealers there, but it is slowing me down, especially on the sorts of thing I buy sort of without thinking much.

Nonetheless, this wandered in a door a while back from the very lovely Stephen Phillips (http://@woodenhilltoys) via Instagram. His videos of the tables sporting his wares at shows all over Britain tend to make me salivate for an alternate life where I live there and drive around following him and others to these various wonderful shows – I guess I additionally live in a wonderful little cottage which is crammed full of all of the stuff I collect. (As opposed to this very small apartment and the less romantic but now much beloved Cape Cod alternate home base in New Jersey.)

The precise question of what exactly this is remains open. It is adhered to a sheet of linen type fabric and there were other bits also attached around it which I have kept but are of no particular interest. Under magnification it appears to be printed. I had some folds which the framer has done a pretty good job of pressing out.

*Hard for me to imagine Mr. Blackie as a murderer of anything.*

*The girls get my vote – I think Cookie is most likely to enjoy a good waterbug now and again.*

Here we have one of my beloved black kits (think Beauregard and Blackie), out in the wilds of somewhere having caught himself a fine meal. The fish is very large in relationship to the cat, it must be said. That fish would have given that cat a run for his money. I would say just this side of not possible.

Playing off the violence of the feline hunter is the pleasant greenery and flowers around him. Pansies and other flowers bloom and trees, green hills and a pleasant cloud filled sky are juxtaposed against this violence against this large carp-type fish.

*Mugshot of Beau – unlikely but not impossible mouse killer.*

However, whoever painted the cat caught the weird combination of feral and fluffy. This is a domestic round, cute and fluffy fellow (or girl as they are the big hunters) for what we can see, yet there is something in the eyes which reminds us cats are indeed instinctual killers and happy consumers of small game. There is also something in his or her look which is the cute kitten look, hoping for approval. Here in our apartment cat catching (fortunately) never seems to rise above large water bugs and the rare mouse in the house in New Jersey.

*Hobo back in 2023. We know he could do the deed.*

Having said that Hobo, our outdoor denizen in New Jersey for several years, was once found adding to his protein consumption by munching on a newly caught rat – a robust population of those in the yard there given our proximity to the water. The caretaker, Winsome, reported this as well as the more recent mouse body in the living room. Very icky! Without knowing for sure I attribute that catch to our feral female Peaches who stubbornly refuses to even be touched by human hands, but who survived as a lost kitten in a basement in a nearby town until she fell down a hole and someone heard her persistent meowing. There are five cats in that house but my money is on Peaches. I have done my best to stuff up any entry points with steel wool. I have to say that it is a pitifully dumb rodent that wanders in there.

*Peaches is the most likely to kill a rodent in my opinion.*

Although I did tell Winsome I thought we had to congratulate Peaches on a job well done – not like I want to encounter mice in my house dead or alive – it is not generally the favorite aspect for most of us domestic cat owners. Of course working cats live in bodegas and in barns with the expectation that both their very presence as well as their hunting prowess will be employed as a deterrent. This newly framed picture will travel to New Jersey where it will serve as a reminder of the other side of the nature of our sweet kits.

As I end this I feel compelled to add that in the time I was working on it I had a message from Steve and sure enough, he has a few cat prints for me. Guess I am not out of it at all yet!

Who’s a Scaredy Cat?

Posted by Pam's Pictorama

Pam’s Pictorama Post: While my timing may miss the mark for Halloween this year, the subject matter in a sense is pure Pictorama. The cat in question showed up from an auction house on Halloween night, having been purchased at an online auction a few months ago. While most auction houses I have encountered actually get items to me very quickly (one called Everything but the House sends out their packages with startling efficiency seeming to arrive within days) clearly some are more pokey. I purchased two things recently, at different auctions, and they have slowly meandered in a few months later. They are both welcome additions and today we start with this kitty – the other is a rather great future post.

*Pams-Pictorama.com* *collection – the office annex. There’s something about his only having three feet on the ground which entertains me.*

This fellow appealed to my black cat Halloween loving sensibility for obvious reasons, although I very rarely purchase contemporary items. I am occasionally persuaded and this cat entertained me. I will say, I won it at auction for next to nothing but they really socked me on postage. I actually rejected what they said the postage was going to be at first and figured if I lost the cat and the few dollars over it so be it. Oddly they came back with something more reasonable and here he is.

It is my intention to have him join another Halloween cat which has graced my office for many decades. I was working at the Met and I don’t remember how this couple knew that I collected black cat items, but they made a gift of it to me one day. Seems their son was a buyer working for Martha Stewart and was responsible for sourcing decorative items for the various holidays which would then be shown in the magazine and probably also sold under her brand. This cat had been a sample among the items he proposed and it was rejected. Somehow his parents saw it and grabbed it up for me.

*More jagged teeth and yellow eyes; he’s missing a bit of paint on his nose sadly.*

It has always been my office black cat if you will. (For many years I also kept the Happy Life wind-up toy, below, in my office because it has a calming and cheering effect on me. I was known to wind it up for staffers under distress, especially while at the Museum. I wrote a post about this soothing toy here and you can see it’s a clip of it wound up as well.) There has been occasional conversation about the scary black cat when he was introduced at various offices and why I have him and I usually just tell the story of his acquisition. However, over time for those staffers who have seen me on zoom from home they have been treated to a small view into the mighty black cat collection and it makes more sense. No one at the animal hospital has asked and I assume that has something to do with being an animal hospital? Or are they just not surprised to find me guarded by a scary black cat.

*New kitty on Kim’s desk. Pams-Pictorama.com collection.*

Both of these cats are made with a plastic arched cat body which is covered in black “fur”. The smaller older one (or one from my office, who knows the age of the additional one) has more wiry legs and you can almost pose him but I have never pushed it. Overall, this new fellow bigger and sturdier. Part of me wonders if he had shown up rather than the other if he would have made the grade with Martha. He is better made, although clearly from the same sort of origin.

The new cat is more substantial in every way. Both have glass eyes and whiskers although both stand out a bit more on the new cat. The office cat has those sort of spindly claw paw toes which are arguably a bit more intimidating than the fluffy feet on the other and his tail is on a jauntier angle. However his red nose is a bit comical and makes him friendlier than the shiny black one on this cat. His ribbon has always struck me as at odds with his overall appearance and if the new guy sported one it is long gone.

Both have been endowed with differently ferociously toothy mouths. The smaller cat has more teeth and the new one has fewer but they really look like they mean business. The many hard whiskers stand up on either side of the gaping mouth complete with a bright red tongue.

This fellow is going to make his way to the office this week now that he has had his baptism by Pictorama post. Unlike my prior offices, I have somehow fallen short of actually decorating this one in a meaningful way. (A post about the black cat sheet music that decorated my office at Jazz can be found here.) My first office for the animal hospital had a terrible leak (think water pouring into pots on the desk and floor) and I refrained from subjecting any of my framed sheet music to it. We moved offices last January and the new office does seem pretty water proof yet somehow I have yet to attempt to brand it much as my own. Perhaps I should be more concerned with the image he projects to staff, yet to know me is to know my love of all black cats – just ask Blackie and Beau!

A Striking Cat

Posted by Pam's Pictorama

Pam’s Pictorama Post: This is a pretty odd piece I purchased recently from a dealer in Britain via Instagram. (See last week’s post which can be found here for the other piece I purchased at the same sale, @oldstockantiques or www.oldstockantiques.co.uk.) It was listed as a match striker.

This auction went sort of fast and furious (and also very slow in another way which I expounded on last week) without much chance to really study each object. I mean you could look at it or buy it but not really both because it would be gone by the time you looked at it – or so it seemed.

Not to say I wouldn’t have purchased this little fellow either way. I like him and he gave the cats a bit of a fright this morning with his miniature arched back silhouette while I was carrying it around. First Blackie raised an eyebrow but Cookie had a full on stare down and sniff fest with it. We never got to an all out hiss though. With all the black cat objects in the house few are close enough to cat size and in the war making position to attract their ire.

*And the back. Look at this little slab of marble!*

Anyway, there are some disparate aspects to this little fellow. His overall weight and marble stand make me think of something I would have found in my grandmother’s house. She had many little jade ashtrays and pin dishes (no one smoked) on marble stands like this. Sadly I have none to share as my mom wasn’t a huge fan of ashtrays.

In the lower right corner (ours, not his) is a little groove I assume is for actually striking a match – I could use this as I am the person who always burns themselves when I strike a match!

He (she?) is a solid cast iron and as mentioned above, even marble aside, is weighty. The fur is nicely delineated and a careful look reveal tiny teeth in the open (hissing) mouth. There is that nice big red bow. He stands on toe defined feet. The paint is a bit chipped but overall in good condition.

*They are only glowing red because they are reflecting the cover on my phone! Still, I like the effect.*

There are two unexpectedly odd aspects to this piece. The first are the rhinestone eyes! I assume they are original and I can imagine that they would flash a bit in the light but there is something utterly unexpected about them. They do glint and glitter.

The other thing is the strange hole showed in the top. Did people drop the matches in there? Or maybe it just held a few? Not like it could have held a lot of them. There is not evidence that there was ever anything additional that went in that opening. I am somewhat stymied.

*C & B in the sun this morning. The fake cat forgotton.*

However, this item seems like an ideal denizen of the Pam’s Pictorama Collection here at Deitch Studio and I’m pleased it transversed the Atlantic to rest here.

Some Tale

Posted by Pam's Pictorama

Pam’s Pictorama Post: Kicking off the Memorial Day weekend with this somewhat military cat card. Given the general lack of sympathy among cats for each other (some special cases notwithstanding) this gray kit has a tough time convincing his rather intense superior officer that he is under the weather. The long paw of the law as represented by this black cat, cap forward, is very upright as he judges this underling wanting. I love our cat Blackie but boy, I wouldn’t want him judging me – he’d look just like this I think. It’s an odd card and it was the black cat in particular that sold me on it. (Of course Blackie is constantly judging us – not to mention his sister Cookie!)

The two tiny identifying markers on the front of the card are Oilette and FEM. The tracks on FEM are obscured or gone but I am told that Oilette seems to be best known as a series of postcards that were made to look like oil paintings for the famed Tuck postcard company, as opposed to this very water color like illustration. Someone drawing it really knew cats however. This is a Tuck card as well.

The postmark is obscured but it was mailed from Clapham SW and probably on November 17. It is addressed to Miss C. Steer, Lower Froyle, Nr Alton, Hants. The recipient appears to be the sister of the writer who pens, Dear Con, just a card, we received the parcel safely and very many thanks for them, Margie was going to write but she has so many home lessons (?) to do. Sorry Mothers feet are so bad hope they will be better love to D and of course Mother and yourself. Yours best from us all. xxxxx An additional note was added in pencil at the top, received mother’s letter this morning 8.11.17. Even today Lower Froyle seems to be a fairly remote part of Hampshire according to Google.

This takes me to a bit of a tangent sick leave seems to be something that is being phased out, or perhaps it just is where I work now. Instead of sick leave there are PTO days and you can use them for sick or annual leave. (Not sure how Planned Time Off is waking up with the sniffles but okay I guess.) There is additional accrued sick leave for more substantial illness, surgery and the like and you need a doc’s note to take that.

As someone who doesn’t take a lot of sick leave it doesn’t especially affect me a lot, but it seems like a bad trend and a bit unfriendly too – like this card. I do believe that if folks are sick they should stay home and get better. Covid should have taught us that if nothing else and I don’t especially want to get sick because they have come to the office rather than take the day off. Meanwhile, I have substantial oral surgery coming up and I did get a note from my doc and will take a day and a half of medical leave for it – its on the Thursday so I am going to assume with the weekend I will be back in the saddle on the Monday.

These are a bit bleak, if somewhat military associated, as thoughts go on the first (if cloudy and cold) morning of a three day holiday weekend. (Former Memorial Day posts attest to the routine cold and wetness of my childhood living near the beach. One can be found here.) Tomorrow I head to New Jersey where I will, somewhat belatedly, get my dahlias planted in pots on the porch to start the season. I believe there are some geraniums blooming in the kitchen that can go back out front in those pots where they will be cheerful and deer deterring. We’ll hope for a jollier post tomorrow!

Birthday Week

Posted by Pam's Pictorama

Pam’s Pictorama Post: I think the impression people may get is that I like my birthday, although the reality is actually that I am a bit ambivalent about it and have taken control of it to the extent I can. As my mother would say however, it is far better than the alternative. Years and years ago in my 20’s, I decided that I would try to take the situation in hand and create birthday traditions for myself and therefore be less disappointed in the enterprise. This has largely worked, some years more successful than others.

Those who have been down this road with me before know that my birthday occurs alongside Valentine’s Day (the great Kim Deitch Valentine’s Day reveal is here tomorrow – mark your calendars!) which posed challenges for the admirers and boyfriends of the young Pam Butler.

I was born in a snowstorm if not downright blizzard. Mom and Dad sussed out the situation pretty quickly and got her to the hospital to have me in the late afternoon (He was annoyed I interrupted his office hours, Mom used to say) amidst growing piles of snow. It frequently snows, sometimes a lot, on my birthday. I remember at least two whopping snowstorms in my early adulthood, stop everything kind of days, here in the city. And along with the snow, a myriad of plans cast aside at the last minute for alternative plans. I learned to lean local for my birthday.

Birthday traditions include trying to have a meal with my various other Aquarian friends. Currently this has whittled down to just a couple of favorites with folks moving or among the elder generation, passing. Still, they are always wonderful and I saw one friend earlier this week for dinner although have yet to set the date for the other – we’ve been known to wander into March too, spreading it out. Bygone traditions included spending the day with my late sister, Loren, and mom sending flowers or acquiring lavish cakes.

Kim and I will spend a day next weekend sort of gloriously wandering somewhere in the city next weekend. (I head to NJ for a clutch of doctor’s appointments there – and to visit the NJ cats who will help greet the new birth year on Tuesday.) Potentially we’ll be bundled up if the weather predictions hold. Snow is scheduled to start tonight and, after a brief melt possibly tomorrow, continue on through the beginning of the week.

This year, as declared in a post last week, I went on a bit of a vintage Valentine’s Day binge and while looking I came across today’s card which seemed perfect for me to align and honor my black cat, Valentine’s Day and birthday interests.

It is British and therefore the black cat is a lucky symbol – their horseshoe is also facing down whereas I think we usually portray it up (to hold the luck!) on this side of the pond. In addition to this smiling cat there is a four leaf clover, should we have any doubts. (There will be more about lucky objects coming next week so stay tuned.)

It declares: Upon your happy Birthday morn, I wish you Joy and Pleasure. And everything you’d like to have Heaped up in brimming measure! It has a spot for From at the bottom (what about To?) and someone has penciled in, as best I can tell, E. M. Pinder.

It has this interesting sort of deckle edge to the card and on the back it reads, Mrs. c/o Mrs. Plumb, 25 Hassett Road, Homerton and on the other side, For Minnie. The stamp is a halfpenny one and it was sent on March 7,1912, just short of 113 years ago. This makes its somewhat discolored state a bit more forgivable.

*Beau, the black cat beauty to whom I refer.*

In closing I also offer a birthday card from a friend that arrived in the mail last night. It looks remarkably like Beauregard, one of the Jersey Five. Makes an excellent case for a celebratory cat tierra, not to mention cape.

Luck and Prosperity

Posted by Pam's Pictorama

Pam’s Pictorama Post: Although some would certainly argue that Deitch Studio’s decor is Halloween each and every day of the year, in reality we don’t really do holiday decorations here. When I was younger I made room for a small artificial Christmas tree (a future post about my mother and her feelings about real trees) and an oversized light up Santa. As cats do, ours at the time liked it very much, pretending they were in a forest fairyland, and I did too. However, the one room that makes up the apartment has grown, well, smaller and smaller over time. Logistically, figuring out a spot where we could negotiate around it became impossible.

Halloween on the other hand was tempting and the door to the apartment beckoned at first. Living in a high rise building at least has the advantage of a safe indoor public space for display. You do soon learn that to decorate your door implies bounties of candy within and Kim and I realized we weren’t really ready for the rapacious distribution center that a building like ours becomes on Halloween. It also occurs early enough that I am generally still at the office and would fall entirely on Kim.

As for New Jersey, for now, my itinerant lifestyle means I decorate broadly for the season. I planted mums in the front yard and bought some pumpkins – a few “ugly” and one regular. These will give way after Thanksgiving to a wreath, maybe some greens on the railings.

Eventually I hope to go all out for the holidays there and give way to some vintage German decorations for Halloween, perhaps a tasteful black cat or two outside, since it is the House of Seven Cats. Christmas too! I’d love a little tree and I am shopping for the right vintage Santa for the living room. I am sad that my grandmother’s decorations disappeared to the four winds, and occasionally I look for their type on eBay – a certain china Santa, a kind of creche.

All that being said, there isn’t as much festive Halloween decorating here as you might think. However, this card just surfaced on my desk (think of my desk as being like an ocean of stuff where things disappear and are randomly thrown back up for discovery periodically), and sadly I am not sure who thoughtfully sent it to me and Kim. It is a reproduction of a very fine card indeed and even as a reproduction it is fairly old. Thank you!

The poem is hard to read but it says:

A very rare sight on Halloween night
Is a black cat prowling by candle light
If it should be your luck to see –
Long life is yours – prosperity.

Oddly it would appear that this flame, which contains the cat and the clever standing mouse or really rat given his size, is almost like a carrot or turnip, or more likely pumpkin reference – if you consider the green bits growing from the bottom. Maybe a squash as a pumpkin sort of tribute? The greens and jack-o-lanterns are very cheerful and decorative which makes you forget the squash-ness/pumpkin-ness.

The cat rides the witchy broom and the rat rides the cat! This nice black kitty sports a ruff around his or her neck and holds a candle, while this wizard-y rat sits on his haunches with this pointed hat atop his head. Wouldn’t I just love to see that sight on a Halloween night! I mean, who wouldn’t?

As things stand now I will be in Manhattan for Halloween and although I expect to see a lot of dogs in costume (an occupational treat), rats certainly abound here and I even have a black cat (or two, although Beau is in Jersey) so it isn’t quite impossible, now is it?

Black Cat Couture

Posted by Pam's Pictorama

Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post: Many of us have a period in the past and it is certainly no secret that my affinity is for the 1920’s and early ’30’s. Let’s face it, this was a very Felix-y time. However, it was a time a very black cat time in general – reaching a bit earlier to the ‘teens.

I have previously opined with some lust over items like the Halloween decor of the earliest part of the 20th century. (Some posts boasting extremely jolly Dennison’s Halloween decorating books from the teens can be found here.) The dress being sported in the back row of this photo does make me yearn for a time when lucky black cats decorated both items and clothing. Interesting that this is not at all a costume, not festive Halloween wear, just an otherwise white summer dress.

*My own version of black cat clothing from a post last fall. Pams-Pictorama.com Collection.*

Obviously this photo came to my attention due to the fashion statement of the woman with the large black scaredy cat on her dress. Pictorama applauds her attire and I am so glad it is memorialized here. The seller on eBay states that this is the 1920’s and also that it was from Newark, New Jersey. That these are fellow Jersey Girls makes me like it even more.

It is a small photo, not a postcard. It is a petit 3″x 4.5″ and the rounded edges is a slightly unusual printing style. On the back it is stamped 516 LxL Newark, NJ and something that didn’t come out. Sadly no identifiers or date.

*Not clothing, but an arresting cat pillow image here from a post last September. Pams-Pictorama.com Collection.*

Nine women are gathered in this grouping. It’s hard to say from hairstyles and clothing if the seller is right about the date or if this might creep into the early 30’s. The back row of younger women all wear white while the front row, seated on benches in front the women look a bit older and are wearing floral prints and a bit more dressed up.

My friend with the black cat dress has had the good sense to stand apart a bit so we get pretty much the full effect, while the three woman at the end are sort of grouped naturally together. In the front two women sit with their heads together – makes you wonder about the relationships represented here.

*Took this photo of a friend’s daughter’s shoes last summer. Were beloved hand me downs from another friend. Who wouldn’t love these?*

This appears to be a nice backyard on a spring or summer day – too hot for using the fire pit and wood right in front of the scene and a large garage with double doors (just like my NJ grandmother had) behind them. To my knowledge, Newark and the immediately surrounding area were more residential at this time than the very urban way we think of it now. The amateur photographer has the top row of women butting up against the outside of the frame, but this way we do see a bit more of the yard. I’ve improved it a tiny bit, but it is also overexposed.

Part of me wonders how the black cat dress was received – it certainly is the most sporty bit of attire here. Were the back row of women following some general mandate to wear white and did this qualify? Perhaps ironic that it has saved this photo from complete obscurity and earned it a perch here at Pictorama.

Halloween Approaching

Posted by Pam's Pictorama

Pam’s Pictorama Post: Boo! October has zipped right on by us this year here at Pictorama and before I know it I find Halloween is upon us. I am heading down to NJ this morning as the cat caretaker has a brief trip out of town and I will play cat mom to those kitties this weekend.

I haven’t had much chance to enjoy October in Jersey (I did post about one weekend out there recently and that can be found here), but I will soak up the last of it over the next few days. I especially look forward to a run where I can tour the Halloween decorations, soon to morph into Thanksgiving. These are the very best months out there, before the cold makes it less hospitable.

You might think I would go in heavily for my own Halloween decorations for the house, but no. My nascent collection of decorations run to the delicate and vintage, like this one above. I really shouldn’t purchase such fragile things as Deitch Studio can be a rough and tumble place sometimes. Both of today’s items were found on Instagram and were deals I decided I couldn’t ignore.

*From a 2015 post. Pams-Pictorama.com Collection.*

The paper globe (held by a helpful Kim above) has wonderful black cats on both sides and I imagine parties where a dozen of these hung somewhere, or perhaps were gracing a table laden with Halloween treats and fare – to be enjoyed between rounds of bobbing for apples? I have devoted a few posts to collected Halloween Dennison paper decoration books – how-to manuals of parties from the teens in a different era of DIY. (One of those posts can be found here.) I lack the not inconsiderable skill for the elaborate costumes and decorations of those days although I would say the bar was pretty high.

Although I don’t purchase cardboard Halloween decorations deeply (having said that another recent purchase post can be found here), I can’t resist a well designed kitty and this one was offered to me a few months ago. Only about 10 inches high he isn’t large and if I was inclined he would indeed make a tasteful apartment door decoration.

I like all his pointiness! He is a cat poised for action and maybe a bit of trouble, as much trick as treat. Claw paws and a mischievous grin. The back of this cardboard figure shows that it was much taped up over time, but otherwise he survives in very good shape. Other than a bit of a folding on the ears, he is in amazingly pristine condition.

I pledge another Halloween treat for tomorrow so stay tuned!

Boo Kitty

Posted by Pam's Pictorama

Pam’s Pictorama Post: It’s another rainy weekend here in New York City. After last week’s flood’s we are looking at the rain and puddles with a jaundiced, and perhaps even worried, eye. Blackie, our beautiful black cat, is snoozing on the couch, but he needed some extra breakfast this morning (Beau, the impressive black cat of New Jersey is also reported to be having a second square meal) which makes me think the animals are already turning their thoughts to fall and winter. Mom would have been saying that they need their winter weight – I don’t know if that is a scientific thing or just Butler family lore.

*Beauregard Butler, the beautiful black cat of New Jersey.*

Meanwhile, October is a great time for black cat proliferation and therefore a perennial favorite here at Pictorama – and I like to think I try to do it justice. This little wooden find is yet another kit that wandered into the house via Miss Molly (@missmollystlantieques) on Instagram earlier this month. I should just have her on retainer – she gets around to parts of the country I rarely if ever do and she has a very good eye. Another package is winging its way to us as I write.

This Miss Kitty is far more cheerful than scary. I assume it was in some sense handmade, although she doesn’t actually seem to be homemade. I am aware that there were patterns one could use for such things. (I continue to wonder about this however – so how did one purchase such patterns? I have never run across the original thing – magazines? Did people send away for them? What induced you to get out the jigsaw and make one?)

*Cookie and Blackie in a recent photo – a rare occasion of sleeping together on our bed.*

Kitty has a nice red mouth and stands on a bit of red painted wood. Over time her edges are a bit worn white. The little toe claws are a bit expressionistic and her expression (cheerful surprise) is just short of smiley, but jolly – someone took some time here. She’s not large, only 10 inches with her tail. Somehow she looks like she is arching her back because she’s glad to see you (give with some pets!) rather than trying to scare you, but I am of course reading into it.

There is a mysterious hole in the tip of her tail (you can see it is squared off) which may mean she had a form of utility that is lost on me. Any ideas folks? A pencil doesn’t really fit – not that it would make much sense either. I feel like there is something obvious I am missing. With the way I have photographed her I can almost imagine her wired to be a small lamp, but the hole is fairly shallow and she is not.

I could change my mind, but this little kitty may head to New Jersey with me as I begin the migration of new cat items there and the feline-a-fication of that house. Five real kitties however, makes vintage stuffed toys a bit of a risk – just the other day here Cookie decided she needed to try to nibble the nose of an Aesop’s Fable doll! I’m sure there’s something irresistible about the smell of those old toys for cats. I sometimes imagine that their finely tuned noses are giving them wild flashbacks to a past they didn’t know but the objects did. Just days of yore that only the toy really knows.

Cheerio!

Posted by Pam's Pictorama

Pam’s Pictorama Post: First let us here in New York give thanks to the sun which has come out at long last! We intend to dry out today and those of you who follow my runs on Instagram will (hopefully) be treated to some views of the UES in a bit. I haven’t run outside in a week due largely to rain – which eventually even flooded our basement and gym! But now onward to an odd little piece (only 2.5″x 3.5″) that I bought on a whim one night on Instagram.

I purchased it from one of my secret buying weapons, @missmollystlantiques, who lives here in the Midwest. So exactly how this very British little item, a datebook hailing from the year 1940, came to our shores is a bit of a mystery. Whether it traveled here back in ’40 or after is of course also unknown, but interests me.

On the back of this tiny missive is an inscription, From Claudia to Gloria Wishing You a Merry Xmas. Gloria liked her gift enough to keep it and pass it on, but never attempted to write in it. In all fairness, it is very small and while perhaps handy to keep on you, has very limited real estate for scribbling within.

*Limited real estate for notes within. It is unused.*

It’s a nifty item. On the front, in addition to this great, classic grinning beribboned kitty, there is written at the top what is inscribed as an Eastern Proverb, Has thou a friend, visit him often, for thorns & brushwood obstruct the path whereon no one treads. I can’t vouch for the origin, but I like the sentiment. And of course there is the bright orange Cheerio, cut out to reveal a gold page behind for emphasis at the bottom.

The cat sits on a slice of moon and has stars around him, highlighted in gold with a cut out on the cover. Although the British consider black cats lucky, you’ll note that this fellow has a white chest making him a sort of tuxie instead. (Although our Blackie is all black save a white daub there too and we consider him a black cat – go figure.)

For a tidy little book it actually contains a lot of information, some of it very British in nature. The first pages are devoted to a reminder of the difference in time across the world, using noon Greenwich time as the basis. (It also reminds the reader that the longitude affects time, every degree East of Greenwich is four minutes later and every degree West four minutes earlier – I guess in case we wish to do the calculation ourselves?)

Then a page devoted (strangely) to the weight of the four largest church bells in Britain, Great Paul (St. Pauls), Big Ben (Palace of Westminster), Great Peter (York Minster) and Little John (Nottingham) – 10.5 – 17.5 tons in reverse order of above. Below that is a chart of Conscience Money which frankly I don’t understand but appears to be some sort of tax?

The calendar pages follow uninterrupted until the centerfold which provides a list of Bank Holidays (they include summer’s commencement and end) as well as Saint Days, St. Patrick’s being the only one familiar to this author. There’s something called Whit Monday which I was also unfamiliar with and below it just Monday which is confusing – another Whit Monday?

The opposite page gives a reference for postal weights and regulations and at the bottom the charge for a telegram – the email of the day. Nine words for 6d (6 cents, I think) and an additional 1d a word! Names and addresses were an additional charge.

Two pages at the back of the book are taken up with the phases of the moon and the last page (and this is so British) are the Close Times for Game, referring to the hunting season of various game – black game (a category of grouse?), grouse, partridge, pheasant and ptarmigan – which appears to be another, white, grouse. Then a long paragraph on non-fowl hunting with rule for everything from snipe to moor game and widgeon. Hmmm, I can see why you might need to carry that around with you?

There is no maker’s imprint for this and I have not run across anything quite like it before, although I assume most people didn’t keep them – let alone in such pristine condition. I went through a long datebook stage starting with the small and decorative and moving to the strictly utilitarian as my burgeoning work life demanded, this in the years before our lives were kept electronically of course.

My first electronic device was one that kept my calendar and contacts only – sans phone which was the great innovation. I adored it and I have to admit it was like magic. Still, there was an intimacy of keeping a book with a handwritten record of your year. (I still keep paper calendars – I need to be able to see how a month lays out when planning.)

I would hang onto the books for a period of time after for reference and they formed a sort of unconscious diary – friends visited and those rescheduled, even the meetings which sometimes became work landmark events when launching a new initiative. The convenience of our electronic lives is without question, but as always, a tiny something is lost to the shifting times.