cat illustration

Any Luck?

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Pam’s Pictorama Post: It’s a Wain wannabe card again today. While Mainzer has the most Pictorama posts (one of those can be read here) dedicated to his pursuit of the Louis Wain feline illustrator fame, today’s card is a very fair competitor in this race.

This card reminds me of where I used to go running along the river here in Manhattan and where often in the warmer seasons there would be folks fishing – some looking quite business like about it and others more at their leisure. Although I haven’t done a lot of it myself, I grew up around fishing and long-time Pictorama readers might remember that my maternal grandfather repaired outboard motors and made lead sinkers – weights for bottom fishing. There was a time when I would clean fresh caught fish in the backyard – making me very popular with the cats – and although I guess muscle memory would take over I have no desire to gut fish these days.

It’s a sunny day in the cat neighborhood here and our protagonists are an orange striped fellow wearing a sporty sort of huntsman’s hat and City kitty, tricked out in a bowler, bowtie and carrying walking stick. Fishing cat has a tin of bait and a straw bag to hold his catch; his line is bobbing in the water and the look he gives the other kitty distinctly lacks welcome – annoyed that his fishing is being interrupted.

Tiny boats are way off in the distance on the water, including way that appears to be steaming along at the very tip of the horizon. Gulls have been sketched in, wheeling above in a sky with puffy clouds and there is some pretense at water current. A cheerful blue border puts the finishing touch on this as a summery scene.

Meanwhile, our town puss has a genial look with his white collar and paws that could almost pass for white cuffs too. He is clearly the one inquiring, Had any luck? His hat is set straight on his head (no wise guy this one) and I like the way he fills the space – it is a dynamic composition even if a bit awkward. His stick points one way and the fishing pole another. It might be fair to say that neither of these cats is very firmly installed on the ground below him – they both float a bit in space despite a light shadow cast by each.

The image is signed VR and a quick search turns up Cornelis Van Vredenburgh as a Dutch cat card artist with that signature. Clearly riding the wave of Wain and active during part of the same early 20th century period Van Vredenburgh has a less ironic and sometimes sweeter attitude. Nor does he find his way into the psychedelic realm of Wain’s latter period. I show a Wain beach scene from my collection for comparison. (The post can be read here.)

Pam-Pictorama.com Collection from a 2018 post.

Evidently cat cards were a sideline for VR who signed his full name to his Impressionist landscape oil paintings (example below) for which he is perhaps better known although these cards are sought after today as well.

Landscape by Cornelis Van Vredenburgh – found online. It is possible to buy prints of some of his non-feline work.

This card was mailed from Luzern, Switzerland in 1913, not sure how to read the month and the day. In a light blue ink it reads, Luzern, Aug 1 I leave for Mayence then a boat ride down the River Rine, EGA and mailed to Master Jamie Thayer, Farmington, New Hampshire, USA. In pencil and likely a more contemporary note, it says in caps, VIOLET ROBERTS. The publisher is The Photochrom Co., L1D, London, Tunbridge Wells and it is the Celesque Series. Photochrom was a significant publisher of postcards (they started with Christmas cards) which were characterized but a tri-color Swiss photochrom process.

Verso of card.

It is snowing – yet again – as I close this post. Luckily I think today we will get away without any real accumulation. However, not a wonder as this snowing winter makes its way into March that I needed to pull a sunny summer’s day card out of the pile this morning.

Wow – it’s Holiday Wain!

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Pam’s Pictorama Post: Today’s post is a fantastic item purchased a couple of months ago and framed up to take to New Jersey. As I write this it is a bit hard to know best to show it to you all. I took these photos before it was framed but not sure I can present it as a whole so let’s see how I do. I apologize for the reflections in the photos – I took some before framing it but the ones I am taking today are better I think.

This is an illustrated Christmas insert titled A Kitten’s Christmas Party in the Illustrated London News from 1886, so early days for Mr. Wain. (For some biographical info on Louis Wain and a few of my holdings have a read at posts here, here and here just for starters.) I believe he did a series of these that go into the aughts and maybe beyond – these were his big break I belied. These are noted as pages 24 and 25 in the newspaper and I assume where a centerspread. At the bottom it reads, Drawn by Louis Wain. (Wain also did extremely well with Christmas card designs throughout his career so the holidays were a bonanza for him.)

The fold was more evident before framing as seen here. This is a close up of “all who came to the party”.

It is about 18″ x 28″. Considering the age of this newsprint it is in good condition with just the original fold. I did spring for UV protected glass for this when framing. I am afraid that even in a spot that doesn’t get direct sun that it could fade and brown out quickly.

As you can see, you need to get close to it – obviously it was intended for inspection in a newspaper so that is the viewing range. The sort of montage effect has made it a bit harder to get close up’s of each snippet – which are all listed neatly at the bottom as follows:

  • We write out letters of invitation to the aristocracy and a lot more besides.
  • Who all come to the party.
  • Our preparations are extensive.
  • The after-dinner speeches were a great success.
  • And so was the ball.
  • Some of the party seek amusement under the mistletoe.
  • Others we invite to a mouse-hunt.
  • And the fun waxes fast and furious, when we form a ring and play at hunt-the-slipper.
  • Alas! In early morning we are compelled to sit in solemn council to devise a means to break up the party, as the kittens won’t go. A terrier ghost – the very thing!
  • Our plan is effectual.
  • And we retire, worn out, and sleep the sleep of peace and dream of mice and dicky-birds.
Messy kits! Don’t give cats ink. Look at the one with one eye closed as he writes!

I am a particular fan of the panel of them writing out their letters of invitation. One cat completely covered in ink at the far left, using the spilled bottle of ink, the thoughtful pose as the white cat contemplates his missive and another examines his. Someone needs a nap (such exhausting work) and one tabby is copying off the other – can’t think for himself.

Tidying up!

You need to know that there are tiny numbers in the left corner of each image corresponding to the notes above. I mention this because it does not read like a traditional comic strip from left to right. One, two and three are down the left, you jump up to the top again for four and so on. Kim says that this really is early days of comics so it makes sense that the conventions had not yet evolved fully.

At the ball. Please note that I didn’t cut this off at the left – it is how it was reproduced.

We see a bit of tidying up for the party – the aristocrat (aristocats dare I say?) all march in subsequently looking a bit like the cat mafia. The scene of the after-dinner speeches is pure Louis Wain for me with the monocled fellow speechifying. The ball, in the center, is only clearly identifiable by the cat band playing in the background, but we see the kitty canoodling under the mistletoe too.

Kissing kitties with voyeurs on the left and speeches on the right.

I have learned that hunt-the-slipper is a game where you pass a slipper (shoe perhaps in today’s parlance?) or small object and try to fool the person hunting about who has it. (I have finally found a good use for AI – it explained this to me.) And we are a bit appropriately huffy puffy here. We are spared too much gore for the mouse hunt with one cat discretely looking in a trap and we see only a mouse tail – although the expressions on the cats faces peering over are also pure Wain-ness with a fillip and dash of pure insanity.

Cat Council top and the ghost dog chases the kittens home.

The tale goes a bit off the rails where the kittens won’t go home and a council dreams up the ghost of a terrier to chase them out – which appears to work. Cats run in horror from a ghostly dog form rising up above them.

A bit horrifying, hunt-the-mouse.
Hunt-the-slipper. Could get rough! Wonder who has it...Meanwhile cats on the sidelines watching and something going on around a stage in the back.

We end however with another great image which will become classic Wain, all the kitties asleep in bed (some hiding their eyes and noses) and dreaming of mice and dickey-birds!

Wain has a later print variation on this idea.

I was lucky and somehow grabbed this from a live auction in Great Britain for very little money – shipping it here and framing it cost far more although very worth it. It is heading to New Jersey with us in a couple of weeks where I intend to hang it in our bedroom or Kim’s studio – some place where we can get close to see it but where it won’t get too much light – even with the UV glass. I think it deserves to remain pristinely preserved. I hope you have enjoyed your trip through it today.