Fickle Puss

Pam’s Pictorama Post: It is a stormy Sunday here in Manhattan as I write this – day two of a Nor’easter which is huge and parked itself over the eastern seaboard.

It is especially wreaking havoc on my area of New Jersey it seems. I had planned to head down today but had rescheduled due to something other than the weather. However, now lots of flooding, the Asbury pier and boardwalk we were so recently on is covered by the swollen ocean for the moment and nearby places like Point Pleasant seem to have high tide water up to their doors and worse. (My Asbury Park post can be found here.) My dahlias are taking a beating and our basement pump may or may not be holding its own.

*Orwashers was crowded yesterday morning when we went for our weekly order! It was a cozy haven in the storm.*

Here in New York the apartment is cold (no heat yet!) and as a result we slept late under the warm blankets. Even when Blackie came to get us he was somewhat seduced by the warm sleepiness and curled up for a brief purr and pet.

With a Pictorama sort of logic I have chosen a Louis Wain card to cheer us up on this stormy weather day. The set up is a simple one but executed with pure Wain. Three tabby cats in a love triangle. The orange male who is evidently older, dropping both a cane and a pipe in shock as he looks on in dismay at what we assume is his wife cat. She is with her new paramour, a sporty gray tabby who uses an umbrella as a walking stick. He wears a natty bow and I must say, there’s something a little wicked in his smile. (She may regret this!) So enamored are they of each other that they don’t even see Mr. Orange Tom. The house in the background completes the story – our slick erstwhile gray tabby man is a homewrecker.

The unnamed sender of this card appears to take advantage of the scene and gently tweaks, I shouldn’t have though you to have been so long without sending me a card. On the back it is addressed to, Master C. T. Travers, Woolfanger, Warlingham, Surrey. It was sent from London SW on March 20, 1905 at 12:15 AM. Not quite the sad tale of Wain’s cat woe, but still an appropriately chosen card. I assume it was to a child and that they would know immediately who would be writing this note from London. I’m sure he rushed to send a response and clearly this was kept somewhere safely since it has come down to us more than a hundred years later.

*A new dahlia which waited to bloom for the first time when I wasn’t there! This bloom brought in before the storm and photo sent to me this morning.*

The storm here continues apace – evidently into tomorrow. We ran some errands yesterday during a lull so I think we are positioned for a quiet day at home. Maybe some cleaning, lots of reading and perhaps a bit of cooking. I wish the same for all of you – especially those who are also in the line of this storm. Stay safe and have a cozy day if you can!

A Charming Trio

Posted by Pam's Pictorama

Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post: It struck me this morning, looking at and reading this card, that the vast majority of the time people used these postcards for quick communication and never acknowledged the card. There are exceptions of course. On the other hand, someone liked the card enough to have kept it, right? It is an interesting sort of thing really.

I do not know the date this card was sent on, only 8:45 survives on the stamp cancellation. The note is to a Milly R. Jones, 64 Angus Street, Roath Park, Cardiff. The message is crammed and a bit urgent, Blaenavon, Monday, Received card shall expect you tomorrow by 8:30 train. Have lost this evenings post so if you do not get this in time come Wednesday same train. Love to all, Mildred. Then crammed at the top, Will send Ada to train. And around the side, tomorrow? Wednesday?

Well, on one hand we know that Mildred or someone in her household had the good taste to acquire this card which would ultimately contain this timely travel note, but of course no thought to it while writing this and getting it off to the post. A thank you to Milly (and her descendants?) for saving it though.

Of course it these three cats that made me buy it, the fluffy white Persian, the handsome all black kit and this little sort of tabby tuxie in the middle. It is a bit hard to tell but I feel like the middle cat is younger than the other two. Someone is off camera doing something which has caught there attention and they stare more or less in unison. They are perched on what appears to be a bit of carpet covering the table. The background is completely indistinct. Virtually invisible unless the light hits it right, at the top it declares, A Charming Trio. (I only saw it after I photographed it!) There is an equally indistinct Rotograph detail at the bottom.

At first I wondered if this was a photo of Mildred’s cats, but now that I see the title and details, clearly not. Meanwhile, I always wonder about the store of postcards people must have kept at the time, reaching randomly into a drawer and pulling one out when needed. Stocking up at the local newsagent with some Louis Wains or getting some photo postcards made for an occasion or just of the pets or farm animals.

The all black cat reminds me of Beauregard and the cat in the middle looks like my Peaches. I have posted about this little girl before – you can find that post here. She’s a pretty little thing and seems utterly content in her abode with four other cats. However, having had a very hard start at the beginning of her life (found in a basement alone where she had been howling for days before someone called Animal Control), she does not trust people at all and you cannot touch her or pick her up. Having said that, she will come to be fed and I find her coming in with the family when we are there and stretching and rolling in the middle of the room – content. But she will hiss at you if you get too close and run off in a huff. She is a cats only cat.

Peaches’s favorite spot is the front window in the living room and one of my neighbors commented on always seeing her there when she walks by. It is her command post and she can see outside and most of the house from there. Deep down, I always knew that the fact that we cannot catch her would be a problem and that arose this week.

Peaches took advantage of a few moments of the open screen door unobserved and hopped out into the yard. Luckily the yard is fenced and, although if she had gotten spooked enough, she could easily have climbed it, it kept her corralled there. It was however a stand-off between humans and cats. Other cats were secured in bedrooms and the door left open hoping she would stroll back in. However, skittish already and disoriented we couldn’t make it happen. We tried luring her with food, which she ate, but couldn’t get her inside.

*Peaches this summer. This was the photo I posted.*

I joined the local Facebook page and posted her photo in case she wandered out of the yard. I must say there were so many nice responses and some sound advice. It was very nice to see. She became a Fair Haven Facebook celebrity with many likes and reactions.

Day turned to evening and when we didn’t grab her at dinner time it was clear she was likely spending the night outside. I, who was in Manhattan for meetings at work I could not miss, prepared to head down to Fair Haven in the morning. Just as I was leaving the house I got the news that she was inside. A local man had come with a trap but before he could set it up she scampered inside – the desire for breakfast won out.

As this storm batters both New York City and the Jersey shore, I am so relieved she is inside! I guess my feelings about potentially losing her were complicated by the fact that she is a cat my mother left in my care. Although I try to do right by those kitties, juggling two houses and seven cats can be a big responsibility. Hopefully no one else there will test me further in the near future.

Love me little, love me long…

Posted by Pam's Pictorama

Pam’s Pictorama Post: I felt like today needed a Louis Wain interlude – we haven’t had one for a bit and nothing is more jolly than spending a little time with Mr. Wain and his very active imagination. Pleasant to spend the morning lost in his whacky world for a bit.

Obviously, this is a valentine postcard. The felines as drawn are just starting to slip into the Wain world of disintegration that they will ultimately morph into, eyes a bit larger and just something a bit crazed about the expressions. The girl cat dangles a fan from one claw paw and appears to be perched on a stool. She sports a big red shiny bow and leans on a bit of fence or railing; and we can see her tail curl behind her. Her giant green eyes are down looking at the fellow with the mandolin serenading her.

Both cats are orange striped, although his black stripes are darker than hers and, along with his black ears, it gives him a very tiger-ish look. He is showing us a bit of white tummy too and I can’t decide if the white in his head is light (reflection of the moon maybe?) or fur color – his muzzle is after all, white. (And he has a little white spot on his chest – a bit like Blackie.)

Our fellow is quite ardent in his romancing on this little mandolin. Toes (and fingers?) are all quite defined on these kitties, but I especially like his curled toes. He looks up at girl cat and she more at his mandolin than him (maybe she’s shy?) and this is clearly a ruckus in someone’s backyard.

Speaking of backyard there is what almost appears to be a grove of sunflowers behind them. Only two actual flowers though one over him and one facing down over her. There’s something about that flower that makes me think Wain is saying she’s trouble.

The top of the Valentine reads, Be My Valentine and then, below his signature, we have this little ditty, Love me little, love me long, Is the burden of my song. Except it isn’t a ditty at all, it is the first line to a long poem from the 16th century. (Read it here.) However, perhaps more notably, it was also taken by the author Charles Reade (1814-1884) for a title to one of his books. (Kim went on a Reade reading spree a few years ago but I did not catch the fever. He was a fan but said he was a bit uneven and a quick look online this morning appears to confirm that is the general opinion of him. Large antique volumes are still around although maybe they have gone to New Jersey.) My guess is that is where Wain grabbed it from. Published in 1859 it would have been old but well known.

The back of the card is addressed in a sort of charming, neat hand. It reads, Dear Russel; Do you like a valentine like this? Hope you received many pretty ones today. With love, Miss A. Holland. It is addressed to, Master Russel Hoover, R.R. 1, Sterling, Illinois Care Harry Hoover. It was sent from Sterling, Illinois on February 13, 1913 at 3 PM. Although I read many messages like this, for some reason I find this very thoughtful note and card poignant this morning as I read it. He must have liked the card (and the sentiment) as it survives in such good condition these many years.

I purchased this early last summer at the Metropolitan Postcard Club show. I am sorry to say we missed one at the end of the summer on the weekend we were moving back from New Jersey. I must check their schedule and see when there is one this fall – I am sure they missed me or more likely my wallet – back in August! I do love these shows and I think it is time for me to pay an annual fee of $30 and join as a member. I have been following them around for about a decade, over at the Holiday Inn on 57th Street in years gone-by. I should be supporting their cause.

Meanwhile, today (Saturday) I am off to purchase a new phone. My purchase of my current phone was a Covid activity – I remember being masked and lined up outside. Today should be more pleasant (I hope) than that although having a new phone, appendage that it has become, is always a mixed bag with getting used to it. However, on our recent trip to Washington this one was on constant life support with an external battery. Wish me luck! Also, our day concludes with a visit from our friends Pete and Rika who are visiting from France. A shoutout to them (they are Pictorama readers) and we look forward to seeing them. More to come.

Kitten with Fruit

Posted by Pam's Pictorama

Pam’s Pictorama Post: Today is a (somewhat) rare Pictorama painting post. Mostly these seem to be summer New Jersey posts as this is the home with enough wall space for paintings. Some of you may remember my pig painting purchase post from last summer (post can be found here), although cats are more typical and prior posts of some of those acquisitions can be found here and here.

Having said that, this one was acquired from a seller in Britain (@oldstockantiques, his website can be found here), via Instagram and has sat, still in the shipping wrapping in the New York apartment for several month until it could come out here. As a result, when I unpacked it I felt a bit like I was seeing it for the first time all over again. (Good thing my taste is consistent!) There are actually others still to come (largely but not all cats by far), but we start here today with this one which is my favorite.

I don’t know if you can see it from the photo but this painting is old and the surface is a bit reptilian in places as the top layer has crazed and crawled over time. I would guess that this top layer is actually a glaze and there might have been a moment when removing it and replacing it made sense but I think that day has passed and it doesn’t really impact the enjoyment of looking at it. The frame, which I like very much, came with the painting and from the back I would say they have been together for a good long time.

As you can see from the back, this painting was done on an old form of prepared board (Academy Boards prepared for oil painters it says) and sold by Geo. Rowney & Co. 18 Rathbone Place, London. I believe I have purchased both Rowney pastels and oil paints in my life. The nails holding it in are new but I think that is gratis the seller, along with the bit of string and hooks to hang it. It appears not to be signed, front or back although I won’t say there wasn’t something that is now obscured by the crawling surface.

To start, there is something about the pupil dilated wide-eyed look of this kitten that draws me in – I always think that it is as if he truly was asked to pose amongst this wild assortment of fruit and flowers and is wondering what the heck is going on. The cat is well done although we really only see his vaguely peevish head (note ear askew too) and sort of a nod to the rest of him – there is a bit of paw where the crazing is bad on the right side. A few trumpet lilies are at the top and wandering down to these somewhat oversize peaches, an oddly too small avocado (with a giant pit) and some grapes that look a bit like they are of the glass rather than the food variety.

Kitty is of course a tabby, pink nosed and bewhiskered. I would say the article was a better cat and flower painter than a fruit one. There is a moody background too – a sort of sunset horizon and a darkening cloudy sky – also a victim of the surface to some degree. I would say a careful look suggests that there are bits of blue sky among the dark clouds.

It may sound funny to say since I am far from being a kid, but I have only recently given myself license to buy paintings. I mean, I have made paintings, sculpture, prints and certainly photos myself, however the act of purchasing paintings always seemed like something only grown ups like my parents did. I have bought art on paper (in large quantities as you know) but never paintings. It took inheriting a house along with some paintings to prompt thinking about it as an option.

In my mind purchasing paintings was always something my father did. From the earliest time I can remember Dad (almost always him and only occasionally Mom) brought paintings home. He was a particular sucker for a seascape (future post on that), but also an eye for landscapes – never figures. Dad had a good eye. I wouldn’t say we have the same eye but nonetheless, the paintings he purchased are good ones and I have them up in the house now. It is nice to find an avenue of collecting like this so late in the game and it will be interesting to see what I can come up with.

Vacation in the Air

Posted by Pam's Pictorama

Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post: Today is the first day of vacation. First thing this moring I wandered outside in my pj’s, admired the dahlias and some just emerging zinnias and popped a few ripe strawberries in my mouth while the coffee finished perking in the kitchen. I have fortified myself with one of my friend’s popover, provided earlier this week, and now I sit with my second cup of coffee (coffee so good this morning I texted a friend that I felt like I was swilling it) and share this new favorite card with you.

*Strawberry plants offer a few nibbles every morning.*

I purchased this postcard just before we left New York and it has just made its way here from Britain. I haven’t acquired one of these big kitty chair photos in a very long time. This cat chair is a bit smaller than some and sitting sidesaddle on him seems quite easy. My very favorite part is the way she is holding onto his (her?) little round cat ears!

The woman is wearing a white dress and sandals and she is dressed a bit differently than the general sort of togs we see in these holiday photos. (Early examples from my collection can be found in posts here, here and here for comparison.) The woman is smiling sort of placidly – a good sport but not embracing it quite as much as I think I might have given the opportunity. (I would have been bouncing with excitement!)

Meanwhile, Kitty is a bit bowlegged which gives him an especially cheerful look. He has a ribbon around his neck and a Steiff-y sewn on nose and mouth. We can barely see it, but kitty has a big fluffy tail up behind her. There is some vegetation in the background and what appears to be ivy climbing up a stone wall. This doesn’t have the seashore feel that some of these have and as I said before, this appears to be a somewhat smaller cat so likely a different location although obviously it is a resort area of sorts. This card was never mailed so we don’t have any sense of date or precise location. Oddly it has a narrow fold at the very top like maybe it was kept in a book and sticking out just the slightest bit.

*The dahlias in the garden have either gone plumb wild or not come up. It’s an odd year.*

I am savoring the delicious moment of my entire vacation stretching ahead of me. All things are possible at the beginning, and it is a cool morning here in New Jersey which beckons us outside. My dahlias are blooming and the red ones in particular are attracting my favorites, the hummingbirds. (I have not captured them in a photo and am unlikely to as they are so mercurial.) Evenings under the fairy lights are ahead as well as good food and friends visiting, cats to be fed and petted. More to come but enjoy this grand kitty chair for now.

Summer Day

Posted by Pam's Pictorama

Pam’s Picotrama Photo Post: As I write I have the pleasure of being on an immobile NJ transit train, having sacrificed breakfast to hop on it and now am just sitting. They have informed us that we are held for an indefinite period. There is a young man who has taken off his shoes and is playing loud music on his phone – he thoughtfully turns it off for the overhead announcements about not know how long we will be here. For some reason he also keeps yanking his trouser leg up to obsessively scratch his calves.

I stayed in New York last night to have dinner with a friend who is sick and it was a rare chance to see her so I cannot regret it. Dinner, after a rather biblical rain last night, ran too late for a train back to New Jersey but now I am regretting not trying for it.

*Friday commute into NYC. A better day.*

All that being said I have whipped out my laptop to share this recently acquired treat with you. This family was having a far superior summer morning in England some time about 100 years ago. This card was never mailed and nothing has been written on it.

Shortly after writing that it became clear that no trains were leaving Penn Station for the foreseeable future and the lack of internet on the train, making further decisions difficult at best, meant that I packed myself up again and went back upstairs. What followed was a series of mishaps, breakfast with a friend who lives nearby and a hot more or less five-hour journey on a very hot day to our house in New Jersey, less than an hour and a half away under normal circumstances. Not sure if it was breakfast, dinner the night before or the heat, but my tummy started to scream in protest. All this ended in bed and a book for the remainder of the day after getting home and sadly, no Pictorama Post for you all. My sincere apologies!

This photo postcard deserves our full attention, however. It has been long time since I bought a Felix photo card and this is a worthy entry.

Our featured family is in clear focus while the rest of the scene is a soft blur. The sun is pretty high in the sky it seems – a rare sunny day on a British holiday we’ll assume. Dad looks a tad uncomfortable dressed in a full suit and tie, complete with dark socks and heavy shoes, sitting in the sand nonetheless. Somehow mom looks more comfortable in her layers of dress and hat despite the many layers which we would never sport at the beach, although it does keep sun exposure to a safe minimum. The smaller of the two children has got Felix by the ear and may even be holding him up. This Felix, while very jaunty, he is even tinier than the kid.

The older boy, who I assume was the primary architect of this magnificent sand structure, is also in a jacket along with his short pants, high socks and cap. He looks very pleased with himself.

*Popped one strawberry in my mouth but several others ready soon if I can beat the birds and animals to them.*

The sandcastle is more pyramid than castle, aside from its decorative topper which I somehow assume was a sand mold or toy with a sort of castle scene on it when you look very carefully. The tunnel under the structure makes me think of cars passing through.

Mom perches on a beach chair, other chairs are scattered about. There is a sort of mysterious stack of planks (?) behind here, other beach goers are behind them (also in hats and British layers) off into the distance – I see a little girl digging to the far left. All the way to the back is a high wall.

*A banana peppers a brought in this morning. Animals appeared to attempt to eat them but found them too hot.*

The registration number is would have been tracked by is both in the upper left and lower left corners – presumably how the family’s card found its way to them. The card has been sloppily placed to the right side of the card with a fat margin on the left but very little on the right.

I am better this morning and it is a pretty day here in New Jersey – making up for the journey yesterday! My pepper plants (green peppers, jalapenos and banana peppers) are full of peppers, the tomatoes are trying their best and the dahlias are blooming. The recent hard rain damaged some of the nascent blooms but they are coming back! Here’s to a quiet summer day at the Jersey shore and in the garden.

Tough

Posted by Pam's Pictorama

Pam’s Pictorama Post: Writing from our New Jersey outpost today – more about that maybe tomorrow. However, I am fresh off a Saturday morning of cat chores – multiplied of course by the number of cats and also with my commute less gets done during the week. There is a day of gardening ahead too – the first of the dahlias is blooming and I have even cut a few for enjoying here in the kitchen.

I tucked a few cards in my computer bag for posts, although there are also a few items that have come with us to live here which I hope to feature in the coming weeks as they get unpacked and are fully available for consideration.

Today, this little tidbit however, purchased at the most recent card sale. I chose it as I am now in a bevy of kitties here in the House of Seven Cats and I am reminded of their pecking order. Although Milty is the oldest of cats here (and male) he is so old that Beauregard, the five or six year old all black fellow, is really top cat for all intents and purposes these days. Beau (and Milty) are fed first among the Jersey kits. (Cookie and Blackie, aka the New York cats, are fed in separate rooms to keep the peace.) Gus, Peaches and Stormy wait to eat after. The older boys also get their pick of the choice sleeping spots. Alas, the feline world is a sexist one.

*Milty, true elder statesman senior cat.*

In this card we have a fellow who is indeed a tough guy after a fashion. He sports a pistol, knife and has a cig hanging out of his mouth. (Arguably though he has a fluffy kitty tummy being shown!) The newsboy cap pulled over one eye, a kerchief knotted around his neck, here is something of a Frenchmen about him, an apache. His Wanted poster is on the wall behind him, sporting the same, striped, vest and presumably a list of his sins below. His hands (um paws) are on his hips. He is looking to the left of the viewer at something, above him Tough Baby! is inscribed.

*Peaches, meanest cat ever, just shown here for the heck of it.*

If I was going to draw comparisons to my New Jersey cats this chap would be Milty not Beau who for all his top cat status isn’t really a tough guy – just the largest kitty here. Milty, even in his dotage, is more like this swaggering fellow.

This card was mailed, although the message and address are quite faded. By happy coincidence it is postmarked July 30, 1940 from Margate, Kent. So as of yesterday, it was mailed exactly 86 years ago. As best I can read the message on the back, in faded blue writing it says, Dear Andrew and Timothy, We are having…time here and the weather is lovely. How are you getting on Andrew with your work, not working…hard I hope. How is Timothy, I’m sure…love the sea. Love from Heidi & Madelaine. It is addressed to, Master A. Marr, ‘Kilroney’ Swan Lane, Edwin Bridge, Kent. The card is British published.

So that is your quick Pictorama post for today. I’m off to do household and cat chores and find my way to the garden, weather permitting.

Enjoying Myself Very Much

Posted by Pam's Pictorama

Pam’s Pictorama Post: Today is a cuddling a cat card. It isn’t really quite typical of one I would purchase (verging on the saccharin) but there was something about the atmosphere of it that made me pick it up. I am a bit of a sucker for that dramatic look I think. In studying it a bit this morning and reading the note on the back, I like to think that it was perhaps a father picking out a card to send to his wife and daughters, maybe thinking about what they would like. I sometimes wonder about this period, one so popular for sending postcards, multiple deliveries a day and often for something as small as to set a date or announce an arrival. Where were the cards purchased and was the sender considering the recipient when choosing?

Certainly cards were frequently sent from a holiday – or in this case to family members probably on holiday. But I wonder, did dad grab one from a pile of postcards at home to use? In general was there a stash of postcards for general household use the way I keep a cache of birthday and get well cards even now? Or did dad wander off and find one, perhaps at the news agent when purchasing some magazines or a paper? Did he see it and think of them? In this case I think he might have – other times where there seems to be a complete disconnect between card and subject, I think it is less likely.

This young girl and her fluffy white cat are on a velvety dark background, emerging out of it and bottom lit. There are sparkling bits on her dress made with shiny dots which are layered on (casting tiny shadows and gleaming) and the effect pops dramatically. Her curly hair is caught up in a faded red velvet ribbon (the red color picked up in the flowers on her dress), the texture of it and the shiny (but not quite garish), fabric of her green dress make her emerge out of the soft, dark space, her expression a bit beguiling. The card was made in Prussia but there is no other publication information, just a serial number on the lower left.

The cat, a fluffy white long-hair, allows her to cuddle it close while looking at the viewer – his or her eyes dotted with tiny bits of green, the same as her dress. A practiced cat holder, she has the cat’s front paws caught up in her hands though – it’s not getting away. She sports a gold bracelet and a ring on the hand we can see and she has been gently colored in with flesh tone, rosy cheeks and lips.

This card was sent to The Misses Speedays. I cannot read the name of who it was sent care of, however it went to Bleucathra Street, Keswick. It was mailed on June 20, 1912. The message reads, I am enjoying myself very much, I don’t think I will come home when you come back. Peter. A careful look at the cancellation shows it was mailed from Sunderland. Not knowing where that is, I had a quick look and it is way up in the north, just southeast of Edinburgh.

I like to think he picked the card out for them – although I am mulling that he signs Peter and not dad making me second guess my storyline. Still, perhaps his cat loving Misses Speedays have left him home with puss and perhaps other pets while they enjoy their early summer vacation, to the south of their home near the North Sea. And we can indeed imagine their pleasure in receiving it.

Weather

Posted by Pam's Pictorama

Pam’s Pictorama Post: I have a philosophy about summer weather in the greater New York area. It is my belief that July is always worse weather than August and therefore I generally push my vacation to August because otherwise it is spent inside clinging to air conditioning and I might as well be in the office. (Furthermore, I would say that June is just too early in the summer for vacation and too busy at this particular job as well – although the June weather was lousy this year as well.) However, during the long beachy summers of my childhood the hot, sunny days of July were a feature event, better than the cooling days of August. It was prime summer. However, every single day that it rained did seem like a crime against my vacation.

I think for the most part we on the East Coast of the United States can agree however, that thus far this year the weather has been extreme and really a bit wretched. In addition to many days of heat over 100 degrees, we are now dealing with an air inversion, a heat dome trapping the smoke from wildfires in the north and turning our days tea-colored with a vague sense of the End Days hanging about them. Meanwhile, Kim and I need to make a trip downtown and both today and tomorrow threaten additionally with downpours.

British beach holidays have long been fraught with the likelihood of rain and the population intrepid about them in spite of that. I am guessing this one, from August of 1927 was no exception. Bonzo and his pale Ooloo, huddled companionably under an umbrella. Bonzo looks like his toy counterpart a bit more than his illustration and comics self and the black cat is a bit more generic than Ooloo. (For two Ooloo posts have a look here and here.) Although I will say, I have never been sure that Ooloo had a very decided design.

Here he (she? never sure) sports a big read bow that matches the umbrella and they look at each other fondly. No one is actually holding up said umbrella – a careful look just sort of shows it floats over them. Bonzo has a paw stuck out as if checking to see if it is still raining, although it is teeming down. Little drips come off the edges of the umbrella as if to assure the viewer that it is indeed keeping them dry despite the rain pattern across the image.

Above them it says, The weather, old friend, doesn’t matter a jot; But a card for Remembrance just matters a lot. (Jot isn’t a word you see a lot, right?) It should also be noted that there is no copyright or publication information on this card, helping to confirm my suspicion that it is a total swipe.

*Blackpool evidently just had this flat Felix instead of a stuffed one. Pams-Pictorama.com collection.*

On the back, in pencil and as best I can tell it says, Blackpool Hello Dear, I am enjoying the last of my holidays and around Blackpool but tomorrow I leave for Liverpool and from…I’m…you. And in the top right corner, Love from P. Limson. It is addressed to Miss L. M. Horsepoof, Gedling, Nottingham. It is dated, as noted above, with a cancellation from Blackpool on August, 24, 1927 at 10:15 AM.

Pictorama readers well know that in my mind Blackpool holidays at the beach in the 1920’s were best known for having your photo taken with an over-sized Felix. (A post with a number of photos from Blackpool can be found here.) This would of course be reason enough alone for me to opt for a summer holiday there, weather notwithstanding. Instead, next weekend we decamp for our New Jersey shore digs. A few posts between now and then but we are starting to get ourselves ready.

Fishy Wain

Posted by Pam's Pictorama

Pam’s Pictorama Post: I tossed this into a purchase pile recently as clearly somehow these are Wain or Wain-ish cats; however I would bet dollars to donuts that Louis never saw a payday for this one. However, having said that, I cannot easily locate another version of this image online, only one other copy of this card itself.

A few posts back I discussed the history of New York postcard producer Franz Huld and much to my surprise this morning, his credit runs along the side of the front of this card, Huld’s Correspondence Series No. 23 Franz Huld, Publisher, New York. (That post of an entertaining card about the Catskills, Hanging on the Moon, can be found here.)

Meanwhile, just yesterday Pictorama had a post about another innovative early postcard maker but in Germany. I think of that one as more of a high end (photomontages and trick photography) and our US friend Huld as sort of creatively low end if you will. (I am only on my first cup of coffee today so stay with me a bit.) Huld had a much briefer run in the business and never on a huge scale of production and maybe wasn’t above a bit of image thievery. Just a thought anyway because this card looks distinctly culled from something else and does not bear the Louis Wain signature nor credit however those are Wain cats.

This card was mailed but the postmark has been torn off therefore I cannot accurate date it. If I put it roughly at 1910, Huld is coming toward the end of his several years of production but still active and in upstate New York. However, the real smoking gun is that Wain was living and working in New York from 1907-1910, but only doing newspaper work. He was producing two newspaper strips, Cats About Town and Graymalkin. There is evidently no record of him producing postcards here. So my guess is that Huld lifted this image somehow from a newspaper illustration and craftily “repurposed” it.

One of the few images I could definitely tie out to this period of New York newspaper work. I do think there is some under-valued and interesting Wain work published in newspapers. While much of it was repurposed and collected, I have definitely seen work, mostly for sale as tear sheets, that I have not seen elsewhere.

On the card we have two grainy Wain cats, one yellow fellow attacking a meal of fish – his mouth in an “O” of expectation. I like the way his paws manage to hold the implements in a logical way which I would personally find challenging if I was drawing this. The orange, grumpy, cat looks on in expectation holding a three-prong fork and knife up like he might bang on the table with them. Next to them in script it reads in neat script, This is no Fish Story. Again, while maybe in the quirky style of Wain somehow perhaps misses the mark?

*Detail of a Christmas page done by Wain that I purchased and wrote about last December.*

The sender of the card has underlined the above and written, No-sir-ee – Dearest Ross; How are you enjoying your vacation. I am having a fine time. Love to all, Bradley. It was mailed to Master Ross W. Guernsey, Schoharie, Scho, Co. New York. As I mentioned before, the stamp and cancellation has been torn off so no date and no point of origin for the card. (In sorting out the address a bit the internet told me that Ross W. Guernsey was a life-long resident of Schoharie, New York. I have no way of knowing if that seems true or AI just sort of winding me up.)

Our friend Mr. Huld was sadly certainly not the only one taking advantage of Louis Wain and liberating his work for his own purposes. This is perhaps though the most egregious and evident example I have run across. Still, I remain grateful for a snippet of Louis Wain I wouldn’t have seen otherwise. I intend to continue to sniff out some of this newspaper work in its original form.