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Cats
Superb black and white drawings by Louis Wain accompanied by verses by "Grimalkin", which is the pen name used by Louis Wain for this volume of verse.
NB: There is no published date in this volume and although bibliographies always show [1901 or 1902], it is, however, probably 1900 as the contemporary inscription in this volume reads 'With Cousin Bessie's love for Dick, Xmas 1900'. To support the view that it was published probably for the Christmas market, the final verse in the book is entitle 'A Christmas Toast'.
NB: There is no published date in this volume and although bibliographies always show [1901 or 1902], it is, however, probably 1900 as the contemporary inscription in this volume reads 'With Cousin Bessie's love for Dick, Xmas 1900'. To support the view that it was published probably for the Christmas market, the final verse in the book is entitle 'A Christmas Toast'.
48 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1900
13 people want to read
About the author
Louis Wain
100 books20 followersLouis Wain was an English artist best known for his drawings, which consistently featured anthropomorphised large-eyed cats and kittens.
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March 9, 2023
Which cat lover cannot adore Louis Wain's drawings of cats? And this volume has 21 superb black and white line drawings of his larger than life (at least the eyes are!) felines. The verse accompanying the drawings by "Grimalkin", which is the pen name that Louis Wain used to write this volume, is sometimes a little weak and laboured but that can be overlooked because of the excellent drawings alongside each offering.
The first cat in the book goes shopping and he/she asks 'If you please, Mr Butcher, my Mamma has sent/To know if you've anything nice/What price are you charging for sparrows today?/And how much an ounce are your mice?' The cat ends up purchasing a 'nice little mouse' and 'a couple of sparrows' while his/her farewell is 'You'll send them up soon? - Oh! my change? - Thanks, good-day./Yes, isn't it beautiful weather!'
Another cat goes fishing - 'But the fishes won't bite: though I'm sure one would think, they'd be glad to get out of the wet' - and Tabby and Tommy are pictured at school but 'each puss was a bit of a dunce' and they were lazy so the verse tells us they 'got a whipping with the cane' (shame but I do remember such treatment quite well myself, not for being a dunce just for being mischievous!). There is a moral to the verse as 'I hope that every child will learn from what I've said' and "Grimalkin" promises to relate a story 'in another sort of rhyme,/How Tom and Tab were both good cats, and had a jolly time.'
And this they were and did have a jolly time in 'Tommy and Tabby at Play' when, once more at school, 'They've promised they'll obedient be' and they enjoyed themselves skipping and playing with toys so that in the end it was 'better than being naughty boys,/Who only get a whipping'.
Another cat, Peter, went to the seaside where he bathed, had a 'Pussies' Party', where there was 'queens in silk and satin and a king with a golden crown' while Peter is pictured going as a clown, and he also went to the barber's shop where, because he is rather thin on top, the barber tries to sell him a bottle of '"Sproutoline", Ten Shillings, that's all is the price' - bit expensive for the time methinks!
There is a disobedient kitten, Nick, who was warned on a winter's day to be careful when going out to play. Nick ignores his Mamma's advice and he 'rushed on the ice with a skip and a jump,/When crash! it gave way, and Nick he went with a bump.' Ropes and life-belts got him out but 'And though he was saved from the water, I'm told,/That naughty young kitten caught such a bad cold!'
There are plenty more frolicsome kittens, one, obviously a goodreads reader, reading 'A Wonderful Story'. 'The name of it is "Puss-in-Boots" - he's such a clever cat,/I'm sure I never thought a puss could be so wise as that.' After telling of some of his exploits the ending is 'In fact, he's such a wonder, I can't believe it's true:-/I never saw a pussy cat in boots before - did you?'
One chubby cat plays cricket but 'I've grown so very fat of late, the Captain's been complaining:/He says that I must leave the Club, unless I go in training.' He obviously get in training did for the very next verse shows a slimline cat stopping a ball but not without problems, 'Smack! bang! Oh, my! I'm black and blue! Here! hi, you fellows, stop it!'
Finally there is 'A Christmas Toast' in which the champagne drinking pussy cat says, 'And so I drink your health, and hope all little girls and boys/Will have a jolly holiday, and heaps of pretty toys.' And so say all of us.
'Cats' is a fabulous piece of artwork by Wain - the title page in three colours is exquisite - and my acquisition of it can at least put to rest the question of the publishing date of the volume, which was published undated. In all the Louis Wain bibliographies 'Cats' has always been estimated as 'nd (no date) [1901]', but as this volume is inscribed 'With cousin Bessie's love for Dick, Xmas 1900' it obviously came out before Christmas and was published at the back end of 1900. And that final verse supports that view; how to get that information into the public domain is now the only problem!
The first cat in the book goes shopping and he/she asks 'If you please, Mr Butcher, my Mamma has sent/To know if you've anything nice/What price are you charging for sparrows today?/And how much an ounce are your mice?' The cat ends up purchasing a 'nice little mouse' and 'a couple of sparrows' while his/her farewell is 'You'll send them up soon? - Oh! my change? - Thanks, good-day./Yes, isn't it beautiful weather!'
Another cat goes fishing - 'But the fishes won't bite: though I'm sure one would think, they'd be glad to get out of the wet' - and Tabby and Tommy are pictured at school but 'each puss was a bit of a dunce' and they were lazy so the verse tells us they 'got a whipping with the cane' (shame but I do remember such treatment quite well myself, not for being a dunce just for being mischievous!). There is a moral to the verse as 'I hope that every child will learn from what I've said' and "Grimalkin" promises to relate a story 'in another sort of rhyme,/How Tom and Tab were both good cats, and had a jolly time.'
And this they were and did have a jolly time in 'Tommy and Tabby at Play' when, once more at school, 'They've promised they'll obedient be' and they enjoyed themselves skipping and playing with toys so that in the end it was 'better than being naughty boys,/Who only get a whipping'.
Another cat, Peter, went to the seaside where he bathed, had a 'Pussies' Party', where there was 'queens in silk and satin and a king with a golden crown' while Peter is pictured going as a clown, and he also went to the barber's shop where, because he is rather thin on top, the barber tries to sell him a bottle of '"Sproutoline", Ten Shillings, that's all is the price' - bit expensive for the time methinks!
There is a disobedient kitten, Nick, who was warned on a winter's day to be careful when going out to play. Nick ignores his Mamma's advice and he 'rushed on the ice with a skip and a jump,/When crash! it gave way, and Nick he went with a bump.' Ropes and life-belts got him out but 'And though he was saved from the water, I'm told,/That naughty young kitten caught such a bad cold!'
There are plenty more frolicsome kittens, one, obviously a goodreads reader, reading 'A Wonderful Story'. 'The name of it is "Puss-in-Boots" - he's such a clever cat,/I'm sure I never thought a puss could be so wise as that.' After telling of some of his exploits the ending is 'In fact, he's such a wonder, I can't believe it's true:-/I never saw a pussy cat in boots before - did you?'
One chubby cat plays cricket but 'I've grown so very fat of late, the Captain's been complaining:/He says that I must leave the Club, unless I go in training.' He obviously get in training did for the very next verse shows a slimline cat stopping a ball but not without problems, 'Smack! bang! Oh, my! I'm black and blue! Here! hi, you fellows, stop it!'
Finally there is 'A Christmas Toast' in which the champagne drinking pussy cat says, 'And so I drink your health, and hope all little girls and boys/Will have a jolly holiday, and heaps of pretty toys.' And so say all of us.
'Cats' is a fabulous piece of artwork by Wain - the title page in three colours is exquisite - and my acquisition of it can at least put to rest the question of the publishing date of the volume, which was published undated. In all the Louis Wain bibliographies 'Cats' has always been estimated as 'nd (no date) [1901]', but as this volume is inscribed 'With cousin Bessie's love for Dick, Xmas 1900' it obviously came out before Christmas and was published at the back end of 1900. And that final verse supports that view; how to get that information into the public domain is now the only problem!
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