Category

by Edward Gorey (Contributor)

Finally, back in print! Edward Gorey's CATEGORY was first published by Gotham Book Mart in 1974. The English language edition has been out of print for decades. One of Gorey's most beloved books, CATEGORY collects a series of fifty cat vignettes, originally created by the artist as accompaniments to a limited edition of his book Amphigorey.

Genres: Fiction, Picture Books, Comics, Art, Humor, Cats, Animals

112 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Born in Chicago, Gorey came from a colourful family; his parents, Helen Dunham Garvey and Edward Lee Gorey, divorced in 1936 when he was 11, then remarried in 1952 when he was 27. One of his step-mothers was Corinna Mura, a cabaret singer who had a brief role in the classic film Casablanca. His father was briefly a journalist. Gorey's maternal great-grandmother, Helen St. John Garvey, was a popular 19th century greeting card writer/artist, from whom he claimed to have inherited his talents. He attended a variety of local grade schools and then the Francis W. Parker School. He spent 1944–1946 in the Army at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, and then attended Harvard University from 1946 to 1950, where he studied French and roomed with future poet Frank O'Hara.

Although he would frequently state that his formal art training was "negligible", Gorey studied art for one semester at The School of The Art Institute of Chicago in 1943, eventually becoming a professional illustrator. From 1953 to 1960, he lived in New York City and worked for the Art Department of Doubleday Anchor, illustrating book covers and in some cases adding illustrations to the text. He has illustrated works as diverse as Dracula by Bram Stoker, The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells, and Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot. In later years he illustrated many children's books by John Bellairs, as well as books in several series begun by Bellairs and continued by other authors after his death.

Reviews

[Drew Canole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Drawings of humanoid cats in various places. Fun and surprisingly not creepy at all!

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stelle solo perché mi sarebbe piaciuto sapere qualcosa in più su Gorey, il quale ha ispirato diversi illustratori, anche italiani, e dall'edizione Adelphi mi sarei aspettata almeno una prefazione o postfazione.

[dammydoc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cinquanta illustrazioni a tema felino del celebre illustratore statunitense. Gatti disegnati di spalle, gatti in bilico, gatti alle prese con strani oggetti. Cinquanta disegni divertenti a tema felino che i gattofili soprattutto non potranno che apprezzare!

[Walter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gatti

[Sherwestonstec · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderful book 1st published in 1973 love the illustrations!

[Nitoy Gonzales · Rating 3 out of 5]

What have I just read (or in this case looked)? I'm not yet familiae with the author but this wordless book is a bit weird for me. I mean I can't find humor or any emotions with illustrations of cats.

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

The lovely ILL people got this form me. I checked it out, read it, read it again and returned it to them. Satisfying.

Library copy

[Bert Huisman]

24 a

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the simplest and yet most engaging of Edward Gorey's wordless collections. The man really should have been a silent film writer/director, he certainly had the knack for it. A simply wonderful series of drawings.

[Rick Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rereading Edward Gorey 2023. Edward Gorey's cats have never been my favorite, so Categor y, while charming, is not a book that sings for me.

Favorite quote: Eleven

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Edward Gorey. I love cats. So there it is.

[Marian Bollmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Katzen und dunkler Humor :D

[M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a good read.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kitties!

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

this was pretty disappointing. there were like 4-5 main drawings and then different scenery added around them. would not have purchased if i knew that.