The Book, Cat, & Cat Book Lovers Almanac

of historical trivia regarding books, cats, and other animals. Actually this blog has evolved so that it is described better as a blog about cats in history and culture. And we take as a theme the advice of Aldous Huxley: If you want to be a writer, get some cats. Don't forget to see the archived articles linked at the bottom of the page.

January 1, 2017

January 1, 1798

Utagawa Kuniyoshi (January 1, 1798 to April 14, 1861) was a Japanese artist, and is famous for his cats among other things. Here is a tiger and like many of his portrayals the swirl of stripes verges on transcending the frame.


Image result for Utagawa Kuniyoshi tiger






There are more of his cats on the cover of the book The Tiger in the House, (1922) a classic among the literature on cats, by a man who almost single-handedly created modern American literature, Carl Van Vechten. The book cover for a recent edition of Tiger in the House, uses Kuniyoshi artwork for the cover. 


Image result for kuniyoshi tiger van vechten


Utagawa Kuniyoshi knew well the difference between cats and tigers, despite the blurring apparent in the title of Van Vechten's book.

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