We recently shared some dog-focused prints, so now it’s only fair to shine the spotlight on our feline friends. These American historical prints are arranged chronologically and cover a range of cat cuteness and mischievousness.
Peter Maverick (lithographer), [Two kittens] [Lithograph, ca. 1830]. Courtesy of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
Pendelton’s Lithography. [Three cats] [Lithograph, ca. 1830]. Courtesy of the American Antiquarian Society.
D. W. Kellogg & Co. My Kitten [Lithograph, between 1830 and 1842]. Courtesy of the American Antiquarian Society.
Child & Inman (Charles Fenderich, artist), [Cat and two kittens, with a mouse] [Lithograph, 1832]. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
William Warner, engraver (Sir Edwin Landseer, artist), [Cat caught by the claw of a lobster while trying to steal a fish lying on a table] [Mezzotint, between 1835 and 1848]. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Nathaniel Currier, The Favorite Cat [Lithograph, 1838-1846]. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
E.B. & E.C. Kellogg, My Little White Kitties. Learning their A.B.C. [Lithograph, between 1842 and 1867]. Courtesy of the American Antiquarian Society.
Currier & Ives, The Star of the North [Lithograph, between 1857 and 1872]. Courtesy of the American Antiquarian Society.
Currier & Ives, My Little White Kitties–Into Mischief [Lithograph, 1871]. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Haskell & Allen, Pussy’s Family [Lithograph, ca. 1872]. Courtesy of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
All in Favor of Clark’s O.N.T. Will Please Say Aye! [Chromolithograph, between 1857 and 1873]. Courtesy of American Antiquarian Society.
L. Prang & Co., The Cat – Felis Domesticus [Lithograph, 1872]. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Thomas Kelly, Two Little Fraid Cats [Lithograph, 1874]. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Currier & Ives, Pussy’s Return [Lithograph, 1874-78]. Courtesy of Metropolitan Museum of Art.
J.A. Ladd & Son, Booksellers and Stationers. Holiday Cards a Specialty. 37 West Gay Street, West Chester, Pa. [Chromolithograph, ca. 1880]. Courtesy of the Library Company of Philadelphia.
F. Graetz (artist), A Picture Without Words [Chromolithograph illustration from Puck, 1884 January 16]. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
G.H. Dunston, International Baking Powder. Manufactured by Queen City Chemical Co., Buffalo, N.Y. [Lithograph, 1885]. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
H.S. Crocker & Co., Evolution of a Cat-cher [Lithograph, 1889]. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Edward Penfield (artist), Harper’s May [Lithograph, 1896]. Courtesy of the Jay T. Last Collection, Huntington Library.
Muller, Luchsinger & Co., Full of Fun [Chromolithograph, 1898]. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Strobridge & Co., William Collier in Augustus Thomas’ New Comedy, On the Quiet [Lithograph, 1900]. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.