Daddy Cat by WAIN, Louis, illustrator

London: Blackie and Son Limited, 1914. A Day in the Life of Daddy Cat WAIN, Louis. Daddy Cat Illustrated by Louis Wain. London: Blackie and Son Limited, [n.d., ca. 1914]. First edition. Quarto (9 5/8 x 6 3/4 inches; 245 x 172 mm.). 36 pp. Color pictorial title-page and thirty-four full-page color illustrations. Original quarter red cloth over tan cloth boards, front cover with full-color illustration (taken from the color illustration on page 13) pasted-on, pictorial gray end-papers. A spectacular copy. Very scarce, especially in this condition. A charming little book which pictorially follows the exciting day of Daddy Cat and his two kittens. At the end of the last century, Louis Wain (1860-1939), the Edwardian cat artist who went mad, became a household name as an illustrator of cats, whom he depicted in all sorts of activities, from skating and playing cricket to driving motor cars, attending dances, and playing musical instruments. "He invented a cat style, a cat society, a whole cat world. English cats that do not look like Louis Wain cats are ashamed of themselves" (H.G. Wells). "From 1883, Wain began to draw cats as they had never been drawn before, cats in humorous guises, in human situations, but always beautifully handled...[a]lthough he was sometimes forced to draw dogs before he became well-known!" (Houfe, The Dictionary of British Book Illustrators and Caricaturists 1800-1914 ) . Dale, 50.