Father Tuck's Post Card Painting Book

London: Raphael Tuck & Sons, 1903. First edition. Artistic Series No. 2530. Pictorial glossy wrappers in full color. Complete with all post cards present and uncolored; thus scarce. Unusually clean, and with just a tiny chip to lower right corner of front wrapper and a crossed out ink inscription dated 1904 on inside front wrapper. Quarto (10 1/2 x 8 in; 266 x 202 mm). Sixteen leaves (including inside covers) comprised of eight leaves with four full color, gum arabic-heightened illustrations each and eight uncolored perforated leaves with matching illustrations to rectos as post cards with printed mailing info to versos. Designed at the Tuck Studios in London and printed at the Fine Art Works in Germany.An excellent copy.

Classic Wain cats (and dogs!) at play and suitable for coloring and mailing. At the end of the last century, Louis Wain (1860-1939), the Edwardian cat artist, 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).

Dale 61.