Before LOLCat, Grumpy Cat, Nyan Cat, and all the famous felines of the internet age, there was a book in 1911 where kittens were a sensation. Featuring various characters as part of a children's story, we've put together a gallery for you to enjoy this adorable work of art.
Kittens and Cats: A First Reader
On a cultural level, we know that the relationship between cats and the internet go hand in hand. But long before the phenomenon on the web, kittens were also a sensation in 1911. It all happened in Kittens and Cats: A First Reader, a charming but also slightly eerie book, where you can see photos of kittens with funny captions on each portrait. Inside its pages we meet "Queen Cat", "Dunce Cat", "Party Cat", "Hero Cat", and other characters, taken by animal photographer Harry Whittier Frees.
The book is attributed to American children's author Eulalie Osgood Grover, who uses the photographs to tell the story of a party given by the Queen and all the characters who attended. What's interesting is how Frees managed to photograph cats in such poses, since the cameras of the time did not have fast shutter speeds.
For now, you can enjoy the following gallery with the adorable kittens portraying different characters in 1911:
The 1911 Kitten Gallery
