VERY RARE Book
Queen Tab and Her Kitten
Dunigan's Tortoise Shell Cat
Early McLoughlin Bros.
ca. 1850s
For offer, an interesting old historical book! Fresh from a prominent estate in Upstate NY. Never offered on the market until now. Vintage, Old, Original, Antique, NOT a Reproduction - Guaranteed !! I could not locate a copy of this rare book for sale elsewhere. Only one copy in libraries worldwide. I believe this to be a First edition. 8 p. + cover wraps. New York: McLoughlin, 24 Beekman Street. Hand colored engraved prints. Cover illustration signed Elton at lower left corner. 7 1/2 inches tall. Good condition - wear, light soiling / stains, lower rh corner of cover dogeared. Period fabric sewn to spine for reinforcement. Please see photos for all details. If you collect 19th century American print history, Americana imprints, Children, school education, Pre Civil War, etc. this is a treasure you will not see again! Add this to your library, or paper / ephemera collection. Combine shipping on multiple bid wins! 2182
The cat (Felis catus) is a small carnivorous mammal.[1][2] It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and often referred to as the domestic cat to distinguish it from wild members of the family.[4] The cat is either a house cat or a farm cat, which are pets, or a feral cat, which ranges freely and avoids human contact.[5] House cats are valued by humans for companionship and for their ability to hunt rodents. About 60 cat breeds are recognized by various cat registries.[6]
The cat is similar in anatomy to the other felid species, has a strong flexible body, quick reflexes, sharp teeth and retractable claws adapted to killing small prey. Its night vision and sense of smell are well developed. Cat communication includes vocalizations like meowing, purring, trilling, hissing, growling and grunting as well as cat-specific body language. It is a solitary hunter, but a social species. It can hear sounds too faint or too high in frequency for human ears, such as those made by mice and other small mammals. It is a predator that is most active at dawn and dusk.[7] It secretes and perceives pheromones.[8]
Female domestic cats can have kittens from spring to late autumn, with litter sizes ranging from two to five kittens.[9] Domestic cats are bred and shown as registered pedigreed cats, a hobby known as cat fancy. Failure to control breeding of pet cats by spaying and neutering, as well as abandonment of pets, resulted in large numbers of feral cats worldwide, contributing to the extinction of entire bird species, and evoking population control.[10]
It was long thought that cat domestication was initiated in Egypt, because cats in ancient Egypt were venerated since around 3100 BC.[11][12] However, the earliest indication for the taming of an African wildcat (F. lybica) was found in Cyprus, where a cat skeleton was excavated close by a human Neolithic grave dating to around 7500 BC.[13] African wildcats were probably first domesticated in the Near East.[14]
As of 2017, the domestic cat was the second-most popular pet in the United States by number of pets owned, after freshwater fish,[15] with 95 million cats owned.[16][17] In the United Kingdom, around 7.3 million cats lived in more than 4.8 million households as of 2019.[18]
McLoughlin Bros., Inc. was a New York publishing firm active between 1858[1] and 1920. The company was a pioneer in color printing technologies in children's books.[2] The company specialized in retellings or bowdlerizations of classic stories for children. The artistic and commercial roots of the McLoughlin firm were first developed by John McLoughlin, Jr. (1827–1905) who made his younger brother Edmund McLoughlin (1833 or 4-1889) a partner in 1855. By 1886, the firm published a wide range of items, including cheap chapbooks, large folio picture books, linen books, puzzles, games, paper soldiers and paper dolls. Many of the earliest and most valuable board games in America were produced by McLoughlin Brothers of New York. In 1920 the corporation was sold to Milton Bradley & Company. McLoughlin ceased game production at this time, but continued publishing their picture books.
In this artwork for Teddy the Bear by Sarah Noble Ives, printer's notes regarding ink colors can be seen in the top left.
The company worked with numerous artists of the time, including Sarah Noble Ives, William Bruton, Edward P. Cogger, Enos Comstock, Frances Bassett Comstock, Georgina A. Davis, Henry Walker Herrick, Justin H. Howard, May Audubon Post, Victor Renwick, Ida Waugh, and Lois Williams.[3] These artists created richly colored watercolors as well as pen-and-ink drawings, which were adapted to the printing processes for mass production.
In 1951 the firm, now a division of Milton Bradley, was sold to Julius Kushner. At that time, their collection of original artwork for publication was split between members of the board. A portion of that collection was later donated to the American Antiquarian Society.[3] In 1954, McLoughlin Brothers books were sold to Grosset & Dunlap.[4]