Cat-Eared Books
Vintage cat titles under $35 that you can find secondhand right meow.
“My original vision for the magazine was for it to feel like you’re wandering through the aisles of the best thrift store ever, one stacked high with vintage trinkets and textiles. On one shelf you might find a golden floral print tablecloth from the 1960s, a 1990s Tamagotchi, and a handmade ceramic cat from the 1980s that looks a little bit off, but in a cute way.”
You would be forgiven for thinking this a quote about Mildew. It’s actually Anja Charbonneau talking about Catnip, a print magazine for cat lovers. Our magazines do share a pedigree, though: they’re both published by Broccoli, a “publisher of unusual delights,” and I (Mildew’s editor) am also one of the editors of Catnip.
We just published the long-awaited second volume of Catnip, so in honor of its thrift store aesthetic, I’m herding cat-themed vintage publications your way.
Note: It’s tricky to link to vintage items, because once someone buys it, it’s gone! Right now, all of these links should be shoppable—but if any are sold out by the time you get there, try eBay, PRESS, IDEA Books, Thriftbooks, Powell’s, Better World Books, your local little free library… The Internet Archive is also great for a try-before-you-buy!
❉ Vavra’s Cats (1986) — Robert Vavra may have been known as the world’s foremost equine photographer (he made my personal favorite vintage coffee table book, Unicorns I Have Known), but here he turns to cats—who he dresses up in swathes of lace, drips of diamonds, tiaras, ribbons, and Cleopatra eyeliner. An Atlantic review from the year it came out aptly calls the book a “feline fairyland.” The scans below are from Press Books; their copy sold, but here’s a signed one on eBay.
❉ Starcats (1980) — My dentist definitely had some kitschy Martin Leman cat books in her waiting room in the 90s—I would know more about astrology if she’d had this one.
❉ Catmopolitan by Ilene Hochberg (1987) — Catmopolitan was a magazine for fashionable felines from the genius behind Dogue (1986), Vanity Fur (1988), and Good Mousekeeping (1996). Those spoofs were a big inspiration for “Tabbyloid”—a trashy tabloid-inspired insert we did in Catnip: Volume 2 with splashy stories like “CAT SURVIVES CURIOSITY” and “‘REAL HOUSECATS’ SPILL THE MILK!”
❉ The Seasonal Cat (1991) — A sentimental book of sumptuous black-and-white photos of cats by Swedish photographer Thomas Wester, with a poem about cats for each season. Doris Lessing (who also wrote a book about cats) wrote that Wester “photographed the essence of cat.”
❉ Why Cats Paint by Heather Busch and Burton Silver (1994) — A satirical art history tome analyzing the “theory of feline aesthetics,” from a 5000-year-old Egyptian scroll to contemporary scratching of “appropriated” upholstery.
And finally, Catflexing by Stephanie Jackson (1997) — Before there was looksmaxxing, there was catflexing.
These examples are hilarious. I wasn't aware of this as a form of art. They are genius. Thank you so much for sharing
Pawsome! I'll have to get them. Thanks for the inspurration