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Thursday, January 17, 2013

I Can Haz Mezzotints

Two Nerdy History Girls alerted me to this engraving by James McArdell after the artist Philippe Mercier, which the Yale Center for British Art estimates to have been published in Britain in 1756.

Its caption is “Love Me, Love My Cat.”
Which shows that people were forcing their friends to look at pictures of cats long before the internet. We’ve just gotten more sophisticated at it.
PERMANENT LINK:

7 comments:

  1. T. FrantzThursday, 17 January, 2013

    Great title J.L. Definitely made me chuckle.

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  2. AnonymousThursday, 17 January, 2013

    Or less sophisticated.

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  3. John L Smith JrThursday, 17 January, 2013

    The more things change, the more they stay the same.

    GREAT OBSERVATION & SUMMARY, Mr. Bell! Thank you!

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  4. pilgrimchickThursday, 17 January, 2013

    So very true. On several points.

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  5. Don Carleton (Jr.)Friday, 18 January, 2013

    To quote Robert Darnton's famous "Great Cat Massacre" essay "Finally, the power of cats was concentrated on the most intimate aspect of domestic life: sex." There's the key to this print, I think!

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  6. J. L. BellFriday, 18 January, 2013

    Yes, that tail is pointing somewhere important. But any print of a pretty girl gets into that realm.

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  7. cinnamonblueFriday, 18 January, 2013

    Hey! Enjoy your blog but I just happen to also be a cat lover. I second the caption that was published with the print:-)

    ReplyDelete