Archive for the ‘Cat Stories’ Category

Although they did not take home any ribbons, a trio of black cats belonging to Colonel William D’Alton Mann, publisher of the Town Topics society magazine, were the center of attraction at New York City’s first official cat show.

“The leading cat-painter of America is Mr. J. H. Dolph, whom everyone knows, for his works appear constantly at exhibitions. He has worked and studied much abroad, at Paris, Antwerp, and Rome. Mr. Dolph excels in the delineation of feline and canine character.”–The Monthly Illustrator, Vol. 2, 1894 In Part I of this Old New cat tale, we met John Henry […]

The more J.H. Dolph painted cats, the more the public demanded his cat paintings. Soon he was known only for his cat paintings and nobody paid any attention to his human portraits or landscapes.

We last left off at the the car stables of the 42nd St. and Grand St. Ferry Railroad, on the east side of Twelfth Ave. It is the night of June 12, 1886, and about a dozen cats are fighting for their lives as a large fire burns their home to the ground…

Part I of this Old New York cat tale begins in 1825 at the old Hermitage Farm on the west side of Manhattan, where a large horse car depot was built in 1864.