The Photographed Cat: Picturing Close Human-Feline Ties 1900-1940 (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780815610267)

With more than 130 illustrations, The Photographed Cat: Picturing Close Human-Feline Ties, 1900-1940 is both an archive and an analytical exploration of the close relationships between Americans and their cats during a period that is significant for photography and for modern understandings of animals as pets. This volume examines the cultural implications of feline companions while also celebrating the intimacy and joys of pets and family photographs. In seven thematic sections, Arluke and Rolfe engage with the collection of antique images as representations of real relationships and of ideal relationships, noting the cultural trends and tropes that occur throughout this increasingly popular practice. Whether as surrogate children, mascots, or companions to women, cats are part of modern American life and visual culture.

Entertaining, smart, and filled with a collector's trove of wonderful images, The Photographed Cat pays homage to the surprising range of relationships we have with cats and offers thoughtful consideration of the ways in which we represent them.

Author: Arnold Arluke, Lauren Rolfe
ISBN-10: 0815610262
ISBN-13: 9780815610267
Publisher: Syracuse University Press
Language: English
Published: 09/27/2013
Pages: 168
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.90lbs
Size: 11.20h x 8.70w x 0.60d

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 11/04/2013