Louis Wain (192 results)

Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. LOUIS WAIN (illustrator). 1st Edition. First edition, First Printing: A spectacular copy with a large full page original highly detailed drawing by Ludwig Bemelmans of Madeline, Miss Clavel, the girls all dressed in their hats and school uniforms, and most unique is Ludwig Bemelmans drew himself to the front of the art, dressed in a santa suit and carrying a briefcase labeled with his initials (L.B), and ?Propositions?. Signed and inscribed by Bemelmans ?To Uncle Henry, Here we go again, Ludwig?. In the background Bemelmans drew a plane labeled ?S.S Payola?, the boarding ramp consisting of stairs and a stewardess. An immensely elaborate presentation drawing to Henry Sell, the Editor of Town & Country Magazine in the 1950s. The book includes a handwritten 3 page letter from Harry Sell, to Virginia describing how he arranged for Ludwig Bemelmans to draw the dedication for this book. The letter is dated 12.20.59, and the piece was given by Sell as a Christmas gift to his friend. The letter also specifically describes the context of Bemelmans? drawing. The letter, penned by Henry Sell on Town & Country letterhead, and dated ?12-20-59? is transcribed in full below and aside from its stunning provenance, also offer immense context to the drawing: ?Dear Virginia- Quite a spell back you asked me for a Bemelmans original. There was a time when that was an easy assignment but since the Hammer Galleries took over, ?an original? of that little man comes high (I just hope no one ever tells Bemmie or Hammer Boys about Mr. T?s wall: WOW) Enny how. He came in the other day and wanted me to wangle a trip to Paris for him, from some air line. I did. So he sat down and drew the dedication in this new book ? L.B. Propositions for the S.S. Payola flight. And because you really are such a wonderful good sport and fella, I in turn give the book and this amusing dedication to you. Ok? Merry Christmas Henry Sell (Please do not tell a soul) Thank you ? The value of this book is within the large, detailed original drawing by Bemelmans which include many of his main characters and himself, in addition to an incredible association letter establishing provenance (drawings by Bemelmans of his main characters sell for over $10,000, and paintings of his main characters from the book sell upwards of $60,000!). Near fine first printing book in a very good lightly chipped dust jacket. An exceptional presentation copy. ADDITIONAL IMAGES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST. Please see our ABE store for other landmark titles, and original illustration artwork. Signed by Author(s).

No Binding. Condition: Very Good. Description: Very Good. Engraved Size 9 x 6 ins, 23 x 15 Cms. A Color Print , Printed Circa 1900. Mounted (matted) and ready to frame. A fine decorative Color Print. Signed by artist in lower right corner. You may want to know why I charge so much for my books. The answer is quite simple. In 1971 gold was $35.00 per ounce. Today it is $1914.90 per ounce. Imagine it was 1971 today. Which would you rather have in 1971? An ounce of gold or $35.00? Gold has increased 1,914.90% The dollar has lost about 98% of its value. Signed by Author(s).

Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Wain, Louis (illustrator). 1st Edition. Wain, Louis. SOMEBODY'S PUSSIES. London; Paris; New York: Raphael Tuck & Sons, Ltd., circa 1925. FIRST EDITION. 4to - 9-7/8" x 7-5/8". Red cloth backed color pictorial paper covered boards with minimal touches of rubbing to the board edges and light wear to the board corners for what is a bright and clean, superior copy of the book; spine with decoration and titles printed in black. Front paste-down with a wonderful full color illustration within an elaborate pussy cat border; the "This Book Belongs To" box not filled in; rear paste-down with last page of text and a color pictorial drawing within text, all within a different elaborate pussy cat border. [20] pp. printed on thick board pages. This board book contains numerous cat-centric stories and verses; illustrated by Wain with thirteen full page color drawings, color drawings within text, and a decorative cat border on every page; internally the book is without flaw. The condition of the book is NEAR FINE. Only two copies located on OCLC/WorldCat (North Carolina State University; Princeton University Library). RARE, and truly a remarkable copy of the book.

First edition. Publisher's full color staple-bound pictorial wrappers. Oxidation at staples, light wear at edges and spine head, third gathering loose at two staples (of three). Folio (13 1/8 x 10 1/8 in; 334 x 258 mm). Twelve pages with one to two captioned scenes in color, inner covers illustrated in black and white. An excellent copy of a book that would normally have been destroyed by child. A particularly difficult Wain title to find in any condition, with the present being utterly exceptional. "From 1883, Wain began to draw cats as they had never been drawn before, cats in humorous guises, in human situations, but always beautifully handled.although he was sometimes forced to draw dogs before he became well- known!" (Houfe). Dale 34.

"Les Trois Chats" A Remarkable Survival of a Passé-Boules Carnival Game PASSÉ-BOULES GAME. [Les Trois Chats]. [in the style of Louis Wain]. Hand-painted 'Polychrome' Papier Maché late nineteenth century ball throwing 'Carnival' game. French, ca. 1900. Three side by side polychrome cats in 'Papier Maché, the structure reinforced by two wooden boards, one as the base and the other at the top. The height is 24 1/2 inches (630 mm.); the width is 23 5/8 inches (600 mm.); and the depth is 5 7/8 inches (150 mm.). Each of the three felines have gaping open mouths (2 1/2 inches (63 mm.), the one on the center wearing an orange and blue hat with the name "Toto" in orange. At the bottom is a receptacle with three compartments which are marked "30" "50" & "20" respectively. A remarkable survival of a Passé-Boules Carnival Game. Historically, passé-boule (ball-toss) was a very popular fairground game in France from the 19th century onwards and the masks often depict figures to be ridiculed. Any number of people may play. The object of the game is to hit the target with small white balls - similar to table tennis balls, but slightly smaller. The three targets are the wide-open mouths of the three cats. Players aim to throw or bounce their ball into the open mouths for a good score. Provenance: Purchased in Paris from the family of the original owner whose Grandfather (or Grandmother) acquired it at the turn of the 19th/20th centuries.

Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Wain, Louis (illustrator). (Wain, Louis) illustrator. "TINKER, TAILOR" with stories by Edric Vredenburg; illustrated by Louis Wain. London, Paris, Berlin, New York, Montreal: Raphael Tuck & Sons, Ltd., ca. 1914. 4to - 7-1/2" x 9-13/16". Brown cloth backed pictorial boards with cat vignettes surrounding a full color pictorial paste label on the front board and black lettering on the spine with only a minute amount of wear to the head and tail of spine for a bright and beautiful copy of the book. Pictorial endpapers with gift inscription dated 1920 on the front paste-down and discoloration to the front and back free endpapers. The text block edges and preliminaries are foxed and some of the foxing extends into the margins on some of the text pages. Twelve full page color pictures and a large number of pen and ink drawings, all of which are by Louis Wain, illustrate this volume of exciting adventure and entertaining histories of "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor, Gentleman, Apothecary, Plowboy, Thief," the characters being impersonated by Louis Wain's celebrated cats. The condition of the book is NEAR FINE. Only three copies located on OCLC/WorldCat. RARE.

Original Pictorial Cloth. Condition: Near Fine. Wain, Louis (illustrator). First Edition. (Wain, Louis) illus. PETER; A CAT O' ONE TAIL. HIS LIFE AND ADVENTURES. Illustrated by Louis Wain (Peter's Proprietor). Written by Charles Morley (A Pal of Peter's). London: Pall Mall Gazette, 1892. First edition. 4to - 7-3/4" x 10-1/4". TEG. Original pink cloth binding, pictorially blocked in black and lettered in red. Binding is unevenly faded but extremely clean with almost no signs of handling or wear. Eighty-eight pages, illustrated throughout by Louis Wain in his early, pre-anthropomophic style. Peter, a large black and white cat, was Louis and wife Emily Wain's family pet. Louis Wain wrote of Peter, "To him properly belongs the foundation of my career, the developments of my initial efforts, and the establishing of my work." Peter can be recognized in many of Wain's early published works. Internally, the book is in fine condition with minor foxing to the endpapers being the only condition issue of note. The condition of this book is NEAR FINE. Extremely scarce in the deluxe cloth binding.

"A Night in Town" - Probably Louis Wain's Very First Published 'Cat Caricature' [WAIN, Louis, artist]. [DOBSON, Austin, contributor]. A Book of Drawings. By A. Bryan, L. Davis, A.T. Elwes, Harry Furniss, J. Jellicoe, Louise Jopling, J.B. Partridge, Jo. Pennell, R.H. Moor, H. Railton, Hugh Thomson, L. Wain, C. Wilkinson & W. Wilson: with a prefatory poem by Austin Dobson. London: Privately Printed for Mr. & Mrs. F.T. Davies, [1891]. One of a hundred large paper copies on hand-made paper, signed by F.T.W. Davies, the plates individually signed by the illustrators. 43, [1 imprint] pp. Folio (12 7/8 x 10 3/8 inches; 326 x 263 mm.). Original thin white vellum over parchment wrappers. Front cover decoratively stamped and lettered in gilt. A near fine copy. The two Louis Wain drawings, each of which is signed by Wain in pencil are: "A Night in Town" and [A Single Cat]. From studying the 209 entries in Rodney Dale's A List of Books Illustrated by Louis Wain, it would appear that A Book of Drawings (Dale 20, 1891) was only preceded by Madame Tabby's Establishment (Dale 141, 1886) and Dreams by French Firesides (Dale 56, 1890). We believe that the drawing "A Night in Town" is most probably the very first published Louis Wain 'multi-cat caricature'. Extremely rare - OCLC lists just two copies in libraries worldwide: Yale University Library, CT., and R. G. Menzies Library, ANU, Canberra. "Mr. and Mrs. Davies, who are well known for their unsparing efforts on behalf of the poor of St. Pancras, have issued a book of drawings with the same charitable intentions as have been displayed in their concerts. For this purpose they have secured the services of several well-known artists, who have contributed, each with his own especial style, and the result is a recherché book of pictures not often seen. The title-page is by Herbert Horne, and Mr. Austin Dobson furnishes a prefatory poem; the artists who have sent their charitable mites are W. Wilson, H. Railton, J. Jellicoe, A.T. Elwes, Louise Jopling, Joseph Pennell, H. Furniss, C. Wilkinson, A. Bryan, R.H. Moore, J.B. Partridge, Lucien Davis, Hugh Thomson, Louis Wain, and Selwyn Image, who sends a tail-piece. Anyone wishing to make a Christmas or New Year's Gift will help on the good work Mr. and Mrs. Davies are doing by sending for a book. A special large paper edition, limited to 100 copies, printed on hand-made paper, with India proofs of the drawings, and bound in parchment, will also be issued from Wilsford House, 16 Fitzroy-street, London, W., or may be obtained through Mr. Tregaskis." (The British Bookmaker. Volume V. 1891-92). "Until 1890, Louis Wain had made little or no attempt to portray cats as anything other than fluffy animals which, though they slept between sheets, or wrote letters with quill pens, were otherwise recognisably feline. The 'Louis Wain cat' had not yet been born. But in 1890, he began to explore the possibility of the comic cat; cats drawn in human situations - or humans drawn as cats, which amount to the same thing. He insisted that he did not caricature cats, but drew them as he saw them, though his approach makes it clear that he generally saw them as humans. Naturally, then, he studied humans when drawing cats. ' If I want a mild, irresponsible caricature, a grinning cat, then I have to let loose my nature impressions and let myself go on my own account, and it is astonishing what variety one can get in this way, and how one's moods vary from day to day. I have done as many as one hundred and fifty laughing cats at a time, no two being alike. ' There is another way of sketching cats, and this way I often resort to. I take a sketch-book to a restaurant or other public place, and draw the people in their different positions as cats, getting as near to their human characteristics as possible. This gives me double nature, and these studies I think my best humorous work.' The foundations of this approach were laid in 1890. That Christmas, there appeared in Holly Leaves and the Illustrated London News 'A Cats' Christmas Dance and 'A Cats' Party, respectively. By now, Louis Wain was a household name. He was sufficiently famous to be mentioned by M. H. Spielmann (1858-1948), the eminent Victorian artists' biographer, in his monograph on the Dutch cat-artist Henriette Ronner in which he wrote: "That after all this lapse of time her work should till lately be practically new to our metropolis is equally a misfortune to art-lovers and an injustice to the artist. We have, and have had, cat-painters of ability here in England: in Mr Couldery, Mr Walter Hunt and Mr Louis Wain we have men who understand and appreciate feline beauty and feline character. It is a mark of Louis Wain's fame that in 1890 he was elected to the Presidency of the National Cat Club, following the resignation of Mr Harrison Weir." (Rodney Dale. Louis Wain. The Man who drew Cats, pp. 26 & 29). Dale, 20.

Condition: Very good plus. Rare Wain production, in which characters from classic fairy tales are re-imagined as his characteristically eccentric and expressive cats. Known as "The Edwardian Cat Artist That Went Mad," Wain was once "the most famous cat artist on earth" (Haining). His work in conceiving an entire Catland inspired the creators of Felix the Cat and even Mickey Mouse; Haining notes that Wain also "played a major part in making the cat the most popular of all domestic pets." Included here are scenes from fairy tales and other well-known stories: Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Robin Hood, Bluebeard, Sindbad the Sailor, Robinson Crusoe, Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp, The Forty Thieves, Jack the Giant Killer, Beauty and the Beast, The Babes in the Wood, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty, each with Wain's unique cats managing to appear simultaneously charming and bizarre. OCLC lists only one institutional holding (Princeton). 13'' x 9.5''. Original stiff pictorial card wrappers. Illustrated by Wain with 12 full-page color plates and 2 full-page line illustrations, in addition to pictorial wrappers. [12] pages. Spine repaired,.5'' chip to top left corner of front wrapper, a bit of bumping to corners and faint soil to wrappers; interior clean, illustrations vivid.

Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Wain, Louis (illustrator). Wain, Louis. DADDY CAT. New York: Dodge Publishing Company, [1925]. 4to - 7-1/16" x 9-7/8". Olive cloth with a large full color printed paste-label on the front cover with just a hint of shelf wear and the shadow of a previous price sticker (3/4" x 1") for what is a bright clean copy of the book. Pictorial endpapers. [36] pp. Illustrated with thirty-two wonderful full color drawings of cats as only Louis Wain could do. The condition of the book is NEAR FINE.

Condition: Near fine. A remarkably beautiful copy of this rare Wain title. Known as "The Edwardian Cat Artist That Went Mad," Wain was once "the most famous cat artist on earth" (Haining). His work in conceiving an entire Catland inspired the creators of Felix the Cat and even Mickey Mouse; Haining notes that Wain also "played a major part in making the cat the most popular of all domestic pets." 9.5'' x 7''. Original quarter cloth, flexible card covers with pictorial paste-on and black-printed ornamental border. Illustrated by Wain with 4 mounted color plates on dark grey paper, 3 full-page black-and-white plates, 4 half-page black-and-white images and 10 smaller black-and-white illustrations in-text. Faint foxing to title page, trace edgewear to wrappers.

First edition. Artistic Series No. 2530. Pictorial glossy wrappers in full color. Complete with all post cards present and uncolored; thus scarce. Unusually clean, and with just a tiny chip to lower right corner of front wrapper and a crossed out ink inscription dated 1904 on inside front wrapper. Quarto (10 1/2 x 8 in; 266 x 202 mm). Sixteen leaves (including inside covers) comprised of eight leaves with four full color, gum arabic-heightened illustrations each and eight uncolored perforated leaves with matching illustrations to rectos as post cards with printed mailing info to versos. Designed at the Tuck Studios in London and printed at the Fine Art Works in Germany.An excellent copy. Classic Wain cats (and dogs!) at play and suitable for coloring and mailing. At the end of the last century, Louis Wain (1860-1939), the Edwardian cat artist, became a household name as an illustrator of cats, whom he depicted in all sorts of activities, from skating and playing cricket to driving motor cars, attending dances, and playing musical instruments. "He invented a cat style, a cat society, a whole cat world. English cats that do not look like Louis Wain cats are ashamed of themselves" (H.G. Wells). Dale 61.

Onward, For Kitten and Country Furry Fun For All WAIN, Louis. Frolics in Catland. Father Tuck's "Travels in Fairyland" No. 9174. London: Raphael Tuck & Sons, Ltd., n.d. [c. 1905?]. First 'Untearable' edition. Oblong quarto (8 5/8 x 10 3/4 in; 220 x 273 mm). [28] pp. With eight full-page and numerous color text illustrations. Verses by Norman Gale. Quarter red cloth over color pictorial paper glazed boards. Pictorial endpapers printed in blue and orange. Child's neat signature dated 1918 to ownership page. Inner hinges expertly strengthened. Some light wear to corners, otherwise a remarkably good example of this rare title. At the end of the nineteenth century, Louis Wain (1860-1939), the Edwardian cat artist who went mad, became a household name as an illustrator of cats, whom he depicted in all sorts of activities, from skating and playing cricket to driving motor cars, attending dances, and playing musical instruments. "He invented a cat style, a cat society, a whole cat world. English cats that do not look like Louis Wain cats are ashamed of themselves" (H.G. Wells). "From 1883, Wain began to draw cats as they had never been drawn before, cats in humorous guises, in human situations, but always beautifully handled.[a]lthough he was sometimes forced to draw dogs before he became well-known!" (Houfe, The Dictionary of British Book Illustrators and Caricaturists 1800-1914). Not in Dale. Unrecorded by Wood. Contents: Conrad's Croquet; The Plucky Cricketer; [Two Cats Playing Tennis]; The Winner; [Two Cats Playing Golf]; Dairy Down Golf Club; Amelia Mlik; Augustus Purd; Tramping Ted; [Two Cats Rowing a Boat]; Camilla Clott; [Two Cats Picking Flowers]; Wooden Bricks; The Poor Bugler; [Two Cat Brass Band]; Jake; [Two Musical Cats]; Pippina Joy; Signor Whiskerando Kat; Velvina Fox; Devoted Dandy; {Two Cats Singing a Comical Duet]; Tomto; [Two Members of the Famous Band]; Fernand and Tarina Tab.

First edition. Publisher's quarter decorated cloth over full-color glazed pictorial boards, corners a little worn.Small quarto (9 5/8 x 7 1/8 in; 245 x 180 mm). A few illustrations hand-colored by a child. Closed tear to bottom edge of page. 17. Early ink presentation dated "Christmas 1905" on front paste-down. Illustrated throughout in black and white and color, with fifteen drawings by Louis Wain, and an unrecorded text drawing by Arthur Rackham (so initialed) on page 40. Unrecorded and scarce, with no copies noted in the Wain or Rackham bibliographies. Anytime an unrecorded book illustration by Arthur Rackham comes to light, it's an item for collectors to note. Buried within this book, unheralded, on page forty, is a black and white text illustration of four chickens in various states of distress as they observe, in high dudgeon and with no little annoyance, a cat within their food bucket chowing down the chicken feed. And at the lower left of the bucket, as small as can be, are Rackham's initials as typically drawn. Latimore and Haskell, and Riall make no mention of this illustration in their Rackham bibliographies, and the Arthur Rackham Society expressed no knowledge of it when we inquired. A true scarcity -- a previously unknown Rackham during his transitional period, when his fairies and goblins were emerging but had not yet fully vanquished the simple, pay-the-bills work of his early years. Cf. Dale 34 and 35.

First edition. Quarter green cloth over color pictorial, heavy-card stock boards. Some soiling to boards, upper corners creased. Tall octavo. Collating [2], 4-23, [1, blank]. With twenty full-page color plates, including frontispiece. In all an excellent copy. At the end of the nineteenth century, Louis Wain (1860-1939), the Edwardian cat artist, became a household name as an illustrator of cats, whom he depicted in all sorts of activities, from skating and playing cricket to driving motor cars, attending dances, and playing musical instruments. "He invented a cat style, a cat society, a whole cat world. English cats that do not look like Louis Wain cats are ashamed of themselves" (H.G. Wells). Wood 36. Dale, p. 76.

First edition. Publisher's quarter red cloth over full color pictorial boards. Quarto (10 1/8 x 8 1/4 in; 258 x 212 mm). Twenty-four verso-only leaves with twenty large full color illustrations by Louis Wain. Small closed tears to bottom edge of leaves 19 and 22, small tears to half title at staples, boards a little soiled, and scuffed at edges. Otherwise a very good copy of this extremely scarce Wain title. One of the more colorful Wain titles. "In 1910, Routledge published Two Cats at Large, a 'book of surprises, by Louis Wain, with verses by S.C. Woodhouse.' Two kittens, Albert and Tom, meet various strange-looking monsters on their travels, including the Gollifrog, the Grabberchox and the Salleyinouralleygator. There are some very strange-looking cats in this book as well" (Dale). Dale 204.

First edition. Original color pictorial stiff wrappers with original red silk tie, gray end-papers.[48] pages. Eight full-page color (including one double- page) illustrations and forty-nine smaller color illustrations. Very minor rubbing to one corner, otherwise a Near Fine copy of this very fragile and precious little book. A fine collection of favorites including: Jack Horner, Miss Muffet, Jack-in-the-Box, Santa Claws and Hey Diddle Diddle. The illustrations also include cats playing cricket, watching a magic lantern and playing 'Squib'. At the end of the nineteenth century, Louis Wain (1860-1939), the Edwardian cat artist, became a household name as an illustrator of cats, whom he depicted in all sorts of activities, from skating and playing cricket to driving motor cars, attending dances, and playing musical instruments. "He invented a cat style, a cat society, a whole cat world. English cats that do not look like Louis Wain cats are ashamed of themselves" (H.G. Wells). Dale, 37.

Cloth Backed Boards. Condition: Near Fine. Wain, Louis (illustrator). First Edition. (Wain, Louis) illustrator. THE CAT SCOUTS with verses and tales by Jessie Pope. London: Blackie and Son Limited, [1912]. First edition. 4to - 7-1/16" x 9-15/16". Light green cloth backed buff colored course cloth boards with a full color pictorial paste label of a very clean copy of the book. Very minor corner wear and the minutest signs of handling for what is really about as nice a copy of this title that one ever finds. [32]pp. Illustrated endpapers and wonderful, full color illustrations by Louis Wain throughout. We have both full page and in text illustrations of amazing Louis Wain drawings of these cats as they train for and become the cat version of Boy Scouts. The book is bright and clean throughout with a neatly written gift inscription dated Feb. 16, 1919 on the front endpaper. Louis Wain was a unique talent and this is a fine example of him at his very best. Fun and highly enjoyable. The condition of this book is NEAR FINE. Rare.

Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Wain, Louis (illustrator). 1st Edition. (Wain, Louis) illustrator. CAT'S CRADLE: A PICTURE-BOOK FOR LITTLE FOLK. Cats by Louis Wain. Rhymes by May Byron. London - Glasgow - Dublin - Bombay: Blackie and Son Limited, [1908]. First edition. 4to - 7" x 10". Color pictorial gray paper covered boards with original red silk ribbon tie with minor wear to the gray paper at the corners but not so much as to detract from the appearance of the book. This is a beautiful copy of a notoriously fragile book. Gray endpapers. [50] pp. Cat-centric verses by May Byron illustrated with fifty-seven full color drawings, forty-nine within text and eight full page, of zany cats by Louis Wain as only he could do. The condition of the book is NEAR FINE. Only one copy located in OCLC/WorldCat. RARE.

Condition: Very good. Nice copy of a rare and fragile Wain title, a shape cat book and title in Father Tuck's Hurrah series. Known as "The Edwardian Cat Artist That Went Mad," Wain was once "the most famous cat artist on earth" (Haining). His work in conceiving an entire Catland inspired the creators of Felix the Cat and even Mickey Mouse. 14.25'' x 8.25''. Original stiff pictorial card boards with top die-cut in a cat shape. Illustrated by Wain with color boards, 4 large and incredible full-page color illustrations of cats at play, and great line illustrations on all other pages. Expert repairs to spine and edges of boards.

First edition. Quarter blue cloth over chromolithographed pictorial glazed boards. Neat gift inscription dated 1895. A stunning copy with only the slightest hint of wear at corners. Chromolithograph and black and white illustrations throughout. Printed in Bavaria. Ernest Nister (1842-1909) "produced more than five hundred mostly undated illustrated books for children, but from the 1890s the firm's production was almost exclusively toy or movable books and Nister introduced many new mechanical techniques. The illustrations in Nister's booksâ "typically featuring affluent, well- dressed, cheerful children at playâ "were produced by many different artists. The artist's name, however, was often either dropped or missing, while the signature of Nister, as lithographer, was usually found somewhere on the workâ "thus leading to confusion about attribution. Nister frequently reused illustrations, occasionally adding picture elements that were not in the original work" (The Oxford Encyclopedia of Children's Literature). Page 10 contains a chromolithograph (Mr. Milkman) that while unsigned (see below) is clearly by Louis Wain at an early stage of his career and is thus far unrecorded. While others illustrated cats (and imitated Wain) no one's cats were quite like Wain's cats, who invariably possess an unmistakable, slightly insane gleam in their eyes. Not in Dale.

Original quarter brown cloth over beveled brown boards. Front cover pictorially stamped and lettered in black and white with laid-on color plate. Spine lettered in black. Collating 136, [4, ads]. Twelve color plates (including frontispiece) and numerous black and white text illustrations. Corners and spine ends a little rubbed, inner front hinge expertly strengthened, some minor marginal soiling to some leaves. Still a Very Good copy. One of the rarest of all Wain-illustrated books, the cat-master's delightful take on a tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, gentleman, apothecary, ploughboy, thief. At the end of the last century, Louis Wain (1860-1939), the Edwardian cat artist, became a household name as an illustrator of cats, whom he depicted in all sorts of activities, from skating and playing cricket to driving motor cars, attending dances, and playing musical instruments. "He invented a cat style, a cat society, a whole cat world. English cats that do not look like Louis Wain cats are ashamed of themselves" (H.G. Wells). "From 1883, Wain began to draw cats as they had never been drawn before, cats in humorous guises, in human situations, but always beautifully handled.[a]lthough he was sometimes forced to draw dogs before he became well- known!" (Houfe, The Dictionary of British Book Illustrators and Caricaturists 1800-1914 ) . Dale, 201.

Hardcover. Condition: Good +. Wain, Louis; Stewart, E.H. (illustrator). Folio size, 62 pp. English artist Louis Wain (1860-1939) is known for his trademark anthropomorphic cats, who live in a rich, vibrant world and display playful personalities amidst their alphabetised actions. According to H. G. Wells, "[Wain] has made the cat his own. He invented a cat style, a cat society, a whole cat world. English cats that do not look and live like Louis Wain cats are ashamed of themselves" (n. b., quote from Wikipedia). For this whimsical alphabet book, Wain creates a series of colour illustrations for each of the twenty-six letters, with captions for each image written in verse. In addition to Wain's ABC section, there are an additional four sections; the second presents the ABCs in a series of hunting scenes (uncredited), the third is also an ABC with anthropomorphic animals of all types (also uncredited); the fourth section, illustrated by E.H. Stewart, follows young children through their day, with each hour of the day properly alloted (e.g., "Seven O'Clock: Waking Time", etc.), the fifth and final section is yet another ABC (also uncredited), setting forth the characters and events when "Amy, her age it was eight" said "I will give an At Home of my own" (please note: there are several scenes in this section presenting stereotypical Golliwogs, which are now considered highly racist). This work is scarce in the marketplace, with no other copies online as of this writing; OCLC locates only three copies (Princeton, Bryn Mawr, and Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin); we see a single auction record (RBH). Interestingly, although Baumgarten lists numerous Wain titles it does not include this work, although it is included in Dale. Volume undated, we believe it to be a 1921 publication based on both Dale and a record found online where the book is listed in "The Saturday Review" for 19 November, 1921. ___DESCRIPTION: Bound in cloth-backed boards, the front board with a full-colour illustration (by or after E.H. Stewart) and the back board covered in plain grey paper, the front endpapers pictorial, with a series of small line drawings of children in blue and the rear endpapers plain, the front free endpaper serving as the title page, every page of each section with colour illustrations; folio size (13 3/8" by 10 1/4"), unpaginated with sixty-two pages (of which the front free endpaper and its verso consitute two). ___CONDITION: A bit better than good, the text block strong although the hinges are tender, the interior is bright with a few stray marks, the sole prior owner marking a child' name, written in a child's hand, on the (blank) verso of the title page/front free endpaper; the binding is generally worn with the corners rubbed, there is overall soil with some marks, and some toning to the free endpapers. Although the binding has been generously used, still a sturdy, good overall copy of a scarce Wain item. ___CITATION: Rodney Dale, "Louis Wain, The Man who drew Cats", p. 136. ___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details. ___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.

Pictorial Paper Wrappers. Condition: Very Good. Wain, Louis (illustrator). First Edition. (Wain, Louis) illus. PETER; A CAT O' ONE TAIL. HIS LIFE AND ADVENTURES. Illustrated by Louis Wain (Peter's Proprietor). Written by Charles Morley (A Pal of Peter's). London: Pall Mall Gazette, 1892. First edition. 4to - 7-3/16" x 9-11/16". Orange-colored pictorial paper wrappers with mild soiling and two short closed tears, one approximately 3/8" in length and one approximately 5/8" in length. Eighty-eight pages plus ten pages of advertisements, illustrated throughout by Louis Wain in his early, pre-anthropomophic style. Peter, a large black and white cat, was Louis and wife Emily Wain's family pet. Louis Wain wrote of Peter, "To him properly belongs the foundation of my career, the developments of my initial efforts, and the establishing of my work." Peter can be recognized in many of Wain's early published works. Internally, the book is in very good condition with scattered finger marks and areas of light soiling. There are also several pages with what appear to be a spot of damp staining on the extreme outside edge of the text block. The largest of these stains measure approximately 1/4" x 1/2" The condition of this book is VERY GOOD. Rare.

Condition: Very good plus. Scarce first edition featuring 6 full-page color plates by Wain of his characteristically humanoid cats. 10'' x 8''. Original quarter blue cloth, pictorial paper boards. Illustrated by Wain with 6 color plates and black-and-white images on every text page, 9 of which are double-page and 95% of which are of cats. 144 pages. Ink owner name on front pastedown, gift inscription on front fly leaf. Leaves uniformly toned. Edgewear to boards, with faint rubbing and barely visible abrasion lines to glazed paper of rear board.

Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Wain, Louis (illustrator). 1st Edition. (Wain, Louis) illustrator. PUSS IN BOOTS (The Stump Books For Children No. 3) by Louis Wain. London: Anthony Treherne & Co., Ltd.; New York: The H. B. Claflin Co., 1904. FIRST EDITION. Oblong miniature - 6" x 1-5/8". Color pictorial tan cloth covered boards with black and red lettering and black, blue and red decoration to upper cover with light soiling for what is a wonderful copy of the book. The Stump Books all had a bone closure attached to the back cover by way of a strip of cloth; the front cover with a cloth loop for the bone closure to fit into to secure the fragile books' covers. The closing mechanism here is complete, un-worn and functioning as originally intended. Top edge tinted red. The front paste-down endpaper blank; the rear paste-down endpaper with the final full color drawing. [32] leaves. Printed on one side of the leaf only, on stiff thick paper, with text on versos and illustrations on rectos. This old European fairy tale is illustrated with a black and white title page drawing and sixteen full color full page drawings by Wain, each opposite a page of text. The condition of the book is NEAR FINE. Only six copies located on OCLC/WorldCat. RARE.

Condition: Very good. First edition of this unusual Louis Wain title, a set of 10 postcards to be colored by a child - remarkably unused. Best known for his art of Catland, Louis Wain was far more than just an artist of felines. THE ZOOLAND POSTCARD PAINTING BOOK finds Wain applying his gently satyrical humanized style to elephants, bears, monkeys, hippos, and to big cats: a lion and a pair of tigers, in whose faces glimpses of Catland can be seen. Wain provided a coloring guide for young artists on the rear wrapper, though one wonders how closely a child would be able to emulate his handiwork. This title is also testament to the marketability of Wain's art in the pre-WWI UK - Wain lent his illustrations to numerous books, annuals, and even housewear. ZOOLAND, designed to be enjoyed and broken up, is quite a rare Wain item in any condition, let alone retaining all 10 of its postcards. 5'' x 7''. Original stiff color pictorial wrappers. Illustrated in black and white. [5] leaves each perforated to center, with postcard text to reverse. Wrappers with some edgewear, tiny chip to upper front corner; careful glue repair along spine. Postcards with a hint of toning. Sound and clean.

Original color pictorial wrappers. Small quarto (9 1/16 x 7 inches: 230 x 177 mm.). 20 pp (including wrappers). Four full-page illustrations in full color with duplicate brown line drawings opposite, designed to be hand colored by the owner (the second drawing already expertly colored). A very fine example of a fragile rarity. At the end of the last century, Louis Wain (1860-1939), the Edwardian cat artist, became a household name as an illustrator of cats, whom he depicted in all sorts of activities, from skating and playing cricket to driving motor cars, attending dances, and playing musical instruments. "He invented a cat style, a cat society, a whole cat world. English cats that do not look like Louis Wain cats are ashamed of themselves" (H.G. Wells). Here, Wain gives children the opportunity to color his cats for themselves. Father Tuck's Little Artists' Series No. 4063.

WAIN, Louis (illustrator). Days in Catland with Louis Wain. [London: Raphael Tuck & Sons, n.d., ca. 1912]. Father Tuck's Panorama. Oblong quarto. Panorama consisting of four chromolithographic panels with fourteen numbered slots and fourteen numbered cut-out cat figures to fit into the slots. "The Pictures are made up by arranging the cut out Figures in different parts of the Scenery" (back cover). The scenes depict: Bedtime; Helping Mother in the Kitchen; Cat's Tea Party; The School Room. With verse by Arthur Burnaby and five line drawings by Louis Wain on the verso of two panels. Original color pictorial front cover. Front cover with creases at both lower corners, and a repaired closed tear at the lower outer corner. Hinges reinforced. Some very minor soiling. Still an excellent example of a very rare Louis Wain panorama, with very bright illustrations and all parts present. Chemised in a quarter morocco slipcase. One of only three Louis Wain panoramas, the others being Catland "Panorama" (ca. 1903) and Fun and Frolic "Panorama" (ca. 1906) (see "A List of Books Illustrated by Louis Wain," compiled by Ellery Yale Wood). HBS 68217. $1,250.

Hardcover. Condition: Good. ; This is a mixed state with Blackie and Son as publisher on title page but Dodge Publishing on cover. Color pictorial cover is frayed at extremities with light soiling. Boards and spine are straight. Binding is tight. Lacking front end sheet, rear end sheet detached but present. Pages are lightly toned with light thumbing but in good condition. Color illustrations on every page.