Domestic or Fancy Cats: A Practical Treatise on Their Antiquity, Domestication, Varieties, Breeding, Management, Diseases, Exhibition and Judging
London: L. Upcott Gill, [1893].
First Edition. Hardcover. The gilt-stamped cat purring from the very center of its decorative cover is ready to curl up in your lap right alongside this fantastic 1893 guide to all things feline. Within these pages, you'll find plentiful Victorian-era information on the history and domestication of cats, their breeds and varieties, raising kittens, the construction of cat homes, exhibiting and showing cats, cat care, health, and feeding, and so much more, generously and gracefully illustrated throughout, in frontispiece, fold-out plate of the Angora cat, 8 plates of cat breeds and more, and beautifully intricate headpieces and tailpieces featuring felines, unique to each chapter.
No date to title or copyright, but likely the 1893 first edition, with "and" to title on cover and "or" to title page. 7 3/8" X 5 1/8". vi, [ii], 123pp, plus[i], 14pp, [ii] ads. Bound in light blue cloth over boards, with cat stamped and bordered in gilt to upper board and spine, lettered in kind, with additional, lesser creatures stamped in pale white and black to upper board. Moderate wear to binding, with edgewear, bumping and rubbing to extremities, sunning to spine, and hard lean to spine. Rear hinge tender; evidence of cracking and archival adhesive repair to front hinge. Yellow coated endpapers. Foxing and soiling to endpapers, else pages are clean and unmarked. Binding remains sound. Illustrated in 10 plates as well as headpieces and tailpieces. Good +. Item #12451
Price: $185.00