This week’s collection of cute cat images represents my favourite companion, the humble cat. They’re sweet, they’re smart, and they’re a little bit kooky—just like me! Cats are also excellent art subjects, and this batch of mid-century greeting cards confirms as much.
We’ve been seeing cats in art for millennia. They were divinities and beloved companions in ancient Egypt and gifts to new brides among Viking clans. Cats have been among our dearest friends, keeping our food stores safe from pests and blessing our homes with their presence. It’s no wonder we like to illustrate and photograph them so much.
Let’s get into today’s little darlings. I hope you love them as much as I do!
This set of kittens, from a mid-century birthday card, are only my third-favourites because my actual favourites are just too freaking good. If someone wants to send me birthday kittens, by the way, I’ll happily take them. I’m an end-of-January baby.
Hint, hint.
Look at their eyes, oh my gosh. This is the most realistic illustration of a kitten that I have seen in any vintage greeting card. I feel like I could almost pet their tiny heads.
Can I just swoon over these gorgeous babies for a moment? They look so soft and fuzzy, even in greeting card form, and have an almost pencil crayon or coloured pencil drawing quality. The falling daisies add a little bit of painted texture and are cute on their own, too.
Like the previous card, this one is from a batch of mid-century greetings and the card company no longer exists. I’m ready to pet them, are you?
This kitten set is my favourite. These little dudes are fluffy as hell and they’re not gonna take it anymore. On the left, a kitten that is very much Done with everything. Just staring into the void. On the right, much angery, very yell. I love them. I hope they lived long and happy lives, causing mischief everywhere they went and getting lots of treats.
It’s the staring that really makes it.
Another Cute Mid-Century Kitten!
This little mid-century baby is so cheerful and sweet. That adorable face! It came from the inside of a greeting card, as you can probably tell from the paper texture. Grr, hiss, not that textured paper again! It’s the bane of my existence.
This is a kitten that has seen a lot of shit, and that vacant stare into the abyss is what makes it my second-favourite in the set. That, or somebody has something kitty wants.
Tune in next week for another batch of vintage images, and don’t forget to subscribe to my mailing list using the form below!
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A question for you all today: do you prefer working with real photo postcards and vintage photographs or with antique illustrations? Tell me in the comments!
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I don’t think I’ll be saving a lot of vintage greeting cards, or I’m going to get much fussier about which ones I preserve. There are so many with textured papers that it’s kind of a pain in the ass to use them. That’s okay, though. I have so much more material hanging around that it isn’t much of a loss.
So much more.