Cat Girl Before and After
The winner of last week’s book giveaway is Tammy R. Congratulations! Look for an email from Layla Morgan Wilde. We have a departure this week from our usual book review/giveaway.
I have deep love of history, antiques and ephemera of all kinds. My current home is the third antique house I’ve owned. I often wonder about its previous occupants and life in simpler times. When I came across an old sepia photograph from the 1880s of a girl with her cat, I found myself transfixed by the girl with a lazy eye and a self-assured cat as modern as a cat today.
I wondered what happened to the girl and the cat. Was it even her cat or a photo studio prop? Options for women were limited in Victorian days and plain girls faced bleak marriage prospects unless they had a wealthy parents. I wonder who that girl married. Was she happy and did she remain a cat lover?
This photo editing is my way of bringing little “Miss Cat Lover” to life. What do you think about her. Was she a true cat lover?
Voting continues once daily if you are so inclined. Vote for us here
Thank-you for your ongoing support and being a true cat lover!
18 Comments
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Stephanie
I really enjoyed the photo and what you wrote about it. I often wonder what the people in such photos were like and what they were thinking when the photo was taken. The world has changed beyond recognition since that little girl posed for that photo.
Anonymous
Have you ever read Anita Shreve? Some of her novels are inspired by one home and the different families that lived there. Beauty is so often in a smile…when the little girl in the picture is older, smiling,in love maybe, with her hair styled differently, she could be a beauty. I agree with the taxidermy speculation and I also believe she loved cats.
CarenOsrinGittleman (@CatChatCaren)
if you look closely the cat appears to have a lazy eye as well.
Congratulations to the winner!
Cheysuli
Congratulations to the winner. And we agree with Deb–the cat looks quite relaxed for that photo.
Angie Bailey
I love thinking about old pictures too and wondering about the people and their lives. I agree — we have a lot to be grateful for these days! Though I wonder if, years from now, people will see our pics and wondering the same thing!
CATachresis
Definitely stuffed! Love the first one lol
Tinch Richmon
I don’t like being skeptical, but my x-ray vision shows me a metal rod apparatus behind the little girl to keep her standing straight and her head up. I also suspect taxidermy being done on the cat. They didn’t have polaroids back then and the setting-up time was a slow process and uncomfortable for the person posing. I do think the little girl was happy enough. It’s hard to judge those old photographs because they were so posed.
Ryker's Boys and Allie (@Ryker_Tyker)
Very interesting indeed! Hm… makes one wonder what their story was!
animalartist
What an interesting photo to find! I hope she grew up to be a suffragette and a leader of women. I might wonder if the cat was, you know, taxidermied to use as a prop; little girls and kitties were a very popular combination, and there are no small number of taxidermied cats from the Victorian era. But then perhaps it is a natural pose and the photographer was just as good with animals as with people.
Brian
Yep, cat lover fur sure!
Skeeter and Izzy
We think that she is a cat lover too. The beautiful cat may have indeed been her only friend since people have always been so unkind to those they deem imperfect. If you look closely it almost appears like the cat has a bit of a lazy right eye. The two resemble each other with their beautiful almond shaped eyes and that stoic “non expression” on their faces …..there must have been love there. Purrs and kitty kisses Skeeter and Izzy >^~~^<
Deb Barnes - Zee and Zoey
I see no tension in the cat… so, I would believe the two of them to be beloved friends. She is silently communicating to her feline companion that they must be still for the photograph, then they can go off for a walk together and chase butterflies!
Eric and Flynn
What a sweet picture! I think she was a cat lover as the cat was laying there contented with his arms folded, and once a cat lover, always a cat lover. The Victorians didn’t smile for their photos as we do today so she was probably very aware of keeping one from her face.
Kathryn
What an interesting expression she has. Reflective. I think she is not all that happy in life, but she does love her cat. What a great card. So true about Victorian life. We have much to be grateful for in our 21st-century life.