Our latest “Document of the Week” was chosen by our Editorial Assistant, Chloe Haney. It is the first in a series of illustrations by Louis Wain titled “The Seven Ages”, published in The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News on 22 December 1900.
Wain’s career as an illustrator was defined by his cats. He first began drawing cats to comfort his wife, Emily, while she was ill. With her encouragement, he began to sell these cat illustrations to illustrated newspapers and periodicals. The public reception was incredibly positive, and Wain went on to publish thousands of illustrations of cats across various publications, including his own annuals. In fact, the popularity of his work was such that he is often credited with the shift in the public perception of cats from working animals to household pets.
The first in a series of illustrations depicting cats at different stages of human life, “The Seven Ages—I” focuses on “the infant” life stage. Several young kittens can be seen performing a range of actions associated with the infancy of both humans and cats, including sleeping, crawling, and crying. Some of the kittens perform more feline actions, such as attacking their caregivers, clawing at furniture, and diving headfirst into a bucket of milk, while the adult cats appear firmly anthropomorphised, standing on their hind legs and holding the kittens in their arms.
This blend of humanity and felinity was a key aspect of many of Wain’s cat illustrations. As in this illustration, this combination of attributes often created amusing scenes that humorously reframed everyday human experiences. By anthropomorphising the cats he drew, Wain created entertaining images that captured the attention of his contemporaries, both old and young. Today, his illustrations provide us with valuable insights into culture, humour, and everyday life across the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries.
Where to find this document
This illustration is from our collection, The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, 1874–1970. It features nearly 223,000 images from more than 4,200 issues of the magazine. Covering an eclectic range of topics, the collection provides valuable material for students and researchers of the history of sport, the history of Britain’s countryside, and the history of science and technology. Visit the collection page to learn more.