Book Find of the Week – a Louis Wain 1925 First Edition

Louis Wain is known for his drawings featuring anthropomorphised large-eyed cats and kittens.  This week we’ve found a first edition of one of his last works “Somebody’s Pussies” published by Raphael Tuck & Sons.

The story of Wain’s life is the subject of a biographical feature film “The Electrical Life of Louis Wain”, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, which is to be released later this year. Born in 1860 Wain had problems with mental illness and was diagnosed with schizophrenia as an adult. Wain’s obsession with cats stemmed from the time when his wife, who was dying from cancer, was comforted when Wain brought her home a stray kitten.  This kitten was the subject of Wain’s first cat drawings and the impetus to his later work. In 1886, Wain's first drawing of anthropomorphised cats was published in the Christmas issue of the Illustrated London News.  Over the next 30 years he was a prolific artist  with the cats became increasingly human in their behaviour and appearance.

Somebody’s Pussies is a hardback board book.  There is no publication date but according to Google it was published in 1925 and since there is no date we assume it is the first edition. There is rubbing to the pictorial covers but the pages are in good condition.  There are 13 beautiful full-page colour illustrations with pussycat borders, plus text illustrations.  The text is large print.  A superb book for any Louis Wain fan or cat lover. Would be a fantastic present to tie in with the film release in a few months time.

On sale now in our store on AbeBooks.