Dark Print, Dark Cat

  Well, what can I say.  It was printed way too dark and the woman is holding a cat.  

The Here, There, and Everywhere Collection-The Maid, The Cat, and the Dog

Well, the best thing to do is click on The Here, There, and Everywhere Collection in labels to get an explanation, and see more from the lot.  But in a nutshell, the person who sold me this collection said it was all from an estate, but then again, take that with a grain of salt.

So, the first two photos reveal the why of the title.  There she is, the maid, in one image she's holding the cat, and in the other, the dog.  I guess, the real question is this; Are these the photographic memories of the maid, and her career, working for different families, or did mi'lord and mi'lady just need someone to show off their pets?  My next post will be the other side of this album page, and may provide a clue.

Children and Pets

Two thoughts about these two focus challenged photos.

 I'm always amazed at what pets are willing to put up with from children.  I grew up in a small, rural town, and we had a number of dogs while I was growing up, but  only one cat.  My sister had seen a movie with a Siamese cat, and she had to have one, so my father went out and brought her a purebred, papers, a fancy name, the whole lot.  That cat was the meanest thing I've ever seen in my life, and I've survived two attempts on my life.   From time to time that cat would crawl up on your lap and purr away, but if you valued your fingers, you waited for her to leave.  The dogs, on the other hand, would put up with anything, and come back for more, even when they were mistreated.  And no, that's not a confession of animal cruelty, but small kids aren't all that good at constant kindness and care.  Anyway, our cat seemed to have been an anomaly, while the dogs were pretty much like dogs everywhere.  I've seen small children pick up pet cats, squeeze them to the point of near death, and they just take it.  Not unlike this little girl and her pet tabby.

And my second thought; look at the distance between mother and child.  No wonder that little girl was clutching her pet cat.  I may be wrong, but I don't see a lot of affection between these two.

Written on the backs of both prints, "Sept. 1952."

Cat Macrame

I got nothin' on this one.  I mean, who takes a picture of something like this?

Future Cat Lady?

Or future Catwoman for all you Gotham fans.  No date on this one, but it looks kind of sixties to me.  I can remember my sister just had to have a Siamese cat during the era.

The Bizarro Family

I'm sorry, but there's something a bit off about this family.  Look at the top photo; the lady holding the teddy bear in an iron grip, the child strangling the cat.  Just a bizarre, American Gothic assemblage.  

Feeding the Cat to the Calf

All kidding aside, I wonder how many people in the United States have never been on a farm. Is it a good thing to know where our food comes from? I've worked on a farm, and I've been in a slaughter house, and I'm not sure such familiarity is a bright idea.