The Home Beautiful: "A Catte," by Mary, Queen of Scots c. 1569

A Catte
Mary Queen of Scots
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection 
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

This embroidered canvas panel, dating to about 1569, was made by Mary Queen of Scots (1542-1587) who was known as a skilled needleworker.

Mary has pictured a ginger cat with a mouse—set against a checkered floor. Her cipher is prominent. This piece, like much of the Queen’s needlework, was created between 1569 and 1584, during the period when Mary had fled from Scotland and was held captive in England by the Earl of Shrewsbury. Together with Shrewsbury’s wife, Mary Queen of Scots embroidered many such canvas panels which had been drawn out for her in black silk by an embroideress.

Mary based the figure of the cat on an image from a woodcut in” Icones Animalium” by Conrad Gesner--an illustrated tome of natural history which was published in Zurich in 1555. Some suggest that she picked the theme of “A Catte” to indicate that she saw herself as the mouse and Queen Elizabeth as her captor.

The Art of Play: A German Plush Cat, 1930

German Toy Cat
Mohair, c. 1930
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Made in Germany by an unknown company in the 1930s, this darling toy cat is constructed of light mohair plush. The mohair has been clipped and further streaked with darker tones in lines on the head, face and body.

This cat’s head is jointed at the neck so that it can swivel. His nose, mouth and front paws are embroidered with pink threads. Furthermore, his green and black eyes are glass. The tail, is partly stitched to the body in order for it to remain loose and, therefore, more realistic. 

Object of the Day: A Scrap of Mr. Punch Riding a Cat

Click image to enlarge.

I live in a house full of Punchinellos, so, you can consider me the Jane Goodall of the slapstick set. It's a whole "Puppets in the Mist" scenario.

Aside from their penchant for sausages and for general mischief-making, your average Mr. Punch is prone to chattering, bouts of glee, and, a peculiar desire to see which animals are ridable.

Here, we see a Victorian scrap--technically once cut from a magazine. It depicts our Mr. Punch dressed as a jockey and, riding a cat, as one does.

I bought a huge lot of ephemera just to get this scrap.

Whoever cut this out had a steady hand and a lot of patience. Mr. Punch looks quite content with himself, yes? Frankly, knowing Punchinellos as I do, I can say with considerable certainty that Mr. Punch would very much enjoy riding a giant cat. But, wouldn't we all?

Click image to enlarge.

Object of the Day: A Scrap of Mr. Punch Riding a Cat

Object of the Day: A Scrap of Mr. Punch Riding a Cat

Click image to enlarge.

I live in a house full of Punchinellos, so, you can consider me the Jane Goodall of the slapstick set. It's a whole "Puppets in the Mist" scenario.

Aside from their penchant for sausages and for general mischief-making, your average Mr. Punch is prone to chattering, bouts of glee, and, a peculiar desire to see which animals are ridable.

Here, we see a Victorian scrap--technically once cut from a magazine. It depicts our Mr. Punch dressed as a jockey and, riding a cat, as one does.

I bought a huge lot of ephemera just to get this scrap.

Whoever cut this out had a steady hand and a lot of patience. Mr. Punch looks quite content with himself, yes? Frankly, knowing Punchinellos as I do, I can say with considerable certainty that Mr. Punch would very much enjoy riding a giant cat. But, wouldn't we all?

Click image to enlarge.

Drawing of the Day: A Seated Cat, 1920

A Seated Cat
Gwen John, 1920
The Victoria & Albert Museum

The artist Gwen John (1876-1939) actually made several drawings and watercolor paintings of cats. The watercolor pictured above is doubtlessly the best known of the lot.

John’s body of work is clearly based on an appreciation of the figure. Each of her pieces focuses on the shape of a single figure—usually a woman in an interior. However, John was fascinated by the shape of any single being, taking exquisite care to replicate the curves and planes of each individual in intimate studies. By mirroring the shape of the subject, she endeavors to show its characteristic. Here, Gwen John uses the shape of the cat to reinforce the idea of feline isolation and aloofness.

The Art of Play: A German Plush Cat, 1930

German Toy Cat
Mohair, c. 1930
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Made in Germany by an unknown company in the 1930s, this darling toy cat is constructed of light mohair plush. The mohair has been clipped and further streaked with darker tones in lines on the head, face and body.

This cat’s head is jointed at the neck so that it can swivel. His nose, mouth and front paws are embroidered with pink threads. Furthermore, his green and black eyes are glass. The tail, is partly stitched to the body in order for it to remain loose and, therefore, more realistic. 

The Art of Play: A Soft Toy Cat, 1935

Mohair Cat, 1935
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Since today is what it is, I thought I’d show a very Halloween-y German toy from the 1930s which also fits into our theme of the day of rats and rat-killers. This un-jointed black mohair plush cat is standing with an arched back and upright tail. His eyes are green and his nose is pink. The Halloween-i-ness of it is reinforced by the orange ribbon around his neck.


The fuzzy mouse catcher was made by the celebrated German toy manufacturer, Schuco in 1935.

The Home Beautiful: "A Catte," by Mary, Queen of Scots c. 1569

A Catte
Mary Queen of Scots
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

This embroidered canvas panel, dating to about 1569, was made by Mary Queen of Scots (1542-1587) who was known as a skilled needleworker.

Mary has pictured a ginger cat with a mouse—set against a checkered floor. Her cipher is prominent. This piece, like much of the Queen’s needlework, was created between 1569 and 1584, during the period when Mary had fled from Scotland and was held captive in England by the Earl of Shrewsbury. Together with Shrewsbury’s wife, Mary Queen of Scots embroidered many such canvas panels which had been drawn out for her in black silk by an embroideress.

Mary based the figure of the cat on an image from a woodcut in” Icones Animalium” by Conrad Gesner--an illustrated tome of natural history which was published in Zurich in 1555. Some suggest that she picked the theme of “A Catte” to indicate that she saw herself as the mouse and Queen Elizabeth as her captor.

Object of the Day: A Scrap of Mr. Punch Riding a Cat

Click image to enlarge.

I live in a house full of Punchinellos, so, you can consider me the Jane Goodall of the slapstick set. It's a whole "Puppets in the Mist" scenario.

Aside from their penchant for sausages and for general mischief-making, your average Mr. Punch is prone to chattering, bouts of glee, and, a peculiar desire to see which animals are ridable.

Here, we see a Victorian scrap--technically once cut from a magazine. It depicts our Mr. Punch dressed as a jockey and, riding a cat, as one does.

I bought a huge lot of ephemera just to get this scrap.

Whoever cut this out had a steady hand and a lot of patience. Mr. Punch looks quite content with himself, yes? Frankly, knowing Punchinellos as I do, I can say with considerable certainty that Mr. Punch would very much enjoy riding a giant cat. But, wouldn't we all?

Click image to enlarge.

Drawing of the Day: A Seated Cat, 1920

A Seated Cat
Gwen John, 1920
The Victoria & Albert Museum

The artist Gwen John (1876-1939) actually made several drawings and watercolor paintings of cats. The watercolor pictured above is doubtlessly the best known of the lot.

John’s body of work is clearly based on an appreciation of the figure. Each of her pieces focuses on the shape of a single figure—usually a woman in an interior. However, John was fascinated by the shape of any single being, taking exquisite care to replicate the curves and planes of each individual in intimate studies. By mirroring the shape of the subject, she endeavors to show its characteristic. Here, Gwen John uses the shape of the cat to reinforce the idea of feline isolation and aloofness.

The Art of Play: A German Plush Cat, 1930

German Toy Cat
Mohair, c. 1930
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Made in Germany by an unknown company in the 1930s, this darling toy cat is constructed of light mohair plush. The mohair has been clipped and further streaked with darker tones in lines on the head, face and body.

This cat’s head is jointed at the neck so that it can swivel. His nose, mouth and front paws are embroidered with pink threads. Furthermore, his green and black eyes are glass. The tail, is partly stitched to the body in order for it to remain loose and, therefore, more realistic.