"WELL, THE CATS AND DOGS FOR MILES AROUND HAVE BOTHERED MR. WAIN TILL HE'S DRAWN THEM EVERY SINGLE ONE FOR SHOW!": FIRST EDITION OF LOUIS WAIN'S BIG DOGS LITTLE DOGS CATS AND KITTENS, 1902

WAIN, Louis. Big Dogs Little Dogs Cats and Kittens. London, Paris, and New York: Raphael Tuck & Sons, [1902]. Folio (10 by 13-3/4 inches), original pictorial paper boards expertly respined in burgundy cloth. $1700.

First edition of this collection of humorous dialogues and snippets built around Wain's beautiful and popular portrayals of dogs and cats (especially cats).

"A collection of humorous pen and ink sketches and drawings in color of dogs and kittens, with an amusing introduction by [Louis] Wain" (The Delineator). Wain made his reputation as an illustrator of cats, with his cat-related books occupying several columns in the British Museum Catalogue. "His original treatment of cats, which he usually depicted as human beings in comical situations, quickly took the public fancy and by the 'nineties his name had become a household word" (DNB). Wain spent the end of his life in a mental institution, suffering from a type of schizophrenia that many believe to have been caused by toxoplasmosis—a parasitic disease passed to humans by cats. Despite his illness, he never stopped drawing and he remains one of Britain's most beloved animal illustrators.

A few marginal finger smudges and usual faint toning to interior, wear to bright pictorial boards. An extremely good copy.