1. Come See This Cat’s Former Mom Speak About Her Book ‘Brain On Fire’ at NYPL

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    Happy Caturday! This Wednesday, June 5, journalist Susannah Cahalan - author of the renowned book “Brain on Fire” (which you can check out for free from NYPL) about her battle with an extremely rare (and unspeakably scary) autoimmune disease - will be at our Mid-Manhattan Library for a free talk about the illness, which drove a perfectly healthy woman temporarily mad. What does that have to do with Caturday, you ask? Well, this cat - Dusty - was Susannah’s cat at the time she got sick, and she appears in the book several times. Unfortunately, because of Susannah’s illness, Susannah couldn’t take care of her, so one of Susannah’s friends (who happens to also be a friend to this blog) took her in, and loves her like crazy. So support Dusty’s former mom (who originally rescued  Dusty from a shelter, and did sign a book to her, as you can see below) and come check out her talk Wednesday. She’ll be there with the doctor who basically saved her life. Did we mention it’s free? 6:30 p.m. - be there or be square. Happy Caturday!

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  2. This super artsy Caturday is brought to you by the Library’s Prints Collection. This black and white print — called “Tete de Chat” — was created sometime between 1866 and 1878, and was etched by Felix Bracquemond. While it’s a beautiful image, the cat does look a little down - maybe because he knows that the NYPL is closed for Memorial Day this weekend. But never fear, little kitty, we’ll be back open Tuesday. Happy long weekend, and happy Caturday! 

    This super artsy Caturday is brought to you by the Library’s Prints Collection. This black and white print — called “Tete de Chat” — was created sometime between 1866 and 1878, and was etched by Felix Bracquemond. While it’s a beautiful image, the cat does look a little down - maybe because he knows that the NYPL is closed for Memorial Day this weekend. But never fear, little kitty, we’ll be back open Tuesday. Happy long weekend, and happy Caturday! 

  3. Today’s Caturday is brought to you by the Music Division of our Library for the Performing Arts. This score for the song “Kitty” appeared in the music supplement of the New York American and Journal exactly 111 years ago today (or, more precisely, on May 18, 1902). The artwork features both a cat (of course) and a mouse in a tuxedo. That’s an obvious win. So happy Caturday! And, by the way, if you’re into music, the Library for the Performing Arts (at Lincoln Center) has two totally FREE exhibitions you should check out today, or soon - American Sabor: Latinos in US Popular Music and 100 Years of Flamenco In NY (check out the NY Times review of Flamenco). 

    Today’s Caturday is brought to you by the Music Division of our Library for the Performing Arts. This score for the song “Kitty” appeared in the music supplement of the New York American and Journal exactly 111 years ago today (or, more precisely, on May 18, 1902). The artwork features both a cat (of course) and a mouse in a tuxedo. That’s an obvious win. So happy Caturday! And, by the way, if you’re into music, the Library for the Performing Arts (at Lincoln Center) has two totally FREE exhibitions you should check out today, or soon - American Sabor: Latinos in US Popular Music and 100 Years of Flamenco In NY (check out the NY Times review of Flamenco). 

  4. Here is an image just purrrfect for a Mother’s Day edition of Caturday - it’s a 1907 Beatrix Potter illustration from our Mid-Manhattan Picture Collection showing a feline mother doing what moms do: taking care of her baby (in this case, Tom Kitten). Happy Mother’s Day (and happy Caturday) to all! By the way, need a last-minute Mother’s Day gift? Check out our Library Shop!

    Here is an image just purrrfect for a Mother’s Day edition of Caturday - it’s a 1907 Beatrix Potter illustration from our Mid-Manhattan Picture Collection showing a feline mother doing what moms do: taking care of her baby (in this case, Tom Kitten). Happy Mother’s Day (and happy Caturday) to all! By the way, need a last-minute Mother’s Day gift? Check out our Library Shop!

  5. Today is the Kentucky Derby AND Caturday, so in honor of both, we present this beautiful lithograph, created in Germany sometime between 1837 and 1842. It’s called “Staedtischer Stall,” and is currently in our Art and Architecture Collection. Is it a coincidence that most of the other animals are looking up at the cat? We don’t think so. 

    Today is the Kentucky Derby AND Caturday, so in honor of both, we present this beautiful lithograph, created in Germany sometime between 1837 and 1842. It’s called “Staedtischer Stall,” and is currently in our Art and Architecture Collection. Is it a coincidence that most of the other animals are looking up at the cat? We don’t think so. 

  6. Now this is a cute picture (and we ain’t “lion.” Get it? Ha ha ha ha). These adorable little library lovers are showing some love to one of The New York Public Library’s newest additions -  two lion statues, donated by the Loews Regency Hotel, who will stand guard outside of our Riverdale Branch in the Bronx. We had a naming contest for the two “cubs” (who are, of course, reminiscent of our two famous lions Patience and Fortitude on 42nd Street) and we received over 300 submissions from all over the globe. The winning names, as chosen by our president Tony Marx and reported in The New York Times? River and Dale. “It was difficult to choose from such a wide range of creative names, but after looking over the finalists with much patience and fortitude, I couldn’t help but name the lions after their new home, a vibrant community with dedicated patrons,” Tony said. So welcome, River and Dale. And happy Caturday!!

    Now this is a cute picture (and we ain’t “lion.” Get it? Ha ha ha ha). These adorable little library lovers are showing some love to one of The New York Public Library’s newest additions -  two lion statues, donated by the Loews Regency Hotel, who will stand guard outside of our Riverdale Branch in the Bronx. We had a naming contest for the two “cubs” (who are, of course, reminiscent of our two famous lions Patience and Fortitude on 42nd Street) and we received over 300 submissions from all over the globe. The winning names, as chosen by our president Tony Marx and reported in The New York Times? River and Dale. “It was difficult to choose from such a wide range of creative names, but after looking over the finalists with much patience and fortitude, I couldn’t help but name the lions after their new home, a vibrant community with dedicated patrons,” Tony said. So welcome, River and Dale. And happy Caturday!!

  7. The folks at JYHS Library made our lives easy today, finding a purrrrrfect picture for our weekly Caturday contribution. Yes, you should use your school library … AND your local neighborhood branch (we’ve got 91 locations)! Here in NYC, we actually work with public schools to supplement materials, so … go libraries!  jyhslibrary: Curiosity and the cat @your school library

    The folks at JYHS Library made our lives easy today, finding a purrrrrfect picture for our weekly Caturday contribution. Yes, you should use your school library … AND your local neighborhood branch (we’ve got 91 locations)! Here in NYC, we actually work with public schools to supplement materials, so … go libraries! 

    jyhslibrary:

    Curiosity and the cat @your school library

    (Source: suricatem)

  8. This weekend is St. Patrick’s Day, and there will be much celebrating in New York City (starting today, with the St. Paddy’s Day Parade, which you can watch online and will march right past our landmark 42nd Street building), so for a festive Caturday, we’re sharing this 1885 image by legendary artist Rudolph Caldecott, which depicts a (very odd) celebration. The image - located in our Mid-Manhattan Picture Collection - features a kind of angry looking cat and the fiddle (as in “hey, diddle, diddle”) and several children happily dancing (including the one in the front, who is either very, very tiny, or a doll that’s sort of alive. It’s unclear). Meanwhile, an adult in the background is serving the food and looking on with an expression of, “Yeah. This is normal and happens all the time.” Gotta love it. Happy Caturday!

    This weekend is St. Patrick’s Day, and there will be much celebrating in New York City (starting today, with the St. Paddy’s Day Parade, which you can watch online and will march right past our landmark 42nd Street building), so for a festive Caturday, we’re sharing this 1885 image by legendary artist Rudolph Caldecott, which depicts a (very odd) celebration. The image - located in our Mid-Manhattan Picture Collection - features a kind of angry looking cat and the fiddle (as in “hey, diddle, diddle”) and several children happily dancing (including the one in the front, who is either very, very tiny, or a doll that’s sort of alive. It’s unclear). Meanwhile, an adult in the background is serving the food and looking on with an expression of, “Yeah. This is normal and happens all the time.” Gotta love it. Happy Caturday!

  9. It’s a Cassatt Caturday. This 1908 painting by famed artist Mary Cassatt depicts a little girl holding an adorable kitten - perfect Caturday fodder. It’s also a perfect opportunity to shamelessly promote a brand new (totally free) exhibition at the Library’s landmark 42nd Street building - Daring Methods: The Prints of Mary Cassatt. Here’s a description: “Spanning twenty years of Cassatt’s career as a printmaker, from 1878 to 1898, this exhibition documents her first tentative steps in the medium and culminates with her highly accomplished and technically dazzling color prints.” So come on down today (before 6 p.m.) and check it out on the third floor - there won’t be any paintings as seen here, but the prints from our Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs are pretty amazing (you can some of them here). You have something better to do on this glorious Caturday? See you later!

    It’s a Cassatt Caturday. This 1908 painting by famed artist Mary Cassatt depicts a little girl holding an adorable kitten - perfect Caturday fodder. It’s also a perfect opportunity to shamelessly promote a brand new (totally free) exhibition at the Library’s landmark 42nd Street building - Daring Methods: The Prints of Mary Cassatt. Here’s a description: “Spanning twenty years of Cassatt’s career as a printmaker, from 1878 to 1898, this exhibition documents her first tentative steps in the medium and culminates with her highly accomplished and technically dazzling color prints.” So come on down today (before 6 p.m.) and check it out on the third floor - there won’t be any paintings as seen here, but the prints from our Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs are pretty amazing (you can some of them here). You have something better to do on this glorious Caturday? See you later!

  10. In honor of Dr. Seuss’ birthday, today’s Caturday is dedicated to cats … in [the] hats. Here are four examples of kitties sporting caps, all pulled from The New York Public Library’s vast photo and picture collections (we’re cheating a bit - we’ve used some of these in previous Caturdays, but hey, cats DO have nine lives). Happy birthday, Dr. Seuss. Want to read some Dr. Seuss today to mark his birthday? NYPL has plenty of books by and about him (including The Cat In The Hat ) - check one out today.