1. Today’s Caturday offering gives you three felines for the price of one (the price, as with everything at the Library, is, of course, free). This is a 1907 book illustration from our Mid-Manhattan Picture Collection by the one and only Beatrix Potter - who will be featured in an upcoming, amazing, free exhibition at the Library called The ABC of It: Why Children’s Books Matter. It will open to the pubic on Friday, June 21 - be sure to come to our 42nd Street Library and check it out. A Beatrix Potter drawing will be in the show, along with recordings of E.B. White reading excerpts of Charlotte’s Web, a manuscript of The Secret Garden, the copy of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland that Lewis Carroll gave to the woman who inspired the character, and much, much more. The exhibition explores children’s literature and why it has been - and continues to be - so important to individuals, and to society as a whole. So mark your calendars to June 21 - and happy Caturday!

    Today’s Caturday offering gives you three felines for the price of one (the price, as with everything at the Library, is, of course, free). This is a 1907 book illustration from our Mid-Manhattan Picture Collection by the one and only Beatrix Potter - who will be featured in an upcoming, amazing, free exhibition at the Library called The ABC of It: Why Children’s Books Matter. It will open to the pubic on Friday, June 21 - be sure to come to our 42nd Street Library and check it out. A Beatrix Potter drawing will be in the show, along with recordings of E.B. White reading excerpts of Charlotte’s Web, a manuscript of The Secret Garden, the copy of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland that Lewis Carroll gave to the woman who inspired the character, and much, much more. The exhibition explores children’s literature and why it has been - and continues to be - so important to individuals, and to society as a whole. So mark your calendars to June 21 - and happy Caturday!

  2. Well, the weather here in New York City has been sort of terrible, so in honor of it raining CATS and dogs, here is chic 1922 French image from our Mid-Manhattan Picture Collection of a little cat, staring up at his well-dressed servant, who is standing statue-esque near an umbrella holder. It’s not the most direct connection, but it’s a connection, nonetheless (and the cat is super adorable). Happy Caturday, all. Stay dry!

    Well, the weather here in New York City has been sort of terrible, so in honor of it raining CATS and dogs, here is chic 1922 French image from our Mid-Manhattan Picture Collection of a little cat, staring up at his well-dressed servant, who is standing statue-esque near an umbrella holder. It’s not the most direct connection, but it’s a connection, nonetheless (and the cat is super adorable). Happy Caturday, all. Stay dry!

  3. In continued celebration of National Doughnut Day, check out a photo from our 1939-1940 World’s Fair Collection of Vaudeville stars Willie and Eugene Howard dunking the sweet treats at Mayflower Donuts. What can we say? Doughnuts are timeless. This photo and others from the Library’s World’s Fair collection are in our Manuscripts and Archives Division. 

    In continued celebration of National Doughnut Day, check out a photo from our 1939-1940 World’s Fair Collection of Vaudeville stars Willie and Eugene Howard dunking the sweet treats at Mayflower Donuts. What can we say? Doughnuts are timeless. This photo and others from the Library’s World’s Fair collection are in our Manuscripts and Archives Division. 

  4. 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! 

  5. 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). 

  6. Need we say more? Nah, we think this 1899 sheet music from our Library for the Performing Arts pretty much covers it. Don’t forget your mother, and Happy Mother’s Day to all! 

    Need we say more? Nah, we think this 1899 sheet music from our Library for the Performing Arts pretty much covers it. Don’t forget your mother, and Happy Mother’s Day to all! 

  7. 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!

  8. Was one of Brooklyn’s finest in Harlem in 1939? This Sid Grossman photo of “Harlem Loiterers” from the Prints Collection at NYPL’s Schomburg Center for Research In Black Culture has created quite a stir since being posted to the Center’s Facebook page the other day. Why? Because the man on the right looks a heck of a lot like Jay-Z (for evidence, check out these photos of Jay-Z when he visited The New York Public Library in 2010). Cue Twilight Zone music, right? Schomburg’s Curator of Digital Collections Sylviane A. Diouf found the photo while researching an exhibition, and said, “I was immediately struck by the similarity to Jay-Z and actually laughed out loud … I still hope somebody will tell us who that young man really was.” So is Jay-Z a time traveler? Is this someone else - anyone know who? What do you think?

    Was one of Brooklyn’s finest in Harlem in 1939? This Sid Grossman photo of “Harlem Loiterers” from the Prints Collection at NYPL’s Schomburg Center for Research In Black Culture has created quite a stir since being posted to the Center’s Facebook page the other day. Why? Because the man on the right looks a heck of a lot like Jay-Z (for evidence, check out these photos of Jay-Z when he visited The New York Public Library in 2010). Cue Twilight Zone music, right? Schomburg’s Curator of Digital Collections Sylviane A. Diouf found the photo while researching an exhibition, and said, “I was immediately struck by the similarity to Jay-Z and actually laughed out loud … I still hope somebody will tell us who that young man really was.”

    So is Jay-Z a time traveler? Is this someone else - anyone know who? What do you think?

  9. We’re celebrating Shakespeare’s birthday today with a lovely image depicting his First Folio, which the Library is honored to have in its collection! It’s a great day to enjoy one of his sonnets, read MacBeth (that’s one of our favorites), or delve into the mysterious life of the master author. May your day be “as merry as the day is long.” (Much Ado About Nothing)

    We’re celebrating Shakespeare’s birthday today with a lovely image depicting his First Folio, which the Library is honored to have in its collection! It’s a great day to enjoy one of his sonnets, read MacBeth (that’s one of our favorites), or delve into the mysterious life of the master author. May your day be “as merry as the day is long.” (Much Ado About Nothing)

  10. It’s Caturday, so we thought we’d share this 1890s newspaper poster from our Art and Architecture Collection of a little black cat running away from a loud newspaper boy declaring there’s a new opera house in town. The poster was an advertisement for the Boston Sunday Herald - quite appropriate, considering our thoughts have been with Boston and its people all week. 

    It’s Caturday, so we thought we’d share this 1890s newspaper poster from our Art and Architecture Collection of a little black cat running away from a loud newspaper boy declaring there’s a new opera house in town. The poster was an advertisement for the Boston Sunday Herald - quite appropriate, considering our thoughts have been with Boston and its people all week.