What is a "Wain Cat?"

This review summarizes the types of cats that Louis Wain drew during his long, productive life and concentrates on his humorous cats, which became known as Wain Cats.  It is these cats, which earned him his reputation in Edwardian England and continues to bring him the fame he rightfully deserves.

 Robinson Crusoe from "In Storyland with Louis Wain"

Louis Wain (1860-1939) was a household name in Victorian-Edwardian England because of his clever pictures depicting cats as humans.  His thousands of drawings appeared everywhere: newspapers, nurseries, books and magazines.  His art charmed everyone from very poor school children to the rich and famous.

In Rodney Dale's original biography of Wain in 1968 he catagorized the cats as follows:

1. 1883-1890 Fluffy cats 

Most of Wain's early cats were this type.  They resembled Persians in appearance and
always had large eyes.  Many were done on commission while others were prize winners at the Crystal Palace Cat Show.  These cats were drawn meticulously, had  gone through little human evolution and were usually depicted in normal cat poses.  The obvious exception in this category is Wain's "A Kitten's Christmas Party" published in 1886 in the "Illustrated London News."  These kittens were seen dancing at a party on all four legs, but in the background kittens were playing musical instruments with their front paws.  These cats were the forerunners to what became known as the Wain Cat.  This was the first time that Wain Cats were published and they were a huge success in the Christmas season of that year.

 2.  1890-1892  Transitional cats.

Wain drew these cats as he was concurrently developing his own style.
Note that this was a short, but important, time frame.  During this period cats learned to walk on their two hind legs and became more human like in their activities. An example of traditional cats is "A Cats' Christmas Dance" published in 1890.  These cats danced on their two hind legs as they played music and performed other human activities.

     A Cats' Christmas Dance 1890

3.  1892 onwards Tabby cats 

The earliest humorous Wain Cats, as they come to be known, were tabbies.  The major exception was that Wain included his own cat, Peter,  in many of his illustrations.  Peter was a black cat with a white blaze on his head and a partially white body.

It is interesting to note at this point that once Wain developed a certain cat style, he  retained that style and  never changed it; he merely added styles and different backgrounds  to the many that he already had.

      Early Tabbies from the 19th Century

Picture entitled "For What We Are About to Receive" (Rat Pie!)

4.  1900 onwards

Semi-tabby, Sketched, Spiky, Patterned and Smooth

These Wain Cats refer to the type of fur that Wain drew.  See below for examples of the different types. 

At this point, Wain had developed what has become known as the Wain Cat, for which he is most famous. 

  
  What Are the Characteristics of a Wain Cat?

1. Had very large eyes. Wain claimed that he was copying them from the human eye, which is not true, however. Human eyes have their pupils masked by their upper eye lid; Wain Cats have their eyes masked by the lower lid. Note that the Wain Cat eyes have their pupils in the lower part of their eye.Very often the tops of a Wain Cats eyes had a triangular shape.

2.  Often had a mouth, when viewed from the front, that looked like the top of a heart turned upside down.

3. Used their two hind feet for walking. Wain Cats are what is known as anthropomorphic.

4. Had front paws that were often separated to give the appearance of fingers.

5. Used human expressions to convey their feelings. Real cats do not smile, laugh, scowl or look angry.

6. Wore clothing, but not as often as one thinks. Wain Cats usually only have clothing or accessories to indicate their occupation, status or activity. The exception to this is Wain's portrayal of Edwardian female cats.  Since the current style for women was a large hat with feathers and ribbons, the cats often had dresses to  complement these lavish hats.

7. Rarely wore shoes but displayed their paws.  Also, they almost always displayed their tails and whiskers.

8. Appeared boneless. The body, the limbs, and the head seem to be one piece.  They could perform human activities in spite of their lacking bones.

9. Are "Catty." They are often seen eating an entree of an entire fish or eating mouse pie for dessert.

10.  Had a variety of fur types as mentioned above and depicted below.

Here are Wain Cats that have the characteristics described above.

 These golfing cats are puzzled at the last shot!

At the nineteeth hole, they'll celebrate with some Milk and Mouse Creams!

                   What Are Wain Cats' Fur Types?

1.  Tabby -- remained important throughout Wain's career with typical tabby markings.

2. Semi-tabby --  were not as detailed as Tabbies and  were often seen in the background of a Tabby picture.

2.  Sketched --  were loosely drawn with straight lines.  Although most often seen as preliminary sketches by other artists, Wain frequently used them in his final results.

    Cat from A Little Book of Pussy Cats.

3.  Spikey -- had Persian  characteristics with their fluffy wide faces but enhanced with varying degrees of straight lines to give some of them a jagged look.

    A once Persian cat became Spikey.

4.  Patterned -- stylized with no unbroken lines thus lacking a "furry" look.  The patterns began as tabby but later became stripes and spots.

          These Patterned Cats are boldly striped.

5. Smooth -- no unbroken lines and no significant fur pattern or color.  Often seen as white or black.

   Smooth Cats - few broken lines, no significant color.

Remember that Wain was an artist and could depict any cat as he saw fit. Many later cats were done in wallpaper patterns and many others were executed in such complex patterns that they no longer resembled cats.  Each of these cats was such a novelty that grouping them together into one fur category is quite impossible.

   Undated Cat; Wain's Mother designed textiles, which   could account for his choice of background.

Summary 

Knowing these snippets about Wain Cats makes a game out of determining whether a cat is or isn't one.  Study them and you will be more knowledgable in your eBay listings and purchases.  Observe the cat's characteristics first and form your opinion.  Then check to see if the art is signed.  Louis Wain almost, but not  always had his signature on his work.  Very often some of his pictures in books were NOT signed, although his name appears on the covers as the illustrator.  By knowing these few facts, you will soon become an expert!

The final picture is a postcard that contains all of the features discussed above.  Without a signature, would you have identified this postcard to depict a Wain Cat?

,Message: Father Christmas Caught in the Snow, To Wish You A Merry Christmas.

Big eyes, "heart mouth," happy expression, whiskers.  Is without shoes but has tail, is a tabby as Santa, is boneless, uses front paws as hands. Peter is nearby and in the background are semi-tabbies.

Yes, this is the epitome of a Wain Cat!

More on Louis Wain and his cats at WainCats.com