Old Dame Trot & Her Comical Cat
November 15, 2024
Photographer David Hoffman will be in conversation with Gaynor Tutani at the Museum of the Home on Wednesday 20th November at 6:30pm, discussing his new book and exhibition ENDURANCE & JOY IN THE EAST END.
This is the only event David is doing in person, so if you want to hear him speak please book now.
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I must confess that I identify closely with Old Dame Trot – as illustrated in this early nineteenth century chapbook – knowing all too well how it is to share a home with a large feline personality…
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Very bizarre behaviour! Apart from scratching the carpet and fighting, my two cats are very tame in comparison! I wonder what this book was published as the language would indicate that it is very old.
Chap books are so captivating. As a lover of books and ephemera, I have always loved the eccentricity of chap books. The weathered pages, the choppy typography, the boldness of the
images, etc — They seem to “speak” in a strange dialect; perhaps not easy to understand, but totally engaging. Unlike refined books, they were never created with longevity in mind — and therefore the surviving examples seem even MORE special and discreet. I was so glad that the distressed
cover was included here, at the end of the array of pages. The label (replete with 4 – 5 different
type fonts! And a decorative border! Oh, ho!) sticks resolutely to the book boards, adding to this paper treasure. Who would NOT want this beauty in their collection? I feel downright
covetous.
Thank you, Dame, Cats, and GA, tra la. (oh, and print shop wizards who concocted the book)