Monograph Felidae or Family of Cats - Antique Originals

Comprising 42 hand-colored lithographs, Daniel Giraud Elliot’s Family of Cats (1883) contains, according to Elliot, “those Beasts of Prey, which are the most perfect in organization, attractive in appearance, and terrible in destructive power.” The prints are imbued with personality and capture the graceful physiques, playful tendencies, and untamed charms common to members of the feline family. The congenial, grainy linework of the lithographic medium lends itself to the textural variation of the cat’s pelage. Similarly, a rich and varied color palette grounds the feline against its native habitat. Elliot’s monograph was instrumental in defining the species included in the family Felidae.