Antique Lolcats Photographs make Kitteh Historeh

The word 'lolcat' is created from the abbreviation 'lol' and 'cat', and is used as a label for any funny photograph of a cat. Often the photo is captioned with 'lolspeak', a misspelled language that was formed during the rise in popularity of lolcat pictures.


A Kitteh Historeh of lolcats
In the 1870s a British photographer called Harry Pointer created a series of photographs of cats. To add to the humor of the cat pictures Pointer would often add a funny caption, and thus the first lolcat pictures were born. Soon other photographers were using cats and other animals as subjects in photographs, often dressing the animals in human clothing and personifying them by posing them in human situations. Harry Whittier Frees is another notable antique lolcat photographer who created dozens of animal pictures that were a parody of human life.

Above: Antique lolcat photograph by Harry Pointer, with the caption "Bring up the dinner Betsy" [source]

Above: An antique lolcat postcard from 1905. The photograph was taken by Harry Whittier Frees, who added the caption "What's delaying my dinner?" In modern lolspeak, the caption would probably be along the lines of the classic; "I can has cheezburger?" [source]

Postcards of pets in costumes with captions were a novel concept in the early 20th century and became a popular way to communicate with loved ones who lived far away, as postcards included a picture and were cheaper to send than letters. Often the lolcat postcards were sent in place of birthday cards, to the delight of the children who received them. Even a century ago, lolcats were a popular form of humor.

Makin da Kittehs seem Hooman

Anthropomorphism is the act of giving animals or objects human characteristics and personalities. Harry Whittier Frees was a master of anthropomorphism who didn't just pose his animal subjects in human situations, but waited for a seemingly human expression to pass across the animals' faces before he took a photograph. Often the facial expressions were ones of resignation or exhaustion as it must have been tiring for the animals to sit for the camera in uncomfortable positions for what could be hours. 

Above: A Frees photograph of a feline teacher and her pupils. Lolspeak hadn't yet been invented, so antique lolcat photographs often implied that cats were as intelligent as humans. If this were a modern lolcat picture, the alphabet would probably be jumbled and the title of the teachers book would be something along the lines of "spalling book". [source]

Above: Another of Harry Whittier Frees's antique lolcat pictures. Part of the appeal of Frees's images was the fact that props had to be made to size. At the time doll collecting was becoming a popular hobby which meant the doll-like effect of these antique lolcat pictures was well-received by the public.

Lolcats as an Antique Art Form

Before the art of photography was created, humorous pictures were either painted or illustrated. A notable cat illustrator of the late 19th century was Louis Wain. Wain's drawings of cats in human situations captured the imaginations of the people at the time and were published in newspapers as a form of entertainment. 

Above: Like the lolcat photographers of the time, Wain chose to pose his feline subjects in human situations, personifying them with human emotions such as humor, frustration and surprise. [source]

Above: Louis Wain's cat characters were often cartoonish in nature, sporting caricature facial expressions that made them seem more human. [source]

Although websites like lolcats.com and icanhascheezburger.com are modern inventions, the art of funny cat pictures has existed for over a century. Over time lolcats have been given their own language and their own attitude toward life.

Read More on Art-Sci:

 Best Photoshopped Man Animal Hybrids

 Calvin and Hobbes Fan Art: Tattoos

 Funny Underwater Photographs of Dogs Swimming

 Meow! Cats with Tattoos or Tattoos of Cats?

 Nyan Cat Meme Fan Art

 Statue of Liberty Gone Wild

Antique Versions of Modern Appliances

During the Victorian era, many new time-saving devices were designed to run on the brand-new energy source; electricity. For the first time, the world had electrical home appliances that performed menial chores faster and more efficiently than before.


The Electric Toaster, the Best Thing since Sliced Bread
Bread has been a staple food in many cultures for centuries. It is dipped in soups or used to create sandwiches. It can be crumbed, fried or used to soak up other foods such as gravy or sauces. One of the most popular ways to eat bread is to toast it and serve it with butter, jam or eggs. In the pre-electrical world, toast was created by cutting a slice of bread from the loaf and suspending it over coals or before an open flame. Although a number of toasting utensils were created, toasting bread was a fairly tricky affair that often resulted in burnt bread or singed fingers.
Early electrical toaster designs included a heating coil that gave bread an appealingly even toasting. Although this may sound safer than an open flame, antique toasters were fairly dangerous. Because there was no timing mechanism the machine wouldn't switch off without human intervention, leading to a number of small fires caused by forgotten toasters.

Above: An antique electrical toaster that was in circulation around 1910, consisting of electrical heating coils surrounded by wire baskets for holding the bread. To use this toaster, a person would have to turn the bread slices by hand. [source]

The Electric Kettle, a Boiling Point in History

Hot water has played a role in human development since time immemorial. It is used for cooking, bathing, cleaning and in the preparation of a number of products. Applying heat to water is an act that is performed countless times every day, all over the world. In our modern era, the task of boiling water is as simple as filling the kettle and flicking a switch.

Boiling water wasn't always as easy as it is today. The first electrical kettles were created in the 1890s and contained a heating element in a compartment below the kettle, meaning that huge amounts of energy were wasted in the boiling process. The first electric kettles weren't insulated and could become hot enough to burn, eliciting painful gasps from those unlucky enough to brush against it. Antique electrical kettles, like early electrical toasters, didn't switch themselves off and would boil dry without supervision. 

Above: An electric kettle, designed by Peter Behrens in 1910. This model contained a solid heating element that slides out for replacement. [source]

The Domestic History of the Electric Washing Machine

At the same time that electric kettles and electric toasters were being introduced into households, other time-saving devices were being invented. One advancement that must have caused sighs of relief for domestic workers was the electric washing machine. Before the creation of the mechanized washing process, clothing and linens were often washed by hand, either in a river or a drum of water. Those that weren't washed by hand were placed in a drum that was then turned with a handle, a tiring and time-consuming job.

The first electric washing machine was named The Thor, and was invented in 1908 by the Hurley Machine Company of Chicago. The Thor was an incredibly dangerous piece of machinery. The electric motor was situated under the open drum of water, which meant that spills often led to electrical shocks. Because the moving parts were not covered, clothing, fingers and hair could get caught in the machine. Despite the dangers, women of the age cooed with delight at The Thor, as the electric washing machine was one of the first devices that made mundane domestic chores easier.

Above: The Thor washing machine. The machine is reputed to have been so dangerous that it could scalp a person if their hair got caught in the moving parts. [source]

The History of the Iron is a Wrinkle in Time

In order to remove wrinkles from clothing and bedding, domestic workers of the 19th century would use a flatiron. This was an arrow-shaped piece of metal with a handle which was placed on hot coals or in a fire to heat, wiped to remove carbon from the metal surface and then quickly pressed against the cloth to press out wrinkles. These irons could easily ruin expensive garments or scorch the hands of the user. Because it took so long for an iron to heat up, a laundress would often have two or three irons on the go; heating irons as she worked the cloth with another iron.

The first electric iron was patented in 1882 by Henry W. Seely. He called it the "electric flatiron". It was an invention that would seem cumbersome and crude by modern standards as it took a long time to heat up, had no variable heat settings and no way to steam cloth. Essentially, it was a chunk of metal that heated up and continued to get hotter and hotter until it eventually it burned either an item of clothing or a flustered laundress. 

Above: The Seely Electric Flatiron contained no insulation on the handle, which needed to be gripped with a thick cloth to prevent the laundress from burning her hands. Like all Victorian era appliances, the Seely iron was a cause for many small (and probably a few large) fires. [source]

Many electrical appliances that we take for granted these days, such as kettles, washing machines and toasters would have been a baffling marvel of engineering and technology just a century ago. 

Read More on Art-Sci:

 Antique Absinthe Poster Designs 

 Funny Underwater Photographs of Dogs Swimming 

 Internet Meme Graffiti 

 Painting with Pizzas, a Food Art Gallery 

 Statue of Liberty Gone Wild 

 The Best Photorealistic Drawings