I'm busy working on a tutorial, so here is a post I have been working on for some time. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I've taken lots of photos f...

Apparently there was a guy named Harry Whittier Frees that would take horrifyingly cute picture of animals dressed up as people for children's books. These were the original cat memes before the internet even existed.

A prolific animal photographer pioneered lolcats at the height of postcard popularity.

I'm busy working on a tutorial, so here is a post I have been working on for some time. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I've taken lots of photos f...

American photographer Harry Whittier Frees created the pictures by dressing up cats and dogs then posing them in human situations accompanied by props.

LOLcats, for those uninitiated, is an Internet meme of funny cat pictures accompanied with an amusing caption, often idiosyncratic and gramm...

252, [1] p. incl. front., 21 cm

I'm busy working on a tutorial, so here is a post I have been working on for some time. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I've taken lots of photos f...

LOLcats, for those uninitiated, is an Internet meme of funny cat pictures accompanied with an amusing caption, often idiosyncratic and gramm...

Explore janwillemsen's 124953 photos on Flickr!

The Little Kittens' Nursery Rhymes photographs by Harry Whittier Frees Rand McNally Co., 1959 Just because it's Friday, and I can. "Pu...

An early pioneer in American pet photography, Frees died in poverty and obscurity.

LOLcats, for those uninitiated, is an Internet meme of funny cat pictures accompanied with an amusing caption, often idiosyncratic and gramm...

I'm busy working on a tutorial, so here is a post I have been working on for some time. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I've taken lots of photos f...

LOLcats, for those uninitiated, is an Internet meme of funny cat pictures accompanied with an amusing caption, often idiosyncratic and gramm...

I'm busy working on a tutorial, so here is a post I have been working on for some time. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I've taken lots of photos f...

I'm busy working on a tutorial, so here is a post I have been working on for some time. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I've taken lots of photos f...

I'm busy working on a tutorial, so here is a post I have been working on for some time. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I've taken lots of photos f...

I'm busy working on a tutorial, so here is a post I have been working on for some time. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I've taken lots of photos f...

p. cm

Дети- старинные фото. ------------------ -------------------------- --------------- =--------------------Не дети, но понравились--------------------- -------------- http://www.flickr.com/photos/suzee_que/sets/72157612109826313/ http://www.flickr.com

An early pioneer in American pet photography, Frees died in poverty and obscurity.

LOLcats, for those uninitiated, is an Internet meme of funny cat pictures accompanied with an amusing caption, often idiosyncratic and gramm...

Photographer dressed up cats and dogs then posed them in human situations accompanied by props

Harry Whittier Frees (1879-1953), fue un fotógrafo estadounidense que creó novedosas tarjetas postales y libros para niños sobre la base de sus fotografías de animales

Photographer dressed up cats and dogs then posed them in human situations accompanied by props

LOLcats, for those uninitiated, is an Internet meme of funny cat pictures accompanied with an amusing caption, often idiosyncratic and gramm...

Harry Whittier Frees (1879–1953) began producing an odd and beguiling set of photographs of cats doing human things in June 1914. On first view I thought these tableaux the work of a taxidermist. But the cats were photographed alive, dressed as people and doing things cat don’t usually do like playing instruments, riding a horse, playing … Continue reading "Harry Whittier Frees’ Peculiar Cats"

If anyone has ever tried to dress up or photograph an animal they would most likely say that the experience is most difficult. I am embarrassed to admit that as a child I was one of those people. Nothing seemed more exciting and intriguing then dressing up my cat in dolls clothing and projecting human like, or doll like qualities on my poor little kitty. As I’m sure most of you will admit, this is not an easy task, and dressing up your cat or rabbit is not recommended. Needless to say, nothing sparks curiosity and emotion more than an animal in clothing. Unfortunately, not until I became an adult did I discover the amazing and sometimes unsettling work of Harry Whittier Frees. I’m sure my childhood cat would have approved of Frees’ work, hoping that it would somehow divert my dressing up obsession towards the quirky and fascinating pages found within Harry Whittier Free’ books. Born in 1879, Harry Whittier Frees began his career as an animal photographer partially by accident, and partially due to a new found popularity in picture postcards. In a 1937 issue of Life magazine entitled “Speaking of Pictures…These are Harry Frees Lifework” Frees career is described as starting at a birthday party in 1906, in which a birthday hat was passed around a dinner table and eventually landing on the head of the pet cat. It is said that Frees immediately took a photograph of the cat, and thus launching his career as an animal photographer. Frees saw his earliest success by selling his images to The Rotograph Company of New York, which hired Frees to photograph animals for their postcards. These included kittens, puppies, bunnies, and ducks. During this time Frees career flourished, as did the complexity of his photographs. His housekeeper made most of his early outfits, which were designed to help hold the animals in their poses, and at this time, Frees started adding props. In an age of computer animation and special effects wizardry, the work of an artist like Fees seems astonishing! Frees exposures were taken at 1/5th of a second and over two-thirds of the negatives had to be thrown out. Frees describes his photo sessions as being “nerve-racking,” and that he would only photograph three months out of the year. The rest of the time was spent preparing new props, and devising new scenes and situations for the animals. In 1915, Frees’ photographs were acquired by Lothrop, Lee, Shepard Co. of Boston Massachusetts for use in several children’s books. Due to the fact that these photographs were so darn cute and fun to look at, it is no wonder that Frees’ career moved on to book publications. These early books, which were published in black and white, were often criticized, due to a growing concern over animal abuse and fraud, which Frees adamantly rebuked throughout his career. He is quoted as saying “…the feature which sets [these] books apart from all others…is the nature of the pictures, which represent an almost inconceivable amount of patience, care, and kind attention, as well as a very large number of spoiled films.” In the 1930’s the Rand McNally & Company began publishing books featuring Frees work, as well as reissuing earlier editions of his work, which continued to be published well into the 1950’s and 1960’s. These popular books, which were part of McNally’s Elf series of children’s books, were first published in black and white, and then later hand-tinted and issued in color. Sadly, it is said that Frees died penniless and alone in Clearwater Florida in 1953, apparently of suicide. A lovely tribute book to Frees’ astonishing work was published in the 1970’s by Anne R. Bradford titled “The Animal Magic of Harry Whittier Frees” Frees’ influence on animal photography can be seen in other works published during the 1940’s and 1950’s. This remarkable movement of photographers focused primarily on humorous and whimsical animal images that were again completely done without the aid of any special effects or manipulation. Scalawag the Monkey was photographed extensively by the remarkable Rie Gaddis. Along with the help of her husband Bob Wehrmann, Gaddis was able to capture many fascinating and unusual pictures. I imagine many of the same techniques that Frees used were utilized by Gaddis and her husband, and were highly sought after by Rand McNally, which was one of Rie Gaddis’ publishers. Unfortunately, I was unable to find much information on Rie Gaddis or her husband, which is disappointing, since her photographs are so whimsical and fascinating.

LOLcats, for those uninitiated, is an Internet meme of funny cat pictures accompanied with an amusing caption, often idiosyncratic and gramm...