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John P. Soule
Kittens
Cat-o-graph-ic
Copyright, 1871.
At first glance, this image of mischevious kittens appears to belong to a sentimental genre of pet photography, popular in the Victorian era. However, upon closer inspection, the mundane object which the kittens peak out of, perch upon, and pose in front of, is clearly an antique camera. The title, Cat-o-graph-ic, slyly underlines this point by making a play on the word photographic. Soule's inclusion of a camera within the image is a self-reflexive gesture towards the medium. Photos which depict this type of subject matter, or record the photographer, are categorized within the genre of photographica. It is John P. Soule's genius to have combined the unrelated categories of pets and photographica, marrying a fuzzy warmth with intellectual wit.
Cat-o-graphic belongs to Soule's reknowned Kitten Series made between 1869 and 1872. At least 50 different feline images are known to belong to the grouping. Soule's studio was based in Boston, Massachusetts, although his work took him throughout the greater United States. Some of his best known photographic works include views of the White Mountains (1861), Niagara Falls (1862) and the Boston Fire (1872). He was active from 1860 to 1872.
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