The Cat Men of Gotham

Tales of Feline Friendships in Old New York

Peggy Gavan (Autor)

Buch | Hardcover

254 Seiten

2019
Rutgers University Press (Verlag)
978-1-9788-0022-9 (ISBN)

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The nineteenth century was a rough time to be a stray cat in New York City. The city's human residents dealt with feline overpopulation by gassing unwanted cats or tossing them in rivers. But a few lucky strays were found by a diverse array of men who rescued them. This book tells the stories of these heroic cat men of Gotham.

Winner of the 2019 Certificate of Excellence and MUSE Medallion from the Cat Writers Association

The nineteenth century was a rough time to be a stray cat in New York City. The city’s human residents dealt with feline overpopulation by gassing unwanted cats or tossing them in rivers. But a few lucky strays were found by a diverse array of men—including firemen, cops, athletes, and politicians—who rescued them from the streets and welcomed them into their homes and hearts.

This book tells the stories of these heroic cat men of Gotham and their beloved feline companions. Not only does it introduce us to some remarkable men, but we get to meet many extraordinary cats as well, from Chinese stowaways prowling the Chelsea Piers to the sole feline survivor of the USS Maine explosion. Among the forty-two profiles, we find many feline Cinderella stories, as humble alley cats achieved renown as sports team mascots, artists’ muses, and even presidential pets.

Sure to appeal to cat fanciers and history fans alike, The Cat Men of Gotham will give you a new appreciation for Old New York and the people and animals who made it their home. As it takes you on a journey through the streets of Manhattan and Brooklyn, it will amuse and astound you with tales of powerful men and their pussycats.

PEGGY GAVAN is a journalist and senior editor who lives in Warwick, New York. She is the author of several children’s books and the blog The Hatching Cat: True and Unusual Animal Tales of Old New York, which has been profiled in Newsweek and the New York Times.

Contents

Introduction

1          Seafaring Cats

1893: The Brave and Brawny Cats of the Brooklyn Navy Yard

1898: Tom, the Old Navy Cat That Survived the USS Maine Explosion

1917-1922: Woo-Ki, Tai-Wan, and the Refugee Pirate Cats of Chelsea Piers

1929: Olaf, the Viking Cat Rescued at Sea en Route to Brooklyn

1933: Tommy Mulligan, the Norton’s Point Lighthouse Cat of Coney Island

2          Police Cats

1893: The Tombs’ Feline Warden That Befriended Prisoners on Murderers’ Row

1904–1911: Pete and Bill, the Bronx Mousers on the Job in Morrisania

1909: Claude, the Police Cat of East Harlem Who Did Justice to a Red Fox

1911: Buster and Topsy, the Rival Feline Mascots of the Lower East Side

1915: Sir Tom, the Rural Police Cat of Washington Heights

1934: Arson and Homicide, the Flat-Footed Felines of Police Headquarters

3          Fire Cats

1886: The 10 Lives of Hero, the Fire Cat of Engine Company No. 1 in Chelsea

1894: Ginger, the Shipbuilders’ Fire Cat of the Lower East Side

1895: Tootsy, the Feline Firefighter of Engine Company No. 27

1896: Peter and Chops, the Ebony and Ivory Fire Cats of the Flatiron District

1913: Peter, the Pole-Sliding Fire Cat of Bushwick, Brooklyn

1924: Smoke, the Famous Lafayette Street Firehouse Cat Who Went on Strike

4          Classical Cats

1884: Mutilator and the Legendary Newspaper Office Cats of the New York Sun

1891: Princess, Josephine, and the 101 Feline Models of Cat Artist J.H. Dolph

1895: Taffy, the Laird, and the Clowder of Town Topics Office Cats

1905: Bambino, the City Cat That Stole Away from Mark Twain

5          Hospitality Cats

1920: Minnie, the Female Mouser of a Manhattan Men-Only Speakeasy

1928: Abe, the Times Square Tiger Cat Who Refused to Scat from the Hotel Lincoln

1936: Rusty, the Famous Feline Host of the Algonquin Hotel

6          Theatrical and Show Cats

1877-1881: The Felines of the Cat Congress on Bowery and Broadway

1888: Union Square Jim, the Mascot Cat of the Union Square Theatre

1895: Nicodemus, the Prize-Winning Alley Cat of Prankster Brian G. Hughes

1932: Tommy Casanova, the Lady-Killer Cat Mascot of The Lambs

7          Civil Servant Cats

1891: Old Tom, the Brazen Pampered Pet of New York City Hall

1904: The Feline Police Squad of New York’s General Post Office

1904: Jerry Fox, the Spectacled Cat of Brooklyn Who Saved Borough Hall

1930: Tammany, the Democratic Boss Cat of New York City Hall

1939: Snooky, the Sophisticated, Salmon-Loving Cat of New York City Hall

8          Good-Luck Cats

1905: Bright Eyes, the Good-Luck Kitten of the Battery-Joralemon Tunnel

1910: Trent, the Airship Mascot Cat Who Wowed the Crowd at Gimbels

1927: Ranger I and Ranger III, the Mascot Cats of the New York Rangers

1927: Victory, the Feline Good-Luck Charm of the Brooklyn Robins

9          Lucky Cats

1899: Olympia, the Dewey Arch Cat, and Her Lucky Christmas Kittens

1904 and 1908: Holey and Gittel, the Cats with 10 Lives on the Lower East Side

1906: The East Harlem Cats Bequeathed to President Theodore Roosevelt

1912: Kaiser, the Feline Survivor of the Great Equitable Life Building Fire

1925: Blackie, the Mother Mouser Who Stopped Traffic on Lafayette Street

Sources and Suggestions for Further Reading

Index

Erscheinungsdatum	10.04.2019
Zusatzinfo	25 black & white illustrations
Verlagsort	New Brunswick NJ
Sprache	englisch
Maße	140 x 216 mm
Gewicht	454 g
Themenwelt	Literatur ► Comic / Humor / Manga
	Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Natur / Technik ► Natur / Ökologie
	Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Natur / Technik ► Tiere / Tierhaltung
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Allgemeine Geschichte
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
ISBN-10	1-9788-0022-3 / 1978800223
ISBN-13	978-1-9788-0022-9 / 9781978800229
Zustand	Neuware