Commemorative paper knife made for Charles Dickens, 1862. ivory, a paw from Dickens’s deceased cat Bob, and metal. New York Public Library collection [2700×4800] [OC]
Commemorative paper knife made for Charles Dickens, 1862. ivory, a paw from Dickens’s deceased cat Bob, and metal. New York Public Library collection [2700×4800] [OC]
Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature
Charles Dickens (1812-1870) was a dog lover, but his daughter Mamie persuaded him to let her keep a cat, Williamina, who later gave birth to a litter of kittens; all but one-Bob-were given away. Mamie related that “the master’s cat,” so called by the household servants for his devotion to Dickens, would “follow him about the garden like a dog, and sit with him while he wrote,” and even snuff out candles with his paw in a bid for attention from Dickens. After Bob died, his paw was fashioned into this paper knife. It is likely that the paper knife was not actively used, and that it was regarded as a decorative tribute to a beloved pet.]
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[display description, New York Public Library](https://i.ibb.co/jPCkyZg0/20241204-131213.jpg)
[Charles Dickens’s paper knife
Ivory, cat’s paw, and metal 1862
Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature
Charles Dickens (1812-1870) was a dog lover, but his daughter Mamie persuaded him to let her keep a cat, Williamina, who later gave birth to a litter of kittens; all but one-Bob-were given away. Mamie related that “the master’s cat,” so called by the household servants for his devotion to Dickens, would “follow him about the garden like a dog, and sit with him while he wrote,” and even snuff out candles with his paw in a bid for attention from Dickens. After Bob died, his paw was fashioned into this paper knife. It is likely that the paper knife was not actively used, and that it was regarded as a decorative tribute to a beloved pet.]
Interesting