25 Cats Name Sam and One Blue Pussy

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Cover of copy no. 18 of 25 Cats Name Sam and One Blue Pussy by Andy Warhol
given in 1954 to Edgar de Evia and Robert Denning when the author was a guest
in their home in the Rhinelander Mansion.
25 Cats Name Sam and One Blue Pussy is a privately printed, limited edition
artist's book by the American artist Andy Warhol.

It was printed in 1954 by Seymour Berlin with Charles Lisanby credited as the
author, as he suggested the title, yet there is no text in the book. The calligraphy
for the book was done by Julia Warhola, Warhol's mother.

The lithographs were produced on Arches brand watermarked paper using

Warhol's blotted line technique. The original edition was limited to 190 numbered
copies (although there may have been under 150 produced). Each original was
hand colored, using Dr. Martin's ink washes. Most of them were given by Warhol
as gifts to clients and friends.

Warhol's mother left the letter "d" off of the word "Name" in the title and Warhol
kept the error in, as he liked the random imperfections which appeared in his
creations resulting from the techniques he used. Both Warhol and his mother had
a passion for cats and they were all named Sam except for one called Hester.
They had so many cats that friends remember them always giving away kittens.

25 Cats Name Sam and One Blue Pussy actually only contains 16 cats named
Sam followed by one cat in blue titled One Blue Pussy.

Copy #4, inscribed "Jerry" on the front cover, was given to Geraldine Stutz, who
at the time was with I. Miller Shoes. She later became president of Henri Bendel
and later while head of Panache Press, an imprint of Random House, used this
copy for a facsimile edition printing in 1987.[1] Her estate consigned the original
limited edition to Doyle New York where it sold in May 2006 for US $35,000.[2]
Copy #18, inscribed "Misters de evia, denning" was given to Edgar de Evia and
Robert Denning on one of Warhol's visits to their home in the Rhinelander
Mansion. De Evia was at this time an established photographer and Denning
would go on to become an interior designer and partner in Denning & Fourcade.

Warhol whimsically put an "x" through the copy number and wrote "69" above for
his gay hosts.
Copy #41 has just been located[citation needed]
Some of the copies were given as Christmas "keepsake" books. These were in the
peak of popularity in the 1950s and a number of prominent American families
would have a book privately printed to give to their friends. Some families known
to follow this practice were the Vanderbilts, Harrimans, Copleys, Altschuls and
others.

Three other self-published books by Warhol followed this first title:

Gold Book
Wild Rasberries
Holy Cats - illustrations Warhola, Julia

Andy Warhols Greatest Love: Cats

ARTSY EDITORIAL
2 YEARS AGO
To call Andy Warhol a cat person would be an understatement. The everquotable Pop artist openly proclaimed his love for money, fame, and beautybut
in a Lexington Avenue apartment where he was once rumored to live with his
mother and 25 felines, there seems to have been little contest to cats. In 1954,
Warhol published a book of hand-colored lithographs titled 25 Cats Name Sam
and One Blue Pussy, void of text except for calligraphic captions by his mother
(who accidentally left off the d in the titlea flaw which Warhol embraced).
According to Warhols nephew, who published his own book Uncle Andys Cats in
2009, Warhols collection of cats began when he feared his single cat named
Hester would grow lonely. After bringing home an additional cat, named Sam, the
two began a familyeventually reaching 25, each of whom Warhol gave the
same name.

See Warhol elegantly posed with a cat here, and find his work in our featured
sale, Andy Warhol: Polaroids and Limited-Edition Prints.