Cats and Dogs Dressed as People, 100 Years Ago

I never thought I'd publish a photo essay of cute kittens and puppies ... but here it is. I mean, look at them—these amazingly sharp photographs of kittens and pups are a century old, but their humor and appeal is timeless, as the Internet has proven again and again. Photographer Harry Whittier Frees, born in 1879, began a career in cute-animal photography in 1906, building out a small studio to produce postcards, calendars, and children's books. While I was researching World War I events on the Library of Congress website, I stumbled across a collection of Frees's work from June 1914, and just had to share. The LOLcat is not a new phenomenon.

Read more
Hints: View this page full screen. Skip to the next and previous photo by typing j/k or ←/→.

Most Recent

  • Arun Thakur / AFP / Getty

    Photos of the Week: Bull Vault, Buddha Wash, Bass Guitar

    A diving championship in England, Darth Vader on trial in Chile, Manhattanhenge in New York City, a graduation ceremony at West Point, ongoing floods in northern Italy, and much more

  • Kin Cheung / AP

    The 2023 Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling Race

    Images of racers running and tumbling down a very steep hill—in pursuit of cheese

  • Martin Meissner / AP

    Photos of the Week: Double Ducks, Thirsty Monkey, Island Cathedral

    The Chelsea Flower Show in England, a scarecrow fair in Italy, a mountain-bike race in Bolivia, a volcanic eruption in Indonesia, the Cannes Film Festival in France, and much more

  • Libkos / AP

    Photos: Ukraine’s Battlefield Drones

    Images of some of the many small drones being used on Ukraine’s battlefields