Tsuguharu Foujita - Cat Drinking (from A Book of Cats), 1929/1930 - Signed

Tsuguharu Foujita (1886–1968)

Chat (Eprath) Cat Drinking (from A Book of Cats), 1929/1930
Hand-signed in pencil, collotype on Japanese vellum paper
Sheet: 270 × 310 mm

A rare hand-signed plate from A Book of Cats, the legendary volume published in New York in 1930 by Covici Friede. Printed in an edition of just 500 copies on Japanese vellum paper stamped Made in France, this work is widely celebrated as “the most desirable book on cats ever published.”

While each copy of the edition was signed by Foujita in the colophon, only a small number of individual plates were additionally hand-signed by the artist, making this an exceptionally scarce survival.

This subject — a domestic tabby delicately drinking from a shallow dish — is among Foujita’s most iconic and beloved feline compositions. The New York publication context reflects the international acclaim Foujita achieved in the 1920s–30s, bridging Parisian modernism and Japanese printmaking traditions.

Rarity:

• Only 500 books were produced.

• Very few plates were hand-signed individually.

• High-demand subject from Foujita’s most important illustrated book.

Provenance: Eprath copy, catalogued at auction as signed in pencil.

Condition: Minor handling mark in margin, stable and documented in the original auction listing. Also a 1mm oil mark in center that was with the piece when we acquired it, 

For more on the amazing artist that Foujita was have a look at our blog post