The Kitten Wedding by Harry Whittier Frees (1914)
Weddings are sacred, solemn occasions full of meaning and symbolism. Except when it is a kitten wedding. Photographer Harry Whittier Frees put cats in human experiences, staging them for a little fun and to explore new bounds of photography. Along with the kitten wedding, he photographed them cooking dinner on a wee little stove, doing chores, bowling, using a telephone, even flying teeny toy airplanes. Frees used stiff fabrics in the costumes, pins, and forks to hold the animals in place. This sounds awful, but Frees credits his success to his “kindly treatment” of his subjects. Life Magazine said no animal cruelty organizations ever accused him of mistreating his animals. His images were used in postcards, children’s books, calendars, anywhere that could market cute animals in costumes. Ultimately he found the work to be stressful, and would only shoot pictures for three months out of the year.