The Hatching Cat's latest post is a reprint of a 1907 newspaper article about the cats of Hell's Kitchen. It paints a depressing picture, but it contains an image of Tommy, the mascot of the Lamb's Club in the 1930s. The Lambs is a social club for theater professionals in New York City, founded in 1874. Their animals mascots have included a parrot named Sir Oliver, a goat named Billy, and Tommy, who was quite a character.
Tommy Casanova Lamb, a husky grey-and-white cat from the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, wandered into The Lambs Club in 1932 when he was just a kitten. There, at 128 West 44th Street, he took up his station at the bar, where he spent most of his waking hours gazing at the celebrity customers, fattening up on beer and free lunches, or kicking out any other cats that tried to create disorder in the club.
Although The New York Times called Tommy the Feline Bar Fly, he did keep good order at the establishment. One time a black tom with green eyes from Sixth Avenue crashed into the bar and tried to steal some bologna from the counter. As the Times reported, Tommy evicted him with a few well-placed lefts.
Tommy was also a very smart feline. Not only did he know when anyone in the dining room ordered fish, he was quite aware that The Lambs Club was his forever home.
Tommy's adventures include various fights, injuries, and romances, an appearance in a vaudeville skit, and a formal dinner given in his honor. Read about Tommy Casanova Lamb at The Hatching Cat. -via Strange Company
(Image: The Lambs Collection)