From the early 20th century until the 1950s, American photographer Harry Whittier Frees was known for his distinctive style and subject matter. Harry often photographed small, familiar pets in people’s daily lives, dressed them in cute costumes and arranged them to appear in funny contexts.

The fate that led to the photos that made the name of photographer Harry Whittier Frees began with a small incident that happened in his family. One day at a birthday party, everyone passed around a small paper hat around the table, and someone put the hat on the head of the family cat.

Photographer Harry immediately took a picture of the Cat in the Hat. The photo was immediately bought by a postcard manufacturer, who also ordered more photos from Harry in the same style, as demand for such postcards skyrocketed.

From there, Harry began borrowing dogs and cats from neighbors, friends and pet shops, and then preparing costumes for them. The small, cute costumes were hand-sewn by the photographer’s mother and the family’s maid. Then, these pets would be placed in lively, humorous scenes.

Harry’s job is not too difficult but requires a lot of patience, because to get a good photo to sell to the postcard manufacturer, Harry has to take dozens of photos. But he can’t get angry, because these dogs and cats don’t understand what’s going on. These pets are often naughty, not staying still for the photographer to take the picture.

After his success in the postcard business with his funny pictures of pets, Mr. Harry allowed himself to only take photos for 3 months a year to make a living. The rest of the year, he spent resting, regaining his photography inspiration and coming up with new ideas.

Harry’s photos became hot-selling postcards, and gradually he was also commissioned by advertising agencies, magazines and children’s book publishers.

Despite being a successful photographer with a niche in photography, Harry Whittier Frees never achieved great wealth. In fact, the photography community of his day did not even consider his photographs to be works of art.

Harry did not join any photography associations, he did not interact with other photographers, but quietly pursued his own subject matter alone. Throughout his life, Harry lived a quiet, single life. He passed away at the age of 74 in 1953.

The photos that Mr. Harry took are still loved and remembered by posterity today, viewers see in the photos a sense of humor and timeless appeal.

Many people believe that photographer Harry Whittier Frees was the first photographer to include cats in his photography. His photos made viewers laugh with delight and marvel at his ability to capture moments.

Harry’s photos do not use any tricks or photo editing methods. There was a time when his photos were very popular for use as postcards, printed on book covers, printed into calendars… Harry himself has also published many photo books compiling his photographic works.