author
Harrison Weir
1824–1906
Best known as "the Father of the Cat Fancy," this Victorian artist and writer helped shape how people showed, judged, and talked about cats. He also had a long career illustrating animals and nature with warmth, detail, and obvious affection.
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About the author
Born in Lewes, Sussex, in 1824, Harrison Weir became one of Victorian Britain’s best-known animal artists and illustrators. He trained young, worked across books and periodicals, and built a reputation for lively, observant images of birds, cats, dogs, and other animals.
He is especially remembered for organizing the first major cat show in England at the Crystal Palace in 1871, an event that helped launch the modern cat fancy and earned him the nickname "the Father of the Cat Fancy." He also wrote about cats and other animals, combining practical knowledge with the enthusiasm of a lifelong naturalist.
For readers today, Weir stands out as more than a specialist in pets: he was a prolific illustrator, author, and animal lover whose work captures the Victorian fascination with the natural world. He died in 1906, but his influence still lingers wherever cat breeds are described, judged, and celebrated.