Sam Kalda’s winsome illustrated history of famous cat-loving men

When we last left Sam Kalda we promised to keep an eye on the Brooklyn-based illustrator. With a portfolio already bursting with editorial work for stateside publications like The New York Times, WWD, and The Wall Street Journal, we thought it was high time to spotlight one of his personal projects.

For his MFA at FIT in New York, self-described “cat-fancier” Sam created Men and Cats: An Illustrated History as a book project profiling famous cat-loving men throughout history. The ongoing series of illustrated portraits and hand-lettered quotes Sam plans to eventually publish includes cat-loving cultural figureheads like Jean Cocteau, Haruki Murakami, Karl Lagerfeld and Ernest Hemingway, to name a few. The series casts a new light on some of the forward-thinking men perhaps lesser known for their love of cats and showcases the same thoughtful character that made us fans of Sam’s work to begin with.