Brünnhilde (cat)
  Both photographs of Brünnhilde in 1936 | |
| Species | Cat |
|---|---|
| Breed | Tabby |
| Sex | Female |
| Named after | Brunhild |
Brünnhilde was a female tabby cat known from two 1936 photographs of her wearing a costume of her namesake from Der Ring des Nibelungen, an opera by Richard Wagner. She became notable in the 2022 for her inclusion in Not an Ostrich: & Other Images from America's Library, an exhibit of historical photographs hosted by the United States Library of Congress.[1]
Brünnhilde was owned by a man named Adolph Edward Weidhaas, who adopted her as a stray. He took two photographs of her in costume, wearing miniature scale armor and a winged helmet. The photographs were put on display at the Snapshot Store, a photography store in New York City, as advertisements.[2] Both photographs are now in the collection of the Library of Congress. Initially, only one of the photographs was available online (showing Brünnhilde from the side), and the Library of Congress described it as "one of [their] most beloved free-to-use photos". In January 2023, the Library of Congress digitized the second photograph (which shows Brünnhilde from the front) and released it on Twitter, at which point it became viral.[3] The Associated Press noted that the photographs of Brünnhilde were similar to many modern comedic cat photographs, saying that "at least one aspect of photography hasn’t changed much in 150 years".[4]
The photographs of Brünnhilde are hosted on the Library of Congress's website in the "free to use and reuse" section, indicating that they are in the public domain in the United States.[2][5][6]
References
- ^ Finefield, Kristi (2023-01-04). "Caught Our Eyes: More Brünnhilde the Cat | Picture This". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on 2024-12-10. Retrieved 2024-12-19.
- ^ a b Schneider, Jaron (2023-01-06). "Enjoy This 'Freshly Digitized' 1936 Photo of a Cat Dressed as Brünnhilde". PetaPixel. Archived from the original on 2024-07-20. Retrieved 2024-12-19.
- ^ "The Library of Congress has released a new free-to-use photo of a cat dressed as Brünnhilde – and fans are ecstatic". Semafor. Archived from the original on 2024-05-29. Retrieved 2024-12-19.
- ^ Rogers, John (2018-04-21). "Library of Congress brings America to life in LA photo show". Associated Press. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
- ^ Pescovitz, David (2023-01-05). "This incredible newly-released photo of Brünnhilde the Cat now belongs to the world". Boing Boing. Archived from the original on 2024-03-01. Retrieved 2024-12-19.
- ^ "The Library of Congress Makes Thousands of Fabulous Photos, Posters & Images Free to Use & Reuse". openculture.com. Archived from the original on 2024-05-30. Retrieved 2024-12-19.