Siamese cats

[Susan Lynn Arthur <susanla@mindspring.com>]

Poster: Susan Lynn Arthur <susanla@mindspring.com>

Greetings, good gentles.

I hesitate to interrupt the ongoing discussions of llamas, boffers, Don Juan
and pronunciations, (especially Don Juan!) but I would really appreciate any
help you can give me.

I am trying to find information on when Siamese cats were introduced into
Europe, or, more specifically, into the region now known as Italy.  I have
seen photos of a painting of a Siamese in a book called _Cat Book Poems_
that was in the library in "the ancient capital of Siam" possibly as early
as 1350, but definitely by 1650. I have also heard that Siamese were not
known in England until the 18th century.

Does anyone have any references--literary or artistic--that can shed light
on this?

Thanks,
Lucia Bellini

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