The Cat on a Hot Thin Groove by Gene Deitch

At the age of 21, Gene Deitch discovered The Record Changer, a jazz fan magazine. Every jazz swinger in the ’40s was called a “cat,” so Gene Deitch created a cartoon feature titled “The Cat,” which quickly became a fixture of the magazine. He also started drawing the covers, which graced almost every issue from 1945 to 1951. Deitch’s stylistically virtuoso images exquisitely embodied the essence of the 1950s hipster, and was a visual paean to the joy of collecting records and appreciating jazz. The Cat on a Hot Thin Groove collects all of Deitch’s Record Changer work in one gorgeous, coffee-table art book, with commentary and reminiscences by Deitch himself.