Mabel Cornish Bond

Photo courtesy of Photo: Vassar College Library

Mabel Cornish Bond was a physician and parasitologist at a time when such a career was unusual for a woman. She also wrote poetry, and bred cats. Born in DC, she attended DC public schools, Vassar College, and the Women’s Medical College of the New York Infirmary.

Bond was a member of DC’s white elite, and was often written about in newspaper society pages. She married an attorney, Samuel Hazen Bond. From 1903 to 1907, Bond published The Fornightly Cattarian, “a magazine devoted to the advancement of the domestic cat,” and was a regular contributor of articles to magazines such as Munsey’s Magazine, Country Life in America, and the English publication Our Cats. She also edited and served as the Registrar for the U.S. Register and Studbook for Cats.

In addition to writing about cats, Bond’s journalism including articles advocating women’s suffrage. Her papers, including drafts of her poems, are in the collections of the Winterthur Museum.