Hang In There, Baby
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Hang in there, Baby is a popular catchphrase and motivational poster. There were several versions of the "Hang in There, Baby" poster, featuring a picture of a cat or kitten, hanging onto a stick, tree branch, pole or rope. The original poster featured a black and white photograph of a Siamese kitten clinging to a bamboo pole and was first published in late 1971 as a poster by
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photographer Victor Baldwin. It has since become a popular relic of the 1970s.


History

Victor Baldwin owned a portrait studio in
Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hills ...
, photographing famous clients including
Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...
,
Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, actor, comedian, dancer, and musician. At age two, Davis began his career in Vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the Will Mastin Trio, which t ...
, and
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
. His first love, however, was animal photography, and he worked both in animal portraiture and as photo editor at ''
Cat Fancy Cat fancy describes the subculture that surrounds cat lovers and their Hobby, hobbies involving the appreciation, promotion, Cat show, showing, or List of cat breeds, breeding of cats. Animal fancy, Animal fanciers of cats may refer to themselve ...
'' and ''
Dog Fancy ''Dog Fancy'' was a monthly magazine dedicated to dogs, owners of dogs, and breeders of dogs. It was founded in 1970 and was described by its publishing company, BowTie Inc., as "the world’s most widely read dog magazine". BowTie Inc. also pub ...
'' magazines. In 1956, he and his then-wife Jeanne Baldwin co-authored a children's book titled ''Little Kitten, Big World'', featuring a Siamese kitten named Simmy. In 1963, he photographed another of his Siamese kittens, Sassy, in various acrobatic poses, including the "chin up" on the bamboo pole that would later be used for the "Hang in There, Baby" poster. In 1970, Victor and Jeanne produced the book, ''The Outcast Kitten'', featuring the photographs Victor had made of Sassy and other cats he owned at the time. Sassy, who has the fictional name Wiki in the book, is a lost kitten adopted by a mother cat with two kittens of her own. He attempts to be accepted by his adoptive siblings by performing acrobatic tricks. The "chin up" image is used within the book as well as on the back cover. Before it was published as a poster, fans of the book wrote requesting copies of the photograph. It was also used to sell subscriptions to ''Cat Fancy'', prompting more requests. Baldwin, himself a fan of the picture, saw an increasing demand and so produced it as a poster, choosing the words "Hang in There, Baby" to accompany the image. Baldwin hung a copy of the poster in his studio window in 1972, which resulted in more interest in the image. The first copy of the poster was sold to the composer of ''
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'',
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, who asked for it to be framed. More requests came in, and soon Baldwin was fulfilling orders of between one and ten posters per day. When his studio business began to suffer, he hired a staff to keep up with the orders.


Popularity and copyright infringement

The poster struck a chord with 1970s Americans, and it became one of the best-selling posters of the era. Baldwin received letters from people telling him the poster had helped them through difficult life events including recovery from surgery. Baldwin himself said " he kittengave solace and strength to people everywhere, in all sorts of trouble, including myself". By 1973, Baldwin had sold 350,000 copies at $2.00 each. He lived for a time solely on the income from the posters, taking a break from his studio work, something he admitted he would rather be doing than selling posters. Predictably, the poster's popularity spawned imitators. For a time, dozens of versions were available, using photographs or images of different cats – including at least one "
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" version – all with some variation of the "hang in there, baby" text. Some were bootleg copies of the original, and some were produced by major greeting card and poster publishers. Baldwin held the copyright to the original photograph since March 1, 1970, and to the poster with text since December 7, 1971. "As a matter of integrity, " Baldwin sued each infringement he could find, winning every case. However, he was awarded just enough to cover his legal fees. By the time the poster's initial popularity had waned, Baldwin estimated over 10 million unauthorized versions and direct copies of the poster had been made.


Concerns for the cat's welfare

Baldwin did receive a few complaints from people who felt that posing a cat as depicted in the poster constituted animal cruelty. Formerly a humane officer and a lifelong lover of animals, especially cats, Baldwin assured those concerned that Sassy climbed up on the pole on her own and held onto it only briefly while playing. According to his nephew Roger Garrett, Baldwin spent a long time patiently waiting for his subject, and took 40 or 50 shots to get the "Hang in There, Baby" photo.


In politics

In 1973, Vice President
Spiro Agnew Spiro Theodore Agnew (; November 9, 1918 – September 17, 1996) was the 39th vice president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1973. He is the second of two vice presidents to resign, the first being John C. ...
, charged with accepting $100,000 in bribes while holding office as
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,
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, and
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, was allowed to plead no contest to a lesser charge as long as he agreed to resign as vice president. In September 1973, while he was considering his situation, Representatives William L. Dickenson, Republican from
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, and Samuel Devine, Republican from
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, presented him with a "Hang in There, Baby" poster signed by 100
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as a token of encouragement and support. Agnew resigned on October 10, 1973.
President Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 36th vice president under P ...
also received a copy of the poster from a supporter during the
Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the Presidency of Richard Nixon, administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Resignation of Richard Nixon, Nix ...
. Another copy of the kitten poster hangs in an outer office of former Canadian Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...
. The vintage poster originally belonged to his father, former Prime Minister
Pierre Elliott Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau (October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000) was a Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. Between his no ...
.


Legacy

Victor Baldwin made approximately $700,000 from sales of the posters, much of which went to settle his divorce, which he was apparently happy to spend it on. Baldwin produced other animal-themed posters throughout the 1970s, as well as licensing a wristwatch, mugs, glasses and other products featuring the "Hang in There, Baby" cat image. The original poster was one of the earliest motivational posters, and is now considered collectible, often selling for many times its original value.


See also

* Perlorian, a cat poster series popular in 1980s Japan


References

{{reflist Posters Cats in popular culture Cat mascots American mascots Mascots introduced in 1971 Catchphrases Slogans Motivation 1971 quotations Spiro Agnew