I got my first pair of glasses round the same time, and dimly recall being pleased when I discovered that I could get round lenses like the ones Captain Kidd wore in the illustrations, rather than aviator frames like the ones my father had or some sort of plastic hornrims like the ones my mother wore when she took out her contacts, which were at that point the only varieties of glasses I was aware existed in the modern world.

That is pretty awesome.

The titular cat had an earring, didn't he?

Yes, he does. It's a great sacrifice when it's sold to buy Kidd a clean shirt for his hanging.

I've downloaded a pdf of This Simian World. Anything with that line about vaudeville has got to be worth reading

I didn't realize it was downloadable from the internet. Enjoy!