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Tabby House was founded in 1990
by Jim and Linda Salisbury to publish Linda's second book,
Read My Lips: No New Pets! The production brought
an honorable mention in the National Association of Independent
Publishers new-book contest that year, and requests for help
from other self-publishers. Our packaging business has grown
in scope and stature ever since.
Tabby House has relocated to Mineral, Virginia, a small community
in the central part of the state. Mineral is about an hour
from Fredericksburg, Charlottesville and Richmond. We will
be able use our pontoon boat on Lake Anna, where the Blue
Ridge Mountains are visible in the distance.
Yes, we do have cats. At last count
there were six in the house: Troulx Kitten, the porker, who
has one extra-long white fang; O.C., the former bully who
came in from the woods one night and stayed; George, the churlish
one; Lo and Behold, the strange kitty who lives on the refrigerator,
and two now-grown-up kittens, Rover and Puff, who mysteriously
appeared in our garage one day. We suspect Blackie, a stray
who came each morning and evening for food, was their father
because he was in the back yard smiling sweetly when we found
them.
How Did We Get Our
Name?
How did we get our name? As Jim
tells it, "Well, back in 1990 when we were first starting
up, Linda and I took a long weekend to visit Savannah, Georgia.
A wonderful place. If you have never been there, go. You'll
love it! It is as much fun as Key West or San Antonio. Anyway,
while we were driving we brainstormed a half a legal pad of
possible names and came up with nothing that clicked. Then,
as we wandered the city we saw signs directing us to some
ruins dating back to early colonial days. At the site were
more signs telling about an enduring mortar concocted of lime
made from burned oyster shells, sand, and water. The settlers
called this material 'tabby' and the houses made of it, many
still standing after three hundred years, 'tabby houses.'
As producers of books, we hope our work will be as enduring.
"Now, about the logo. We decided to feature the stylized
cat design rather than a lump of tabby because a lump of tabby
looks much like, well, like something from the litter box—not
exactly the image we wanted to convey." |
