The Coonhound & Raccoon's of llinois

 In this photograph, dating to the early 1860's by the style of the mount, we have a Black and Tan Coonhound with the results of the day's hunt - four Raccoons.

The dog was an easy subject for the photographer, so tired from his work he simply sleeps for the length of the photographic exposure.

The Amercian Coonhound is thought to have descended from the Bloodhound and the now extinct English Talbot hound. Large-headed, broad-nosed and with typically pendulous ears, the massive Talbot Hounds were built for stamina and strength, rather than speed. Their coat was short, coarse and flat, preferred in pure white, but also commonly seen in piebald colourings.

The Old English Talbot Hound, illustrated in Rees's Cyclopædia or, Universal Dictionary of the Arts and Sciences edited by Revd. Abraham Rees. (1743-1825).

Black and Tan was the first Coonhound to be considered a separate breed from the American Foxhound and was admitted to American Kennel Club Breed registry in 1945.

President George Washington is known to have owned four Black & Tan Coonhounds - Drunkard, Taster, Tipler & Tipsy. 

The Amercian Kennel Club describes the Black and Tan Coonhound as follows:

A determined, painstaking, honest hunter, the Black and Tan is noted for staying on track no matter how faint the scent and producing raccoon under the worst scenting conditions. With his musical voice and persistent attitude, the extremely cold-nosed Black and Tan is incredibly sure, on the trail.

The reverse of the photograph's mount, showing the photogrpaher J. R. Bradshaw's details

 
Sources:

• The Talbot Hound on Wikipedia 
• The Talbot Hound described on Molosser Dogs & Rare Breeds
• History of The Coonhound on the American Kennel Club

The Greyhound in Durban

A handsome young man poses causally with his Greyhound. The man's right hand rests lightly on the top of the dog's heads so to steady it for the exposure of the photograph.

The dog's eyes look exactly as described in Stonhedge's 1872 book The Dogs of the British Islands  - "full and bright, giving the idea of high spirits and animation."

The photograph was taken by photographers Kermode & Murray in the 1870's at their "Portrait Salon" in Durban's Port Natal. Natal was a colony located in the South East corner of Africa. In the Christmas of 1497 it had been discovered by the Portugese. Natal means Christmas in Portugese.

Natal was known for having the "best soil outside of Cape Colony". This attracted a group of 25 British settlers under British Lieutenant F. G. Farewell in the early 1800's, and they established a settlement on the northern shore of the Bay of Natal, near today's Farewell Square.

Members of the settlement were able to administer medical aid to the powerful and influential Zulu chief Shaka after he'd been injured in a battle, they were justly rewarded. As a token of gratitude, he granted the tiny settlement a "25-mile strip of coast a hundred miles in depth."

 1824 European artist's impression of Shaka with a long throwing assegai and heavy shield. 

No drawings from life are known

This map from 1885 shows Port Natal and Durban (or D'Urban as it was known then) which I have highlighted with a red circle (click on the image for a larger view):

The next map is from 1898 and shows just Port Natal. I have added a red dot to show the exact location of the Kermode & Murray Studio (click on the image for a larger view):

 The reverse of the mount featuring the motto of the British Monarch Dieu et Mon Droit - 

"God and my right shall me defend."

Sources:

• Maps of Durban & Port Natal in the Victorian British Empire
• Shaka the Zula on Wikipedia
• List of Photographers of 19th Century South Africa
• Dogs of the British Islands, Edited by Stonehenge, 1872