Whatever happened to Don the Bulldog?

There are some occasions when It is not necessary to say more than a few words. Let me invite you to look at the face of this kindly Bulldog, Don, and then read on for the full inscription on the reverse of this photograph. After you’ve read it you must make up your own mind about what happened to Don.

Don 1904

1. Dear Don, how could I be so cruel to let you go?
The thoughtless, selfish act, has filled my heart with grief and woe.
2. Your any virtues, unalloyed; far beyond price, ought to have steeled my heart against to wicked a device.
3. To part with you has sent my heart in twain. No hope I have to see your like again.
4.Dear noble dog, so loving, so good, true & brave. O that I could think; we shall meet beyond the grave.
5. Farewell dear Don; the foolish & cruel deed was mine. That caused your noble life to cease before its natural time.
H.C.B

 

Some brief notes on the photographer Henry Finch
Finch was born in Westminster in 1874. He operated his photographic Studio at from his home at 79 Peckham Rye, London between 1987 and 1912. Census records show the house only had 4 rooms, so it must have been a bit of a squeeze to find room for the photographic studio. He died in Leicester in 1924.

Sources:

• 1901 census Source Citation Class: RG13; Piece: 507; Folio: 129; Page: 5, Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1901 England Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.

The Cocker Spaniel Who Had Four Brothers

My first post in 2015 is a double! Featuring two photographs taken at the same time but featuring different poses.

In the first photograph four brothers pose together with their Cocker Spaniel- some of the brothers look more pleased to be having their photographs taken than others! Note the carefully arranged wooden building blocks on the table in the centre of the image.

In the second photograph the youngest (and most fidgety) of the brothers is posed on his own with the Cocker. This little boy obviously wasn't happy with the arrangement of the building blocks, having knocked them down and spread some of them on the floor as well!

I'm sure the sweet little Cocker was kept very busy by the four brothers. Known for their tireless energy and intelligence the Cocker is a perfect companion. I will at this point admit I am somewhat biased, having known many lovely Cockers in my life and currently owning one! (click here to see a photo of my working Cocker Hedley.)

This dark coloured Cocker certainly could do with a trim! The dog's face is narrow and quite delicate, and from this I would think it not unlikely that it is a female.

Photographer Henry Jonathan Hitchcock was born in Leicester in 1869. He married his wife Edith Mary Smith in October 1895 and they had two daughters. Henry opened his photographic studio in the family home at 64 Sparkenhoe Street in Leicester in 1899. My photographs date from circa 1902 when Hitchcock began using the name "Lawn Studio" which you can see on the mount of the photographs.

Want more Spaniels? Click here for my other Spaniel related articles on this website.


Sources:

• H. J. Hitchcock in the early photographers directory (Leicester)

• Henry Jonathan Hitchcock in the 1881 England Census [database on-line]. 

• Henry Jonathan Hitchcock in the 1901 England Census [database on-line]

• Henry Jonathan Hitchcock in the 1911 England Census [database on-line]

• Henry Jonathan Hitchcock & Edith Mary Smith in the FreeBMD. England & Wales, FreeBMD Marriage Index, 1837-1915 [database on-line]

Curly Coat in the Snow

Here we have another first in my collection, a portrait of a young man and his dog taken outside in the snow... real snow not like the "studio snow" in this cabinet card. The young man stands and pretends to load his muzzle loading shotgun, obviously a prized possession and perhaps a tool of his trade.

It is likely this young lad used his shotgun for waterfowl hunting, his Curly Coat retriever is our clue to this, as this is what the breed was originally bred for.

It is thought that the origin of the Curly Coat is earlier than his flat-coated relative, although the curly is most likely of less pure decent.  At some point it the Curly Coat's breed history the "gentleman from France" (the poodle) was very likely to have been introduced into the breed. Author Robert Leighton writes of the breed in 1907:

"Such a cross [of the Retriever & Poodle] may conceivably have been resorted to by early breeders, and there was little to lose...for the poodle is well known to be by nature, if not by systematic training, and excellent water dog, capable of being taught anything that the canine mind can comprehend."

Engraving of a Curly-Coated Retriever from Breaking & Training Dogs, by Pathfinder & Hugh Dalziel, 1885

The photograph of the young man & his Curly Coat was taken in Hitchin, Hertfordshire by Thomas Benwell Latchmore. (1832-1908) Latchmore was the eldest son of a Quaker family who ran a grocery shop in the High Street, Hitchin. An interest in chemistry led him to study photography. About 1865 he built a studio in Bancroft Street, Hitchin and set up in business. 

Latchmore's photograph of The Trooper Public House at the end of Bancroft Street c1860

We can date the portrait to between 1865 and c1870 as it was taken at Bancroft Street. Latchmore bought other property in Brand Street, Hitchin in 1870 which had belonged to another earlier photographer George Avery, he moved his business there, living there until his death in 1908.

The reverse of the photo mount

Click here for more Curly Coat's from my collection.

Sources:

• The Latchmore Collection of North Hertfordshire District Council
• Breaking & Training Dogs, by Pathfinder & Hugh Dalziel, 1885
• Cassell's New Book of The Dog, Vol. II, by Robert Leighton, 1907
• Thomas Latchmore on Hertford Geneology

Minos the Wonderful Performing Dog

In Switzerland, c1875 a very special little dog had his photograph taken. His name was Minos and he belonged to Madame Hager. I could write at length about this little dog, but he is best summed up by detailed descriptions of him that appeared is newspapers of the time - from Spectator in London to as far afield as Christchurch, New Zealand's Star.

"Minos" is like a Skye of the long-haired, silky kind, only that he turns his little feathered fore-paws out in an odd way, which reminds one of the hands of certain lecturers when they are emphatic ; his large brown eyes are inquiring, serious, and closely attentive ; his little black nose twitches with a variety of expressions very curious to observe, as the several problems of his arithmetical examination are presented to him ; and to see him lift his head with a sharp air of questioning, and slightly shake it when be has been answered to his satisfaction, is the prettiest and quaintest sight possible. 

He was deposited on a large table by his mistress, and mildly regarded so many of the company as were within easy reach, but he betrayed no vulgar curiosity, while he waited until Madame Hager's preparations were complete. She conversed with him cheerfully, as she arranged a number of cards bearing the numerals 1, 2, 3, and so on, and several double figures. With a gentle shake of one paw, the little creature began his "exercises." He picked out a dozen cards in succession, named by various persons among the audience, the number being distinctly repeated to him by his mistress, and then she asked any one present to name a sum in addition which "Minos," who had just brought the card marked 6 in his mouth to her, should work. A lady said, "Let him add 12 to it." " Ajoute dome, 'Minos,' cherche, apporte !" He gave his mistress a long look, twitched his nose, ambled gently over the spread cards, without displacing them, and presently returned, carrying in his mouth the card marked 18.

Every one wanted to know "how it was done," few were contented to receive Madame Hager's assurance that the feat is entirely one of memory, when "Minos" picks out an individual among the royal and princely personages of Europe (he even crosses the Line in favour of the Seyyid of Zanzibar) at the re- quest of any member of the audience. A favourite theory was that Madame Hager conveyed an indication to him by changes of voice in repeating the name after the chance nominator. But even if it were so, that would be a more surprising exercise of memory, because it would require its employment on count- less inflexions of one voice, and the connection of them with the pictures, of which he is said to recognise four hundred. He picked out twenty-five without any difficulty, and when the titles of the Queen of England and the Princess of Wales were changed to "the august mama" and the "august wife" of the Prince of Wales (who is a special patron of "Minos ;" indeed, he came to London at the express invitation of His Royal Highness), he found the portraits just as readily. The spectacle was a charming one, not only because of the extraordinary sagacity and memory of the little performer, but because of something exquisitely gentle, trustful, and loving in his look and movements which went to people's hearts.

Minos was born in Vienna in 1870, the weakest of three pups he was adopted by Madame Hager's only daughter Marie. She had a strong affinity for animals, and a peculiar talent for teaching dogs. 

He first tecnique was to perpetually talk to them, and she adopted it at once with Minos. From the very moment Marie took Minos under her wing it is said "she had no companion except the dog ; he was her doll, her play- fellow, her confidant ; she talked to him incessantly, and about everything ; she showed him everything, she took him everywhere ; her friends were his friends ; she educated him to his present pitch of erudition, and taught him one accomplishment which he has since lost, or perhaps declines to practise (who can tell the mystery of the doggish heart?)" 

Sadly Marie died of consumption. The despair of the dog when the girl's coffin was removed was terrible. He had not left her side for a moment, and no one had the heart to take him away, when, after desperate efforts to warm and waken her, he lay down by her, moaning, and cried himself to sleep. 

After a while, he came to love the girl's mother with something of the same intensity ; but it is an added, not a transferred, affection. 

Let us sum up Minos with the words of Madame Hager:

 

So many people ask me, What is your secret?' I have no secret, except that I love dogs, and they love me. Minos' never leaves me ; I tell him everything I think and feel, all joys and all troubles ; he knows my thoughts ; we are only two, in England, and I never hurt him by keeping silence. He never rehearses ; it is needless. He has no fear of any one or anything, for he never had a harsh word spoken or a finger raised to him in his life. There's no secret, except the truth that men will not see ; that you can do anything with a dog, if you only make him the friend and companion he wants to be.

 The reverse of the photograph mount

Sources:

• Minos The Wonderful Performing Dog - flyer in the Collection of the British Library
• "To Meet Minos", The Christchurch Star, Issue 2346, 25 September 1875, Page 3
• Collection of photographs by J. Jeanneret

Terriers of the Royal Artillery

After this website's first School Group & dog photograph, we kick off 2014 with another first - a Military group photograph with three dogs! Click on the image for a larger view.

This group contains Soldiers of the British Royal Garrison Artillery. Dressed in their pillbox hats and 'undress' frock jackets. If you compare these jackets to full dress uniform there are fewer buttons (only five) down the front and the sleeve decoration is trefoil instead of the more fancy Austrian knot.

If we compare one Soldier from the photograph with a 1880 watercolour by Richard Simkin, you can see the bright colours of his uniform, which are not visible in the monochrome photograph.

This Solider also has an additional chevron stripe on his arm above the cuff decoration, compared to the watercolour illustration. A single chevron denotes 2 years service of "good conduct". This chevron also helps to date the photograph, as before 1881 the chevrons were worn on the right sleeve. As this chevron is on the left sleeve we can say the photograph must have been taken after 1881.

Interestingly some of the other men in the photograph (such as the one in the brimmed hat and pale jacket above) are wearing "mufti" or civilian dress. Those I have spoken to in researching this photograph believe this indicates the photograph having been taken at a large Royal Garrison Artillery barracks.

This line of enquity lead to Shoeburyness, in Essex and the site of a large former Artillery Barracks. Disused since 1976, the barracks was sold off in 2000 and converted into Grade II listed housing, retaining many original features. In the photo below you can see one of these houses and what must have been the setting for my antique photograph taken all those years ago.

Artillery volunteers at Shoeburyness
Engraving from The Illustrated London News, 1871 - Click on the image for a larger view

And now we must talk about the dogs, there are three in the photograph. They appear to be Jack Russell type terriers, they would have proved useful at the Barracks, not just for companionship but also to kill rats in the horse stables.

The Jack Russell's that we know today, can be traced back to those bread by a man who gave them his name - the Reverend John Russell. Hunting with dogs in the early 1800's came with a problem -
difficulty in differentiating the dog from the animal it was pursuing, which could prove very dangerous. This brought the need for a mostly white dog. During Russell's final year of university in 1819, he purchased a small white & tan terrier female named Trump from a local milkman.

Painting of Trump

Davies, a friend of Russell's, wrote "Trump was such an animal as Russell had only seen in his dreams." Her colouring was described as "...white, with just a patch of dark tan over each eye and ear; whilst a similar dot, not larger than a penny piece, marks the root of the tail."

The only picture of Trump that exists was painted more than 50 years after the she had died. The painting was commissioned by the Prince of Wales (later King George VII) who came to consider the Reverend Russell a friend. Today the picture still hangs at Sandringham castle.

Trump became the basis for a Russell's breeding program in which he hoped to develop a special terrier with a high stamina for hunting and the courage to chase out foxes.

D. Brian Plumer writes in his book The Complete Jack Russell Terrier:

"Whether or not John Russell kept a strain of rough-coated fox terriers will continue to be debated for years to come. Many accuse the parson of having been simply a dealer, buying and breeding from any terrier that took his fancy, supplementing his meager income by wheeling and dealing in livestock. One thing is fairly certain, however: that he did much to popularize the wire-haired fox terrier - now one of the most popular breeds in Britain, but at that time a Cinderella, a poor relation of the smooth fox terrier. Russell was, in fact, one of the founder members of the Kennel Club."



Sources:

• An Artillery Officer & Crimean hero of Old School - on Photo-Sleuth
• Royal Artillery on the British Empire
• Excellent information and ideas for research were found on the friendly Victorian Wars Forum
• A Memoir of the Rev. John Russell and His Out of Doors Life - E. W. L. Davies, 1883
• The Complete Jack Russell Terrier - D. Brian Plummer, 1996
• A Pictorial History of Terriers; Their Politics & Their Place on The Terrier Man 
• Jack Russell Terrier on Wikipedia

Little Lou Lou

What a charming creature greets us in this simple photograph. A white fluffy Maltese sits on a highly polished table for a portrait photograph. Skillfully the photographer has posed the dog on an object much darker than its fur to create superb contrast in the image.

On the reverse of the photograph a message is written to the recipient, as if written by the dog himself:

"My Photograph" for dear kind Aunt Anne with Little Lou Lou's best love..."

The silky-haired small white Maltese lap dog is the most ancient of all the laps dogs of the Western world. First imported into England during the reign of Henry VIII, they were regarded as "meet playfellows for mincing mistresses" during the reign of Elizabeth I. During these times the Maltese was believed to possess healing powers - the sick and ailing would put the little dogs on their stomach or chest for comfort, and they became known as the "Comforter." 

 The Maltese Dog illustrated in The Dogs of the British Islands, 1872

Lou Lou's photograph was taken by Alexander James Grossmann at 56 Snargate Street, Dover.

Born in 1833 in Pressbourg, Hungary - Alexander came to the UK in 1851. The story goes that the ship he was traveling to the England on was wrecked near the Island of Malta. He was cared for by an Anglican clergyman who converted him to Christianity and gave him the name of Alexander James Grossmann.

After settling in Dover Alexander first worked as a watchmaker, and later became a photographer. For how long his business was successful I have been unable to find out. However the London Gazette tells us the Alexander became bankrupt while still at the address featured on the rear of the photo mount.

Sources:

• Alexander James Grossmann in the National Portrait Gallery Collection
• Alexander James Grossmann in the London Gazette, 1876
• Alexander James Grossmann in the Ancestry Historical Person Search
• Alexander James Grossmann family tree & here
• The Dover Society - Snargate Street
• Maltese Breed History on Foxstone Maltese
• Dogs of the British Islands, Stonehenge, 1872
• Dogs and All About Them, Robert Leighton, 1910

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 King Charles of Bristol

Perched on a little round table covered in a fancy silk cloth we have a King Charles Spaniel. The photograph was taken by E. W. Slater at 29 Park Street, Bristol, England. Slater operated his photographic business from various Bristol locations, but he was only at 29 Park Street from 1866-1867, so we can accurately date this image between those years.

 Postcard view of Bristol's Park Street c1906

The history of the King Charles Spaniel is rich and long. Generally it is thought that they are of Japanese origin, and were brought to England as gifts for Royalty by early voyagers, as early as the reign of Henry VIII.

The little Spaniels were named after King Charles II, for it was during his reign that they reached the zenith of their popularity. It has been written the King Charles was rarely without his Spaniels. There was so many they bred in his bed chamber, and over-ran Hampton Court & York Palace (now Whitehall) - to which Samuel Pepys wrote it his diary, the dogs had free access, even on State occasions.

Lord Macaulay(1800–1859), also wrote about the King & his Spaniels in his History of England:

"he might be seen before the drew was off the grass in St James's Park, striding among the trees playing with his Spaniels and flinging corn to his ducks, and these exhibitions endeared him to the common people"
 

Engraving of King Charles Spaniels from Anecdotes of Dogs by Edward Jesse, 1858

In the 19th century the King Charles was frequently Black and White, as the dog in my photo, or Black and Tan. It was though crossing the two that we have today's tri-colour variety.

The anonymous Spaniel in the photograph is similar in appearance to many King Charles dogs featured in 19th century paintings. Take for example Spot by William Bowness (shown below)

The Painting is inscribed 'The favourite little dog "Spot"/Bowness 1843' on the reverse. 

Oil on canvas, in a painted oval, 13 x 13 in. (33 x 33 cm.)

The reverse of the photo mount, showing Edward Slater's Park Street address

Sources:

• E.W. Slater in the Victorian Photographers Directory
• Spot by William Bowness in the Christies Lot Finder
• Anecdotes of Dogs, Edward Jesse, 1858
• Dogs and All About Them, Robert Leighton, 1910 
• British Dogs, Drury & Others, 1903

Myrtle, Celia & Mops

This has to be one of the most charming photos in my collection. A little girl proudly displays her most precious things - her doll, her bonnet, a favourite book, and last but by no means least - her dog.

On the reverse of the mount, faintly in pencil reads the following:

To Hilda
From Myrtle age 6 yrs
Celia (the doll) will be a year next Christmas.

Mop's age is uncertain.

The photograph was taken in Lawler, a small township of Chickasaw County, Iowa, USA. The population of this tiny town has changed little since the 1880s, when the population was 487, to the latest census data from 2010 which put the population at 439. You can image when Myrtle had her photograph taken she would have had lots of close family and friends in the town who would have enjoyed the photo, including Hilda.

1907 Postcard of Lawler, showing Main Street, looking East - click the image for a larger view.

The photographer was John P. Eskildsen. John was born in Denmark and emmigrated to America in 1887. On the 11th of June 1891 he married Emma Schlatter. Her parents were also of European origin, with her father Henry born in Switzerland and her mother Mary born in Prussia. Emma however had been born in Iowa. John officially became a US citizen on 14th of May 1895.  In 1920 aged 54 he was still working as a photographer, with his two of his children - Herbert & Edna - working at the Studio with him.


Sources:

• Examples of Portraits and mount designs from the studio of John P. Eskildsen
• Marriage record for John P. Eskildsen & Emma Schlatter
• John P Eskildsen in the 1910 United States Federal Census
• John P. Eskildsen in the 1920 United States Federal Census
• John P. Eskildsen in the U.S Naturalization Records Index 1791-1992
• Emma Schlatter in the 1870 United States Federal Census
• Photograph of the gravestone of Emma Schlatter 
• Postcard of Lawler produced by W. S. King of Algona, Iowa
• Wiki article on Lawler, IA

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

Black and Tan Terrier in Camberwell

This is a portrait of a Black and Tan (or English Toy Terrier). Before the formation of the Kennel Club in England, Black and Tan's were used in rat pit. In this sport, men would bet on the number of rats, and the speed at which the dog would be able to kill them. One of the smallest and most famous ratters was 5lb "Tiny" who is said to have killed 100 rats in just over 5 minutes.

 

A rat pit in the 1860's

Looking at the dog in this photograph, with its fancy beaded, necklace-like collar, I think it very unlikely that he or she was used in the pit! In 1882 John Herny Walsh writes of the Black and Tan in his book Dogs of the British Islands:

The black-and-tan English terrier is a very elegant dog, approaching in his symmetry to the greyhound. Skull flat and narrow; eye small and dark; nose black. The ears, if cropped, should be erect, long, and tapering to a fine point. 

The photographer Henry Death, has taken great care with his subject to create contrast between the dark, shiny coat of the dog and the paler, plain backdrop. This effect creates a simple but startling portrait.

The reverse of the mount - the first I have seen noting the business hours

Henry Death was born on 31st of July 1820 son of Alice and William Death in Molton, Cambridgeshire. He married Frances Ann, and together they had four sons and three daughters. Death started his photographic career in 1856, opening a studio in the family home at 5 Addington Place, Camberwell Road, London.

The family resided there until July 16th 1863 when they moved to 119 Camberwell Road where the Black and Tan terrier had his portrait painted. The house & studio was put up for sale in September 1887, because of Death's ill health. Death died in 1900 after a short retirement from photography. We can therefore date the photograph in question to between 1863 and 1887, judging by the simple style of the mount I would date it to the earlier part of this period.

Below is a photograph of 119 Camberwell Road as it is today, the interior retains some of the period features, such as the decorative wooden flooring, which would have been there when it was the home of the Death family.

You may also be interested in reading articles from this website relating to Manchester Terriers -
click here to view.

Sources:

• Henry Death in England and Wales Christening records 1812-1822
• Portrait of a woman by Henry Death in the State of Victoria Library Collection
• Henry Death in the Directory of 19th Century London Photographers
• Henry Death in the 1891 Census
• Property History of 119 Camberwell Road
• Manchester terrier Breed History
• Dogs of the British Islands, 1882, John Henry Walsh