The original “His Master's Voice” picture was painted by Francis Barraud in 1899.
The inspiration: the artist's brother had a fox terrier called Nipper. Nipper was very devoted to his master but decidedly indifferent to other people. When his master died he went to live with the artist, Francis Barraud.
This was in the days of the phonograph, when wax cylinders were used. Barraud noticed how the dog cocked his ears and listened intently whenever the phonograph “talked”.
Whether one of the voices resembled that of his old master is not known, but the attitude gave Francis the idea for his picture. He painted the picture of “Nipper” listening to the phonograph and gave it the title “His Master's Voice”.
Thinking it might interest the phonograph manufacturers, he took it to a company then prominent in the sale of wax cylinder machines. They were not impressed, so it was offered to The Gramophone Company, who asked the artist to substitute a disc gramophone.
They then adopted it as the trade mark of the company. Since then hundreds of thousands of reproductions of this famous picture have been made in every conceivable form, and it is now as well known in the remote corners of the earth as in the great city where it originated.
The strong appeal of the picture probably lies in the fidelity of the dog. It is appropriate therefore that this quality of fidelity has been the keynote of “His Master's Voice” products ever since.
I'm from Tulbagh, Western Cape, South Africa. Tulbagh is a small farming community.
Get Pushed Challenge: I have been doing this challenge on and off...
@kloud I wish Bon! One of the local wineries (de Oude Drostdy) has a museum that has a room dedicated to gramophones. They have ones with those fancy horn speakers and also ones with the wax cylinders but they are so crammed in they are very difficult to shoot. All displayed on flat surfaces. The one I used is a free standing cabinet!
