| Nipper | |
|---|---|
 Francis Barraud's original painting of Nipper looking into an Edison Bell cylinder phonograph |
|
| Species | Canis lupus familiaris |
| Breed | Probably a type of terrier |
| Sex | Male |
| Born | 1884 Bristol, England |
| Died | 1895 |
| Resting place | Kingston-upon-Thames, England |
| Nation from | British |
| Owner | Mark Henry Barraud |
Nipper (1884–1895) was a dog that served as the model for a painting titled His Late Master's Voice. This image was the basis for the dog and trumpet logo used by several audio recording and associated brands: His Master's Voice, HMV, RCA, Victor Talking Machine Company, RCA Victor and JVC.
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Biography [link]
Nipper was born in 1884 in Bristol, England, and died in September 1895.[1] It has been claimed in various sources that he was a Jack Russell Terrier,[2] a Fox Terrier,[3] a Dalmatian,[citation needed] a Rat Terrier[citation needed] or an American Pit Bull Terrier.[4] He was named Nipper because he would bite the backs of visitors' legs.[5]
Nipper’s original owner, Mark Henry Barraud, died in 1887, leaving his brothers Philip and Francis to care for the dog. Nipper himself died in 1895 and was buried in Kingston upon Thames in Clarence street in a small park surrounded by magnolia trees. As time progressed the area was built upon, a branch of Lloyds TSB now occupies the site. On the wall of the bank, just inside the entrance, a brass plaque is displayed commemorating the terrier that lies beneath the building.[citation needed]
On 10 March 2010 a small road near to the dog's resting place in Kingston-upon-Thames was named Nipper Alley in commemoration of this resident.[6]
Nipper used to live with his owner in the Prince's Theatre in Bristol. There is a small model of Nipper above a doorway of a building at the junction of Park Row and Woodland Road in Bristol, opposite where the theatre stood.[citation needed]
Advertising icon [link]
In 1898, three years after Nipper’s death, Francis Barraud, his owner and brother of his first owner, painted a picture of Nipper listening intently to a wind-up Edison-Bell cylinder phonograph. On February 11, 1899, Francis filed an application for copyright of his painting “Dog Looking At and Listening to a Phonograph.”[7] Thinking the Edison-Bell Company located in New Jersey, USA, might find it useful, he presented it to James E. Hough, who promptly said, “Dogs don’t listen to phonographs.” On May 31, 1899, Francis went to the Maiden Lane offices of The Gramophone Company with the intention of borrowing a brass horn to replace the original black horn on the painting. Manager William Barry Owen suggested that if the artist replaced the entire machine with a Berliner disc gramophone, the Company would buy the painting. A modified form of the painting became the successful trademark of Victor and HMV records, HMV music stores, and RCA. The trademark itself was registered by Berliner on July 10, 1900.[8] (See His Master's Voice for a complete history of the brands based on Nipper.)
The slogan “His Master’s Voice”, along with the painting, was sold to The Gramophone Company for 100 pounds sterling.[9] As Francis Barraud stated about this painting: “It is difficult to say how the idea came to me beyond that fact that it suddenly occurred to me that to have my dog listening to the phonograph, with an intelligent and rather puzzled expression, and call it “His Master’s Voice” would make an excellent subject. We had a phonograph and I often noticed how puzzled he was to make out where the voice came from. It certainly was the happiest thought I ever had.”[10]
Logo variations [link]
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Legacy [link]
The iconic image of a mixed fox/bull terrier, Nipper, looking into a phonograph became an international symbol of quality and excellence for the Victor Talking Machine Company.[11] Nipper lives on through the brand names; he even appeared in ads on television with his "son", a puppy named Chipper who was added to the RCA family in 1991.[12] Real dogs continue to play the roles of Nipper and Chipper, but Chipper has to be replaced much more frequently, since his character is a puppy.
Nipper continues to be the mascot of HMV Group plc stores in countries where the entertainment retailer has the rights to him. Both RCA Records and EMI have deemphasized Nipper in the global music market due to the fragmented ownership of the trademark.
Victor Company of Japan (JVC) also uses a version of the dog and trumpet logo within Japan, which includes the "His Master's Voice" slogan. HMV is not allowed to use Nipper in Canada and Japan.[citation needed]
A huge, four-ton Nipper can be seen on the roof of the old RTA (former RCA distributor) building now owned by Arnoff Moving & Storage [13] on Broadway in Albany, New York.[10] A second slightly smaller one, after spending many years on private property in Merrifield, Virginia, perched over Lee Highway (US Route 29), has now been returned to Baltimore, Maryland where it originally graced the former RCA Building on Russell Street. Nipper now sits atop the Maryland Historical Society building at Park Avenue and West Centre Street in Baltimore. Though smaller than the Albany Nipper, Baltimore's is the only one of the two to include a gramophone for Nipper to listen to. The Baltimore Nipper was saved when the Virginia site where he briefly resided was sold to developers. It is currently the location of a group of townhomes. The street leading to the development is named Nipper Way.[14]
References [link]
- ^ History of Nipper
- ^ BBC states he was a Jack Russell
- ^ Fudge, Erica (2002). Animal. London: Reaktion. p. 67. ISBN 978-1-86189-134-1. https://books.google.com/books?id=A6aic0kCzCsC&pg=PA67&dq=nipper+dog+breed&hl=en&ei=ZqDfTp2AN-rl0QHL3sSMBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CFYQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=nipper%20dog%20breed&f=false.
- ^ Cunliffe, Juliette (2000). The Encyclopedia of Dog Breeds. Bath, England: Parragon. p. 122. ISBN 978-0-7525-4161-7. https://books.google.com/books?id=Adft4iqR4egC&q=nipper+dog+breed&dq=nipper+dog+breed&hl=en&ei=ZqDfTp2AN-rl0QHL3sSMBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CEEQ6AEwAQ.
- ^ "the nipper saga". designboom. https://www.designboom.com/history/nipper.html. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
- ^ Surrey Comet News: Kingston's Toilet Gallery alley named after HMV dog Nipper (Posted: January 1, 2010)
- ^ Edge, Ruth & Petts, Leonard. (1997). A Collectors Guide to “His Master’s Voice” Nipper Souvenirs. EMI Group Archive Trust, plc London. ISBN 0-9509293-2-8
- ^ Vaclav Smil, Creating the Twentieth Century: Technical Innovations of 1867–1914 and Their Lasting Impact (Oxford University Press, 2005), p240
- ^ Petts, Leonard. (1973). The Story of “Nipper” and the “His Master’s Voice” picture painted by Francis Barraud. Talking Machine Review, 19 Glendale Road Bournemouth BH6 4JA England. SBN 902338161
- ^ a b Rolfs, Joan & Robin. (2007). Nipper Collectibles, The RCA Victor Trademark Dog. Audio Antique LLC, USA. ISBN 978-1-932433-82-6
- ^ "Johnson Victrola Museum, Dover, Delaware". https://history.delaware.gov/museums/jvm/nipper.shtml.
- ^ Chipper
- ^ "About Us". Arnoff Moving & Storage - New York's Hudson Valley Mover of Choice. https://www.arnoff.com/about-us.aspx. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
- ^ Maps.google.com
External links [link]
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Doug Wright (cartoonist)
Douglas Austin Wright (August 11, 1917 – January 3, 1983) was a Canadian cartoonist, best known for his weekly comic strip Doug Wright's Family (1949–1980; also known as Nipper) . The Doug Wright Awards are named after him to honour excellence in Canadian cartooning.
Biography
After emigrating to Canada in 1938, Wright worked as an illustrator at an insurance company before serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War Two. It was here that his cartoons of fellow servicemen first drew the eye of a magazine editor. After freelancing in Montreal for a few years after the war, Wright took over Juniper Junction in 1948 after its creator, Jimmy Frise, died suddenly. Within a year, Wright launched a wordless and untitled gag strip about a little boy for the Montreal Standard (called The Weekend magazine after 1951). Eventually entitled Nipper, the strip switched to The Canadian, another national weekly newspaper supplement, in 1967 and the name was changed to Doug Wright's Family. Wright suffered a stroke in March 1980, and had another stroke on January 3, 1983. He died the next day in hospital at the age of 65.
Nipper (disambiguation)
Nipper was the dog model for the painting His Late Master's Voice.
Nipper or Nippers may also refer to:
People with the surname Nipper:
