Sniffing the Sauce with Nipper Clones II

                
Forward:  On February 18, 2012, I devoted a post to the many satires that the image shown above have spawned.  Known as “His Master’s Voice” the picture of a dog called Nipper listening to a gramophone became a decades long symbol of RCA Corp. and generated dozens of “send ups.”  In doing that piece I became aware that among them were representations of dogs sniffing at a liquor container and recognizing “his master’s breath.”  As a result I did a follow-up post on that subject May 9, 2014, called “Sniffing the Sauce with Nipper’s Clones.”  During the ensuing years and months I have collected an additional number of examples and believe the time has come to reveal them.

     
The first object is a ceramic ashtray that features a spotted dog, likely a terrier, similar to Nipper sniffing at a jug, helpfully labeled “whiskey.”  The bowl of the ashtray carries the punch line.  Why the tray is in the form of a horseshoe is not explained.  The second object below, this one in metal, apparently had utility as a penholder.  It is unclear, however whether the jug served as a reservoir for ink.  I like the enthusiasm being shown by the dog, one of uncertain breed.

The photo of a dog looking at a decanter labelled “whiskey,” capped by a syphon is a riffle on the theme.  Here “vice” has been substituted for “breath,” sending a strong anti-alcohol message.  Although the next example, a post card, returns to the usual nomenclature, the artist has given us only the siphon to be sniffed by Fido.  Perhaps the master had just been filling his gas tank and the dog is smelling the fumes.

The following two flasks are from the Schafer & Vader ceramics factory in Thurlinga, Germany, founded in 1890.  Among the wares flowing from their pottery were a wide variety of figural bottles, each containing several swallows of liquor and meant as giveaways by saloons and other drinking establishments. Initially these items were produced and sold primarily in Germany and Austria, but about 1910 the U.S. department store giant, Sears Roebuck & Co., began to import and distribute nationwide Schafer & Vader pottery, with English titles and American themes.


With the success of Schafer & Vader, several U.S. ceramics firms began to compete for its market.  Hip flasks became a popular item, particularly during National Prohibition (1920-1934).  The two additional flask shown below may be American “knock-offs.”  Often the origin can be determined by close examination. The copy-cats often lack the heft and fine design of the German products.

The half pint jug shown here is something of an enigma.  Once part of my perspnal collection, the ceramic is very common and comes up for auction frequently at inflated prices.  For years I attempted unsuccessfully to pinpoint the source of the item since it bears no pottery mark nor label.  The jug likely held some form of alcohol initially but remains a mystery.
The final two objects are shot glasses.  The one at left likely was designed as a gag gift for a whiskey drinker.  The depiction of the dog is bizarre at best, looking more like a Norway rat than a canine.  It seems to have grasped in its claw-like paws a jug of “pure rye” from which fumes are being emitted.  At right is a glass advertising “Old Tucker Whiskey.” a leading label of the Brown-Foreman Company in the pre-Prohibition era.  This Louisville, Kentucky, outfit was formed by George Brown and George Foreman in 1891 and has survived to the present day.  It chose this “Nipper clone” image to merchandise the Old Tucker brand, including on giveaway items it provided to favored customers, including celluloid  pocket mirrors.

With this post, I believe that the subject of Nipper clones, both alcoholic and otherwise has been virtually exhausted.  From a broader perspective the items demonstrate how over the years an iconic image like the RCA logo can be made a subject of humor and satire in so many formats and materials.  If a picture can be said to be worth a thousand words, a dog and a gramophone has been worth about that number of imitations.

Note:  My post on Schafer & Vader can be found at December 3, 2016.

 

Sniffing the Sauce with Nipper’s Clones

 In February 2012 I devoted my a post to the iconic image popularized by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) showing a small spotted dog, known as “Nipper,” listening to a phonograph with a large megaphone-like speaker.  It is shown above on a glass paperweight.  Created by British artist Francis Barraud in 1899, the picture is usually accompanied by the legend, “His Master’s Voice.”   My earlier post cited a variety of ways in which the image has been used over the years, spoofed in cartoons and in other venues.

Among Nipper “clones” shown before were several dealing with the whiskey trade.  During the ensuing 27 months I have been able to collect a number of examples of dogs sniffing the odor of alcohol.  An example is the postcard shown here of a Nipper-like terrier fixed on the scent coming though a funnel protruding from a jug on which is written “WHISKY.”  The caption reads,  “His Master’s Breath.”   Nothing subtle there.

A virtually identical theme is registered in the following image.  Represented on an oil painting is a large shaggy dog who has his nose close to a funnel stuck in a jug that says, “Old Scotch Whiskey.”  Once again the caption is “His Master’s Breath.”  This dog is shown with a bemused look and his red tongue hanging out,  as if it would like a taste of whatever is in the jug.

A third portrayal of  “His Master’s Breath” brings a different look to the theme.  This time the canine is sniffing a funnel plunged into a large metal pitcher.  In the background are large barrels with spigots.  Empty bottles are laying on the floor. The clear implication is that this scene is occurring in a distillery.   The venue is a postcard from a man named Harry Heye Tammen, born in Baltimore who moved to Denver in 1880 and began a business selling a popular line of “Colorado curiosities.”  These included mineral novelties,fossil fish, polished agates, botanical specimens, Pueblo Indian pottery, Tlingit Indian carvings, relics and taxidermy items.  To this litany can be added a line of scenic and humorous postcards, of which the one shown here is an example.  Although Tammen commissioned the art work he played a personal role in choosing subject matter.

The Nipper theme is played out once again in the image of a bulldog seemingly startled by the odors coming out of the funnel tucked in the neck of a wicker-covered jug.  This representation appears on a postcard from the early 1900s as well as on a beer stein.  The latter dates from 1900 and was the creation of the Sterling China Company of Sebring, Ohio.  The pottery firm existed under this name from 1899 to 1903 when it became the Sebring China Company and its products known as “Limoge China.”

In considering these images, some observers question whether they were carrying a pro-Prohibition message or were meant strictly to be humorous.  It has been noted that such representations ceased with the imposition of National Prohibition in 1920.  A second mode of representing Nipper, shown here, might strengthen the anti-alcohol supposition.  The theme is “His Master’s V_ice.”  Clever elision.   This representation is on a postcard with a Nipper-like dog peering down a funnel on a glass decanter marked “Whiskey.”  A pipe and tobacco pouch like next to it.  Smoking apparently was another of the master’s vices.

If there are questions about whether the images shown above are meant to be pro-Prohibition, there can be no doubt about those shown below.   “Old Tucker Whiskey” was a leading label of the Brown-Foreman Company in the pre-Prohibition era.  This Louisville, Kentucky, outfit was formed by George Brown and George Foreman in 1891 and has survived to the present day.  It chose the image to merchandise this brand, including on giveaway items it provided to favored customers.  The image appeared on a celluloid and metal pocket mirror.   Here the gramophone has been replaced by a whiskey jug and the horn by a funnel.  This bulldog “Suspects His Master.” The same image, much diminished in its legibility was also etched onto a shot glass.

For the final illustration I have chosen a canine who became every bit as famous as Nipper. He was “Bonzo the Dog.”  He was the creation of artist and cartoonist George Studdy who introduced him in 1922.  He has been described this way: Bonzo the Dog had a lovable vibe and look. He was a white, chubby dog with a droopy face and saggy skin. He had big blue eyes and expressive ears which communicated his feeling to the audience through either film or sketch. He had one black ear and one white, some small black spots on his body, and a short, stubby tail.   In the depiction here,  Bonzo clearly has gotten too close to
“His Master’s Vice,” represented by an empty brandy decanter.  To use the vernacular, Bonzo is blotto.

Ways of Seeing: "His Master's Voice"

Few advertising images were more recognizable during the 20th Century than the picture of a small dog sitting in front of a vintage record player, called a Victrola. It was entitled “His Master’s Voice.” As has been noted with such familiar merchandising icons, the tendency over time is to parody them widely. So it has been with “His Master’s Voice.”

Some parts of the story behind the image are well known. The dog was a stray found in Bristol, England, in 1884. He was named “Nipper,” because of his tendency to bite unwary visitors on the backs of their legs. Nipper was adopted by a British artist named Francis Barraud, shown here, who noticed the dog curious about his gramophone, apparently trying to figure out where the voice was coming from.

Three years after Nipper died Barraud, working from memory, put the scene on canvas, completing it in 1899. The artist tried to exhibit the painting at the Royal Academy but was turned down. He had similar luck peddling it to British magazines. Barraud then went commercial, offering it to the Edison Bell Company. They also rejected it. Perhaps as a last resort, he visited a newly formed gramophone company with a photograph of the painting. The ownership liked it and offered to buy it if Barraud would substitute their machine for the Edison.

Barraud agreed, repainted it, and only a few months later the Berliner Company had patented the image in the United States for its gramophone. Eventually the trademark was passed on to the Victor Talking Machine Co., maker of the Victrola. That firm extended the trademark throughout Central and South America, Japan and the Far East. In the U.S. the Nipper logo appeared on the Victor machines, letterheads, record catalogs, record labels and all company literature. Even after Victor’s merger with RCA in 1929, “His Master’s Voice” persisted in company merchandising until well after World War II. It must be counted as one of the world’s most successful and lasting merchandising images.

Few could resist a parody on “His Master’s Voice,” including Walt Disney. His studio drew Pluto, always an engaging cartoon figure, eagerly listening to the gramophone. Political cartoonists also found it provided a handy image for depicting political figures taking orders from afar. The first cartoon shown here from 1941 is of Marshall Petain, the Nazi figurehead of Vichy, France, who had surrender much of his country to the Nazi regime in Germany, indicated by the swastikas on the phonograph. Lester Pearson was the prime minister of Canada from 1963 to 1967. Here he is caricatured listening intently to the voice of the United States, at least in the view of the Canadian unions who sponsored the cartoon.

My favorite spoofs of the Nipper logo are connected to the whiskey trade. “Old Tucker
Whiskey” was a lead brand of the Brown-Foreman Company in the pre-Prohibition era. This Louisville, Kentucky, outfit was formed by George Brown and George Foreman in 1891 and has survived to the present day. It chose the image as the back of a pre-Prohibition celluloid pocket mirror. Note that the gramophone has been replaced by a whiskey jug and the horn by a funnel. The bulldog “Suspects His Master.”

The post card following has a similar motif, a dog -- this one looking a lot more like Nipper -- sits in front of a whiskey container, smelling a funnel. This is “His Master’s Vice,” a play on the slogan by the forces of Temperance. Another postcard in this genre depicts a puppy sitting in front of a funnel. The jug has disappeared but the canine still recognizes “His Master’s Breath.” The final example is a mini-jug with an underglaze illustration of a large dog sniffing a whiskey jug. Again the pooch is said to be smelling “His Master’s Breath.”

In gathering images for this article, I found at least a dozen or more parodies of the Nipper logo, some dating from early in the last Century, some more recently created. The proliferation is testimony to the permanence of the original Barraud image. The artist himself died at the age of 69 in August, 1924. He painted some 24 copies of his most famous work, all of which found a ready market. Perhaps in a unwise move, however, Barraud sold the reproduction rights to the Nipper image for 100 British pounds.