It's time to break out some of the old photos I picked up at the Covent Garden antique market. These all have a dog theme. Interestingly, I didn't find any pictures of cats -- only dogs. I suspect that cats, at mid-century, were seen as more utilitarian than "man's best friend," and may have less often merited a photo. Just a hunch.
Anyway, our first shot looks like it's from the 1930s, given that guy's trousers on the left. Are the younger man and woman holding the older man's hands? Some kind of dog-club secret handshake? On the photo's reverse side, the photographer is shown as Lewis W. Gale, "specialist in animal photography," of Clissold. Gale clearly knew how to grab the dogs' attention.
A girl and her dog on a boat. Looks like a typically pebbly English beach.
More pebbles. The dog looks very satisfied. The guy on the beach chair in the background is keeping an eye on things.
Remember doghouses? Do people build doghouses anymore? I think nowadays we're all much more likely to let our dogs come inside. Someone might even call the RSPCA on a situation like this! Our society's standards for animal care have changed. Still, this is how many dogs lived, back in the day. When I was growing up, our dogs had a doghouse and never came indoors (unless my brother and I snuck them in).
I will say that this particular doghouse looks pretty ramshackle.
There is a dog in this photo, in the woman's arms. I bet that book store was a wonderful old place. It makes me think of the terrific book and movie "84 Charing Cross Road," about an American woman's transatlantic friendship with an English book dealer beginning in the 1940s. (Which you should read and/or see if you haven't already -- the film stars Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft.)
And finally, there's this rather spectral image of a ghostly greyhound or whippet hovering over these unsuspecting women and babies.
Here's a close-up:
I'm sure the poor dog is just yawning, but still -- that's pretty creepy.
How is Olgas's ear today? As soon as I had made a vet appointment for Alexi yesterday he stopped fussing with his ear! Typical. I cancelled it later.....been OK so far.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the guy on the left was in the latest fashion. Father, Mother and son?
ReplyDeleteContent dog in the second photo and very happy dog in the third.
Language is ever interesting. While if we had fought with our partner, we might be in the doghouse, we call the little doghouse a kennel. I've never noticed that before.
84 Charing Cross Road was a great book and film. I think I looked for the street address in the mid years of 2000 when we were in London.
The dog in the last two photos looks very hungry. Be afraid.
They were great. Thanks.
Nice bunch of old photos, but I can't get over the pebbly beaches. All our beaches are sand, some of them very fine sand. Do you have sand near the water? How do children build sandcastles?
ReplyDeleteI've always joked about our changing set of morals that someday we will look back at how people chained dogs up by the neck, fed them stale dry food and kept them in captivity with horror. I guess I'll have to add forcing them to live in bug infested, filthy housing outside with no conditioned air to that list!
ReplyDeleteMake sure you tell Olga just how pampered her life really is!
That doghouse looks ramshackle, but the dog looks blissed out. Unlike that last dog - yowza!
ReplyDeleteInteresting doggie pics. I like to think that dog in the last photo was yawning, totally bored with all the little kid stuff.
ReplyDeleteIt is fun to look at the old photos. I like how you create a story to fit the photo. Your imagination and humor come out while you look! Thanks, Steve!
ReplyDeleteDoes that doghouse have a raised floor?? Yeah, standards for pets were a lot lower in times gone by. Standards for food animals are still low. Mankind has a long way to go to be considered compassionate as a whole. (Says the person who still eats chicken, because somehow I can't seem to live entirely on non-meat protein. Grrr.)
ReplyDeleteI agree that the dog in the last photo must be yawning. If he was barking I think the babies wouldn't be so chill-looking. I find it funny, though, rather than creepy! If the dog could talk, he might say he found that photo embarrassing because it caught him mid-yawn :)
84 Charing Cross Road is a charming film, thanks for the reminder, i will watch it again.
ReplyDeleteThe three people in the top photo have tied the middle guys arms in a knot. Cute! Love these photos and the pebbly beaches- the dog about to eat babies is my favorite!
Our dogs always had house privileges, our house I mean, so we never had dog houses.
ReplyDeleteSometimes at estate sales we see a families old photos, even old wedding albums. My sister always thinks that's sad. That the family discarded these old photos.
I loved that movie "84 Charing Cross Road". I should rent it and watch it again. That dog in the last photo does look a bit creepy. The two women are totally unsuspecting. Those pebbly beaches make a day at the beach look very uncomfortable. I suppose you get used to it.
ReplyDeleteInteresting photos!
I love this post and your commentary. I burst out laughing about the pet photographer grabbing the dogs' attention! 😂
ReplyDeleteWe've always had some dogs that live inside and some that live outside. We do have a doghouse (which gets matching shingles any time we have to re-roof our house), but our current pack prefers the doggy igloos to the doghouse. I always feel I have to defend myself, but we live in a rural area where they have free rein to run (and yes, they're all spayed/neutered) so it's not a bad life.
I wonder if that linked arms pic is Auld Lang syne? Or maybe a Masonic dog.
ReplyDeleteI loved that movie. In fact I wonder if I can find it online.
That dog in the last two photos has an impressive yawn. I love the old photos.
ReplyDeleteThat's a very creepy dog! Our dogs were mostly outdoor/garage dogs with a big comfy doghouse. They were high energy and destructive. The Australian shepherd dug holes in the wall while we were at work one day and he got bored. We had a big fenced yard to run around in and our temperatures are moderate here so they did fine.
ReplyDeleteDogs also yawn when they're 'uneasy' like when strangers approach or when they're put in a strange situation/position like posing for a picture. Apparently, yawning helps them to calm down and shows they mean no harm.
ReplyDeleteYes, 5: Frightening dog.
ReplyDelete1st photo: Son and his wife with good old dad.
2nd and 5th: Are those Jack Russel's?
3: Both the woman and the terrier look contented.
4: That's a creepy dog house.
What a fun and fascinating collection! Thanks for the reminder of 84 Charing Cross Road!
ReplyDeleteThese are quite lovely photos of people and their dogs, with the exception of the last photo:)
ReplyDeleteI remember watching "84 Charing Cross Road". I quite enjoyed it.
Frances: It seemed better for a while but now her swelling is back. I think we're just going to have to let it settle on its own. Glad Alexi's problem turned out to be transient!
ReplyDeleteAndrew: Glad you liked the dog pics. In the top photo, I think the man on the left and the woman are probably married, or possibly siblings. The guy in the middle is Dad. Or maybe he's the dog trainer.
River: Some British beaches are sandy, but some are all pebble. It just depends on where you are. The beach in Brighton, for example, is all pebble (or "shingle"). No sand castles there!
Ed: Ha! Sometimes when I'm walking Olga, with a leash around her neck, I think, "This is crazy!"
Bug: Yeah, the dog doesn't seem to mind his ramshackle doghouse at all!
Robin: Yeah, I think you're right. I think it's just a yawn.
Ellen D: It's really fun for me to collect these old pictures and put them online for others to see. I hate to think of all the photos that get thrown out every day.
Jenny-O: Yeah, the way food animals are treated is pretty horrible. Out of sight, out of mind, for most of us. If people saw what factory farms are like we'd have a lot more vegans.
Linda Sue: Yeah, I love that last photo. Olga often yawns when I go to take her picture.
Ellen: The thing is, after a couple of generations, no one knows who the people in old photos even are. When stripped of their associations and memories they lose their meaning. I can see why they sometimes get tossed, but I see them as little time capsules of a bygone era and I like to save them.
Sharon: That's why beach chairs are so popular -- sitting on those pebbles can't feel great!
Kelly: I think dogs that run free and are truly "outdoor dogs" are fine with well-maintained doghouses. I'm sure they love their lot in life. :)
Boud: I bet it's out there somewhere for rental, if not free on YouTube.
Allison: I do too. It's amazing how many old pics are wandering around out there.
Margaret: One of my college friends had a puppy that ate through his bathroom wall, so I know what you mean!
James and Brigitta: THANKS for the explanation! Olga often yawns when I stop her and pose her for a picture, and I never knew why.
Mage: I agree about the first photo: Son, wife and dad. And yes, I think 2 and 5 are both Jack Russels. No. 3 is also some kind of terrier.
Mitchell: I am an expert on Anne Bancroft movies. :)
Pixie: Even the last one is lovely in its strangeness!
That girl with the dog on the boat reminds me of me and my Jack Russell -- although he never got on the boat (if he ever got out on the beach he'd run so fast we'd never catch him!) Those are great finds. Pity about the cats, though!
ReplyDeleteHi Steve, long time follower of your great blog.
ReplyDeleteLate to see this post but I wonder if you would like the locations identified?
Pic number 3 is the Coast Cafe, Beach Parade, Worthing. It still looks the same.
Pic2 may well be Worthing or nearby too. The fishing boats are still pulled up onto the beach and the 'S' may well be SHM which is Shoreham by Sea.
Pic5 could be Worthing as it is a good illustration of a twitten. A local word for alleyway. Often with the flint walls and a few do have shops.
The love affair between people and their dogs is an old one, isn't it? In Black Mountain, NC, where we just visited, people take their dogs everywhere! I can't help but wonder what the point is. Do dogs really get anything out of sitting under someone's table and smelling the food they aren't getting to eat? I saw a dog zipped securely into a baby stroller. Or perhaps it was entirely designed to hold a dog. It was strolled right into the restaurant.
ReplyDelete