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Nipper- His Master's Voice
![dreamstime_773839[1].jpg](images/dreamstime_773839[1].jpg "dreamstime_773839[1].jpg")
In 1884 Mark Barraud, a scene painter at The Prince’s Theatre in Park Row in Bristol found a stray puppy. A Jack Russell - bull terrier cross. He decided to home him and called him Nipper because of his propensity for dentally inspecting the backs of visitor’s legs.
Three years later Mark died and Nipper was entrusted to the care of Mark’s brothers Philip and Francis. Francis took Nipper with him to Liverpool where he stayed for some years but eventually went to Mark’s widow in Kingston upon Thames in Surrey. There he spent the rest of his hyperactive days fighting with other dogs, ratting and chasing the pheasants in Richmond Park. He passed away in September of 1895 and was buried in a tree-lined park.
The Barrauds were an artistic family. Henry, the patriarch, and his brother William made a living painting sporting scenes and Francis’ grandfather, Thomas Hull, was a noted miniaturist. Mark, as we know, painted theatre backcloths. Philip and Francis were also artists. Francis studied at Art Colleges both in England and abroad.
It was three years after the passing of Nipper that Francis had the idea of a painting that would take Nipper from obscurity to the status of an international icon.
When Nipper had been with Francis, the little dog had become fascinated with an Edison-Bell cylinder phonograph (an early form of record player) that Francis listened to whilst he was painting. The little dog would sit fixated by the sound, with his head cocked to one side. Francis said, “I often noticed how puzzled he was to make out where the voice came from.” In 1898, presumably from memory, Francis completed the painting of Nipper and on February 11th 1899 filed an application for it’s copyright as “Dog Looking at and Listening to Phonograph”. He later decided to change the name to “His Master’s Voice”. He tried, without success, to get it exhibited at The Royal Academy. After several failed attempts to place it artistically, he sought to sell it as a commercial advertising proposition. He offered it to the Edison-Bell Recording Company but was given very short shrift. “Dogs don’t listen to phonographs!” he was told. It was suggested that he make the painting more attractive by changing the colour of the black horn. Subsequently, on May 31st of the same year he went to The Gramophone Company offices at 31, Maiden Lane in Covent Garden to borrow a brass horn. The manager suggested that if he were to replace the entire machine with a Berliner disc gramophone, which they manufactured, the company would buy the painting. Francis agreed. On September 15th The Gramophone Company offered him £100. (£50 for the painting and £50 for the copyright.) A considerable sum in those days (nearly £9,000 in today’s money). The deal was finally confirmed on 4th October 1899.
However in 1900 a visit to the London offices of The Gramophone Company by Emile Berliner, the first man to patent the gramophone and founder of The Gramophone Company, was to change the course of history. Berliner spotted the painting of Nipper and acquired the image as trademark for the American market. Unfortunately, it was too late for Berliner to use it. His company was in decline so he handed it to Eldridge R. Johnson the founder of the Victor Talking Machine Company and it became its logo. In 1920 the company was taken over by The Radio Corporation of America and became Victor RKO and Nipper came too. With his fame further spread by HMV and EMI, the recording industry has ensured that little Nipper from Bristol enjoys a worldwide reputation.
Associated Facts:
LLOYDS BANK CAR PARK. 83, CLARENCE STREET. KINGSTON UPON THAMES KT1 1RE
The land around the little park in Kingston upon Thames, where Nipper was buried, was developed and it became the car park for a branch of Lloyds Bank. In 1984 permission was given for two plaques to be erected, one inside the bank and one in the car park, to mark his last resting place.
The land around the little park in Kingston upon Thames, where Nipper was buried, was developed and it became the car park for a branch of Lloyds Bank. In 1984 permission was given for two plaques to be erected, one inside the bank and one in the car park, to mark his last resting place.
CORNER OF PARK ROW AND WOODLAND ROAD. BRISTOL. AVON. BS1
A plaque on the wall of Bristol University reads as follows:-
A plaque on the wall of Bristol University reads as follows:-
“HIS MASTERS VOICE”
MARK BARRAUD 1848-1887
OWNER AND MASTER OF BRISTOL
BORN DOG NIPPER 1884-1895
WAS EMPLOYED AS A SCENIC
DESIGNER IN THE OLD PRINCE’STHEATRE
IN PARK ROW
MARK BARRAUD 1848-1887
OWNER AND MASTER OF BRISTOL
BORN DOG NIPPER 1884-1895
WAS EMPLOYED AS A SCENIC
DESIGNER IN THE OLD PRINCE’STHEATRE
IN PARK ROW
SCOTT OF THE ANTARCTIC
During his 1910-1912 expedition to the South Pole Captain Robert Falcon Scott recreated the Nipper logo using one of his huskies and a gramophone donated to the team by HMV.
During his 1910-1912 expedition to the South Pole Captain Robert Falcon Scott recreated the Nipper logo using one of his huskies and a gramophone donated to the team by HMV.
ALBANY, NEW YORK
At 991, Broadway in Albany, New York, on top of the Arnoff Building there is a four ton model of Nipper. It was erected there in 1954 when the building was occupied by the Radio Corporation of America.
At 991, Broadway in Albany, New York, on top of the Arnoff Building there is a four ton model of Nipper. It was erected there in 1954 when the building was occupied by the Radio Corporation of America.
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