Nipper- His Master’s Voice
Wednesday, August 9th, 2006
“Nipper”, the RCA Advertising Dog, was one of the most familiar advertising icons of the 20th Century. The image was used extensively on products by RCA, the figures used in stores and outlets that sold the RCA product line or serviced them. The figures are of two main types, those made of a heavy grade paper mache and other examples made of a compressed fiber and resin mixture.
The Nipper dog trademark originated from a painting titled “Dog Looking at and Listening to a Phonograph”, which was retitled “His Master’s Voice”. It was painted by British artist Francis Barraud in 1898, based on memories of his dog Nipper. The original version of the painting showed not the disc gramophone familiar in the trademark today, but rather a cylinder phonograph. The image was first used in 1900, the figures came after 1915 and were made in a variety of sizes, the largest being the most sought after.
Mike Wilcox
Wilcox & Hall Appraisers
http://www.antique-appraise.com