Nipper

Nipper was born in 1884 in Bristol, England, and died in September 1895. He was likely a mixed-breed dog, although most early sources suggest that he was a Smooth Fox Terrier, or perhaps a Jack Russell Terrier, or possibly "part Bull Terrier". He was named Nipper because he would often "nip" at the backs of visitors' legs. Nipper originally lived with his owner, Mark Henry Barraud, in the Prince's Theatre where Barraud was a scenery designer. When Barraud died in 1887, his brothers Philip and Francis took care of the dog, then Francis took Nipper to Liverpool, and later to Mark's widow in Kingston upon Thames, London. Nipper died of natural causes in 1895 and was buried in Kingston upon Thames at Clarence Street, in a small park surrounded by magnolia trees. ==His Master's Voice==

In 1898, three years after Nipper's death, Francis Barraud, the brother of Nipper's original owner, painted a picture of the dog listening intently to an Edison-Bell cylinder phonograph. He had recalled that Nipper had often appeared "puzzled ... to make out where the voice came from" when a phonograph was playing. Barraud worked from an old photo of Nipper. Thinking the Edison-Bell Company located in New Jersey, United States, might be interested in the painting, he offered it to James E. Hough, Edison-Bell's British representative, who promptly replied, "Dogs don't listen to phonographs". The original oil painting hung in The Gramophone Company's headquarters, and then in EMI's boardroom in Hayes, Middlesex for many years. It appears that after the image was copyrighted, two employees of the Gramophone Company, William Sinkler Darby and Theodore Bernard Birnbaum, recorded a Mutoscope in 1900 entitled 'Nipper runs amok!'. A similar looking dog was used to act as Nipper. The Gramophone Company used Nipper's likeness on its sound equipment and began using the image on its record labels in 1909, as well as the HMV retail shop in 1921. Emile Berliner, creator of the disc gramophone, registered the trademark in the United States on 10 July 1900 and Berliner's business partner Eldridge Johnson began using the image in advertising for the recently created Consolidated Talking Machine Company which was reorganized in 1901 as the Victor Talking Machine Company (later RCA Victor). Johnson used Nipper and the gramophone extensively on Victor's products and advertising. The trademark was also utilized by Victor's Japanese division and remains in use by JVC. == Legacy ==

", the former RCA Victor Building 17 in Camden, New Jersey. This photo, taken from inside the tower, shows the 2003 replacement of the 1979 replacement of the original 1915 glass. As time progressed, Nipper's gravesite was built upon, and the Kingston upon Thames branch of Lloyds Bank now occupies the site. To commemorate Nipper's 100th birthday, Mr. D.F. Johnson, the then-chairman of the HMV retailer, placed a commemorative plaque to the rear of the bank on 15 August 1984, understood to be near to the resting place. An additional plaque was placed on the wall inside the entrance to the bank, referencing the one outside. Nipper's likeness has been reproduced on a myriad of advertising and promotional items, including pocket watches, wristwatches, clocks, salt and pepper shakers, paperweights, cigar lighters, stuffed toys, coin banks, drinkware, coffee mugs, posters, calendars, beach towels, T-shirts, neckties cufflinks, belt buckles and hats. These advertising items have long been popular collectables. In 1984, New York Times writer Hans Fantel described his early childhood impression of Nipper: "For some who were to discover music through the phonograph in later years, Nipper's image became almost synonymous with music itself. It certainly was that way for me: I remember how, as a child, I used to keep my eyes fixed on Nipper as he spun on the turntable, and I would grow dizzy with the effort to keep the dog upright in my mind. It took me a long time to discover that, by not looking at the dog, I could hear the music without growing dizzy. But it wasn't as much fun that way. For an enchanted 3-year-old, it was Nipper - not Enrico Caruso - who addressed me in those magic tones that first opened for me the realm of music." A depiction of Nipper appeared in RCA television advertisements, and later versions with his "son", a puppy named Chipper who was added to the RCA family in 1991. Real dogs played the roles of Nipper and Chipper, but Chipper had to be replaced much more frequently, since his character is a puppy. A Baltimore street leading to a development of town-houses is named Nipper Way, where a statue of Nipper resided for a brief time before being relocated. On 10 March 2010, a small road near to the dog's final resting place in Kingston upon Thames was officially named Nipper Alley. The site is located at 991 Broadway in Albany, New York. At Walt Disney World in Florida, a replication of Nipper with a gramophone appeared inside of a spaceship on the Space Mountain rollercoaster, and remained until the sponsorship from RCA to Walt Disney ended, upon which he was made into a robot dog and moved elsewhere within the queue. Various reproductions of Nipper can be found in the permanent exhibition of the in Montreal, Quebec, a museum dedicated to the work of Emile Berliner and his companies that Nipper was the face of. In 1984, a life-sized ornament of Nipper appeared in the music video of Cyndi Lauper's song "Time After Time". In May 2017, the City of Albany held a contest for various groups or artists to submit designs for creative, painted Nipper statues which were placed throughout the city. Ten of the contestants were chosen to create ten Nipper statues – which were displayed for one year and then auctioned off for charity. ==See also==