Nipper’s Story

 

Behind the image of one of the most recognizable advertising icons in the world, lies a fascinating and little-known story.

The English painter Francis Barraud, upon the death of his brother Mark, inherited a hand-cranked phonograph, some wax cylinders and a small dog, a crossbreed with a Fox Terrier, called Nipper. Francis noticed that when the cylinders played his deceased brother's voice, the little dog approached the horn and listened attentively.

The painter captured this moment on canvas, titling it very logically: "His Master's Voice". It was 1895 and Francis thought that he might be of interest to the Edison Bell Co. of London, creator of the cylinder phonograph, but the work was rejected. Thus, the painting returned to his studio, where it remained for four years, until William Barry Owen, head of relations and propaganda for the "Gramophone" record company, suggested to Francis to replace Edison's 1877 cylinder phonograph with the disc gramophone invented by Emile Berliner in 1888. The painter made the change, painting the gramophone instead of the phonograph, and Owen then purchased the work.

The trademark was registered by Berliner on July 10, 1900. The following year, Berliner, together with Eldridge R. Johnson, founded RCA Victor in Camden, New Jersey, on October 3, 1901. From that point on, the image of Nipper listening attentively to the gramophone became famous throughout the world, as all products manufactured by the company bore that symbol without exception.

From the first acoustic recordings on wax matrix to current laser, compact or digital recordings, Nipper sitting in front of a trumpet has become a universal symbol of music.