My Dog Does Tricks!

Everything about what we see here points to a safe assumption that dad taught Fido the tricks and he isn't taking "A Boy & His Dog" photograph – if so, Junior's face would not be bisected by a table leg – this is "My Dog Does Tricks!"

The fact that the dog will sit holding a can in his mouth has been enhanced by evidence that he will hold a can in his mouth while sitting on a chair on an upturned table on a wagon! Impressive. The humor in this shot is the enjoyment we derive from the tomfoolery our beloved companion pets will do for our entertainment. Most of us are guilty to some degree; even if we don't teach them tricks we are convinced our dogs and cats are incredibly talented and we somehow share in the credit – whether we do or not, our enjoyment is innocent enough, part and parcel of why we keep pets that contribute nothing but companionship. I have and always will (my wee parrotlet talks, laughs, and mimics my wife and me, and seems to know he is a clown)!

The dog is a wire-haired terrier of some sort, a highly intelligent and companionable breed. The wagon is a puzzle; ordinarily the small wheels go in front, yet the tongue appears to be reversed underneath the body and above the rear axle (perhaps it is broken).

This the first post of the growing Timebinder collection of glass negatives, dated 1898.

Then Here We Are At The Glacier ...

Virtually every stereotypical character of stage and screen can be found somewhere in this Victorian-era group scene – every university don, scientist, explorer, adventurer, politician, barrister, special investigator, dapper gentleman, socialite, clerk and schoolmarm is represented! It is also a textbook fashion catalogue of the time (1880s). There are hiking sticks, but nearly every man has his cane and every woman her bumbershoot.

Is this serious group made up of ordinary tourists on an extended European holiday, or might they be members of a geology or natural history organization? Whether for business or fun, they are intent on projecting the image that suits their perceptions of themselves. Contrary to their expectations, they are a treat for 21st century eyes.

In our own or the next century, will there be any glaciers to visit?

Mr. Reitz's Sitting Room, Zurich 1929

A handwritten note on the back of the print says, "That is not a fitting name for this room because you could not sit anywhere without breaking something; besides that every chair is loaded with books or ship models!" I count 12 ship models, enumerable nautical items, 7 bird cages, a cricket cage and floor-to-ceiling plants.

Was Mr. Reitz a collector or a pack rat? As one who has deep sympathy for the disease of collecting, I think he has retired with his interests and the mementos of his entire life close around him. All he loves and values is here. It seems odd that a seaman would live in land-locked Switzerland, but he has brought his years of travel as a merchant seaman to Zurich which sits where the river Limmat issues from the large alpine Lake Zurich.

The clue to his life as a seaman is the tiny life preserver attached to the side table which has W. Reitz, Escher-Wyss & Co. He has his dog, birds and plants as living companions. Is there a (sainted) Mrs. Reitz at this address? I think not. There would be no place for her to sit. A second view and some closeups follow.

Timebinder suffers from the collecting malady for which there is no known cure. Besides antique photos, cameras, antique maps and documents, he has hundreds of railroad locomotive models, automobile models, miniature chairs, antique child's chairs, and antique toys (his wife says they are all toys – which he emphatically denies).

Push, Dougie, Push!

Robert, Bruce and Douglas Montgomery about 1918. Douglas isn't putting a lot into it because obviously someone is pulling outside the frame of this large print made from a small original negative (it came from California but the location is unknown).

Robert, sitting on a homemade buckboard of boxes, is intent on the motive power as any good driver should be; his shirt has a tie and arm patches reminiscent of a scout uniform but he is too young for that. Bruce scowls at the camera as any cramped passenger might. Douglas does what all little boys do – make anything go; his dress is what all little ones wore until they were trained and it was convenient to go into pants. Are their hats castoffs provided for the photo since boys of the period preferred caps?

The Paris Coaster by Paris Mfg. Co. of South Paris, Maine, the premiere wagon of the early 1900s, has nice wooden wheels, a dovetailed frame, and is oak with a natural finish. An antique Paris will go for $500 up.

Spratt's Patent Meat Fibrine Dog Cakes were the first manufactured dog biscuit, began in England in 1860, the favorite of country sporting gentlemen; they began manufacture in America in 1870 (acquired by General Mills in the 1950s). From Spratt's formulas and marketing success came the pet food industry which is ubiquitous today.

Wicker Chariot

This superb image is by Hoyer of Norfolk, Nebraska, one of several I have by this photographer (some with the same backdrop).

As you may imagine, photos of babes in carriages number in untold thousands, whether from studios or the family snapshot albums, and they are popular with collectors, especially the outrageous (to our eyes) examples of wicker work in the shape of swans and arabesques; this one is sedate by comparison. I have wondered if the carriages in the studio examples are a matter of pride in the carriage itself, or if it was a practical decision – if baby is content in its place, why unsettle things by trying to pose her/him another way, but the fact that the entire carriage is quite often included may suggest that it is nearly as important as the child!

Wicker was the rage for several decades in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.