Piyo Chai Suno Kahani

Once upon a dog…

The Autumn season of concerts presented by the Symphony Orchestra of India is in full swing. Reminding us to describe an absolutely iconic logo familiar to generations of music lovers. HMV: His Master’s Voice.

The curious little terrier, named Nipper (perhaps for the unfortunate manner in which he excitedly sometimes greeted visitors), appears to diligently peer into an Edison cylinder phonograph – the first device to record and play back sound.

Internationally recognised, instantly suggesting affectionate appeal and playing on notions of loyalty and fidelity, the logo has a charming history rooted in 19th-century England. Nipper was the real-life pet of Mark Henry Barraud, a scenery designer at the Prince’s Theatre in Bristol. On Mark’s death in 1887, his brothers Francis and Phillip took care of Nipper till he died in 1895. Three years after, Francis painted from memory their family dog at his favourite pastime – quizzically listening to recordings of his beloved dead owner’s voice through a phonograph. 

Initially titled “Dog Looking at and Listening to a Phonograph”, Francis showed “His Master’s Voice” to the Edison Bell Company, which unimaginatively questioned: “Surely dogs don’t listen to phonographs?” Sold later for £50, the painting over time had the original black horn transformed to one of the Gramophone Company Ltd.’s more modern brass gramophones and adopted as its trademark. The American rights were acquired in 1929 by RCA, making Nipper its de facto mascot. Twenty years after, the audio company placed a memorial plaque on Nipper’s grave beneath a mulberry tree in a garden at Kingston-Upon-Thames. When that site became a parking lot, the plaque remained displayed at a nearby bank.

In the mid-20th century, RCA distributor RTA Corp. erected an oversized four-ton, 26-foot-tall statue of Nipper crowning its headquarters in Albany, New York. “The largest man-made dog in the world” was their boast. And an advertising industry poll actually pegged Nipper as one of the Top Ten Famous Marketing Brands of the previous hundred years.

There is an interesting second image, resembling Nipper in appearance and pose (minus the gramophone). Having viewed it a few years ago, senior lawyer and music aficionado Darius Khambata shares this is meant to be the faithful dog who would dutifully sit outside Jascha Heifetz’s studio for hours listening to him practise. The model reproduction stands outside the legendary violinist’s recreated studio within the Colburn School of the Performing Arts in Los Angeles. The Beverly Hills original, constructed in 1948 adjacent to Heifetz’s Coldwater Canyon home, was designed by his architect friend Lloyd Wright. 

What a fitting tribute to both man and dog.