#history
#memory
His Master’s Voice.
On July 10, 1900, one of the most recognisable trademarks was registered with the U.S. patent office by a company called Victor Talking Machine Company ( now RCA Victor ). The logo “His Master’s Voice” features a little dog named Nipper looking into the horn of a gramophone.
His Master’s Voice (HMV) is a famous label in the recording industry. The phrase was coined in the 1890s as the title of a painting of a terrier mix dog named Nipper, listening to a wind-up disc gramophone. In the original painting, the dog was listening to a cylinder phonograph.
The painting was done by an English artist Francis Barraud, and titled His Master’s Voice. It was acquired from the artist in 1899 by the newly formed Gramophone Company, and adopted as a trademark by the company’s United States affiliate, the Victor Talking Machine Company.
The dog Nipper originally belonged to Barraud’s brother, Mark. When Mark Barraud died, Francis inherited Nipper, with a cylinder phonograph and recordings of Mark’s voice. Francis noted the peculiar interest that the dog took in the recorded voice of his late master emanating from the horn, and conceived the idea of committing the scene to canvas.
It was the birth of an iconic brand.
– Joy Kallivayalil.
