On the 31st May 1899. A painting of a small dog listening to a phonograph was shown to the general manager of 'The Gramophone Company' in London, by the painter, Francis Barraud.
'His Master's Voice', a picture of his dog Nipper listening to an Edison cylinder phonograph (in Kingston-upon Thames); he offered it to the Edison Bell Company, whose chairman James Hough turned it down, saying 'Dogs don't listen to phonographs.'
The Gramophone Company paid £50 for the picture and £50 for the copyright, on condition that he paint a gramophone over the phonograph; it hangs in the EMI London office today and has become one of the most famous trademarks in the world
James E Hough was a resident of "St Albans", formerly "The Elms" in Streatham Hill. He died in 1925 (Images of Hough and his house courtesy of John Brown of the Society)
'His Master's Voice', a picture of his dog Nipper listening to an Edison cylinder phonograph (in Kingston-upon Thames); he offered it to the Edison Bell Company, whose chairman James Hough turned it down, saying 'Dogs don't listen to phonographs.'
The Gramophone Company paid £50 for the picture and £50 for the copyright, on condition that he paint a gramophone over the phonograph; it hangs in the EMI London office today and has become one of the most famous trademarks in the world
James E Hough was a resident of "St Albans", formerly "The Elms" in Streatham Hill. He died in 1925 (Images of Hough and his house courtesy of John Brown of the Society)
