Nipper
Nipper (* 1884 in Bristol, † September 1895 in Kingston upon Thames, England ) was the dog that was shown on the labels of various labels in a pose in which he seems to be listening attentively to a gramophone funnel into it.
Its name (in German: " pince-nez " or " nippers " ) owed Nipper his penchant to bite visitors of the house and passers-by in the calf. Very little is known about the origin of Nipper. His first master Mark Barraud, had probably picked him up on the street. One can assume that Nipper was a terrier mix.
After the death of Mark Barraud took him his younger brother, the painter Francis Barraud in to. Meanwhile phonograph had exercised a great fascination for the dog, the common tradition, and Nipper have often sat in front of the hopper and a plate with shots of Mark Barraud listened voice.
EM Barraud, the niece of the painter, contested this representation. In a contribution from the press service of the EMI Electrola GmbH, ie of a trademark owner of the logo in 1973 for the anniversary 75 years the voice of the Lord was published again, they wrote that it was " not true, as has often been claimed that he a record listened to the voice of his Lord, because Mark Barraud has never made a recording ". Rather, he had often sat in this posture at the door, as he hoped to see his former master.
Francis Barraud have the dog in his favorite pose painted, initially added a roll phonograph and the image of the Edison - Bell Consolidated Phonograph Company Ltd.. offered in London, but showed no interest. On the advice of a friend Francis I then painted over the phonograph with a record apparatus of the newly formed Gramophone Company in Hayes, England. It is certain that these bought from him the picture included Copyright 1899 for a total of 100 pounds, to use it in their newspaper ads. The original hangs in the Board Room of the EMI in Hayes, the painted-over point should be clearly visible.
Nipper was buried in the London Borough of Kingston upon Thames. There is now the parking lot of a bank branch at the site of his tomb. At the entrance of the bank a plaque attached that indicates the former grave.
The brand name of His Master's Voice and the logo were popular worldwide, the rights are but due to the complex history of the music industry in various countries at different companies: the Americas at RCA, in Europe and the Commonwealth countries in the EMI Group and in Japan at the Victor Company of Japan ( JVC).