His master’s voice

When I found a photo of a woman and her dog in an album in the archives, it immediately brought the heart-warming story of ‘His Master’s Voice’ to mind.

The endearing image of a small dog listening attentively to a gramophone - the logo of the British record label ‘His Master’s Voice (HMV)’ - is well-known. But, the story goes much deeper than that.

The image was taken from an 1898 painting by artist Francis Barraud. When his brother passed on, his dog ‘Nipper’ mourned him terribly. He was only consoled by listening to the voice of his master on the phonograph, recordings of sermons given while he was alive. Barraud captured the pathos perfectly.

It’s an image that is universally comprehensible and one recognised by the founder of the Gramophone Company, who bought the painting from Barraud in 1899. As the story goes, Barraud was asked to repaint the image of the cylinder phonograph to feature the gramophone. In 1909, the company introduced their new labels with their famous trademark ‘His Master’s Voice’ and the image of Nipper and the gramophone. It also became the trademark of their affiliate, the ‘Victor Talking Machine Company’, which acquired the US rights to the painting. In 1931 the Gramophone Company merged with the Columbia Graphophone Company to become Electric and Musical Industries (EMI), retaining the famous logo of the music industry.

The emblem remains relevant more than a century later and has been one of the most recognised logos in the world. Today the ‘HMV/Nipper’ trademark is owned by a UK retail chain, with shops in the UK, Ireland and Australia, while Warner Music Group took over the old HMV classical music from EMI, launching its online presence in 2017 as ‘Dog and Trumpet’ on Spotify, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Aside from the branding purposes, the logo’s nostalgic story is one that still touches human beings across the globe, encapsulating the love between a person and his best friend.

(References: Richard Stone, Yellowwood; His Master's Voice - Wikipedia; Gramophone Company - Wikipedia; His Master's Voice - The Greatest Story Ever Sold — VictorRecords.com | Victrola® | Victor Talking Machine Co.® | VMI)