His Master’s Voice
I was aware of the astounding, thought-provoking painting; ‘His Master’s Voice’ before taking part in my Course Archive Project. For, listening to Beethoven on a regular basis, I familiarised myself with the use of the painting on some of his vinyl artwork.
The durability and evolvement of the His Master’s Voice (HMV) logo, which has taken to a number of re-designs and refinements since its first appearance more than a century ago, is proof to the immense power of its narrative and symbolism.
The symbol originally derives from Francis Barraud’s painting of his later brother’s dog, Nipper, who would supposedly listen to recordings of his dead owner’s voice through a phonograph. The painting was purchased for £50 by a London based; Gramophone Company and originally named ‘Dog Looking at and Listening to a Phonograph.’ With the passing of time, the original black horn developed into one of the company’s modern brass gramophones; as a form of marketing advertisement.
The first appearance of Nipper’s painting for the Gramophone company was in their advertising literature; first seeing the light in January 1900. Later, the inventor of the gramophone and founder of the corporation; Emily Berliner, asked Francis Barraud to; as the first of many, recreate a copy of the painting, which he passed along with a trademark to American gramophone firm founded by Elridge Johnson in 1901; The Victor Talking Machine Company.
In the present day, the copy is fragmented between the United States and Britain, the symbol of Nipper began to acquire selected modifications. In the United States, the image appears above the RCA Victor Logo), the use of the image was to multiply throughout the twentieth century as it was distributed among various different countries and companies. Today, the symbol is seen throughout vast company’s self representations.
In the UK, however, His Master’s Voice would ultimately become EMI, which continued to exhibit the original painting at its headquarters until it’s closure in 2012. The painting is sadly no longer displayed in the public domain; and in my research I was unable to find the location of the original painting. The image brought vitality into Barraud’s career and kept him working until his death; producing a multitude of copies for the Gramophone company. 24 in total, each painting was sold for £35, which amounts to £4000 in today’s currency. This is a tradition continued by other artists.
The success of Barraud’s painting and its use as a trademark is due to its affectionate appeal and its play on the concept of loyalty and fidelity, Nipper’s fascination with the machine highlights the high quality of the recording. Visually, the symbol has great symmetry. In the painting, Nipper and the gramophone create two sides of an arch, perhaps symbolizing the dog’s affections for his owner.
The painting became a landmark in the future of fine and meaningful art. The versatility of the symbol allows consumers to interpret the image however they see fit, seeing the painting as originally intended, as a homage to the dog; Nipper, who was claimed to listen to his late owner’s voice on the Gramophone — Conveying a heavily sentimental analysis. Or the image can be interpreted as advertising for the Gramophone. The has burned brightly through this century, the paintings are international treasures and their footprint has been engraved into our modern culture through a multitude of mediums. Recent plays on the symbol have included a temporary stand-in for Nipper on the children’s DVD posters featuring Nick Park’s Gromit, who stars in the animated films of Wallace & Gromit.
