1872 – Mother and Pups

“Mother and Pups” – by Harrison Weir, is a full page book plate image, taken from “Animals and their Young”, by Harland Coultas, and published by S.W.Partridge & Co, in 1891. The naming of this image as “Mother and Pups”, seems somewhat incongruous when compared to the other images in this publication, where the name is taken from the species, so the expectation would be, that this should be named “Dog and Pups”. But this image was in fact created for “The Children’s Friend” and appeared as the lead page in the November 1872 edition of that magazine, with the caption “Mother and Pups”. This pleasant study, of mother dog and her pups, Harrison Weir has imbued the illustration with obvious tenderness, and we view this calm domestic scene, through the eyes of the naturalist, interested in showing us a glimpse of the truth in nature. Likewise, reminiscent of a “still” shot, taken from a modern documentary, we get to see a blissfully tranquil moment in the life of these domesticated friends of mankind.

Prints currently available in A4, A3 and A2 sizing options.