Lives of Dogs

For those of you in the Washington, D.C./Virgina area, a visit to the National Sporting Museum in Middleberg, Virgina, is a wonderful day trip. I recently spent 4 days there doing research and fell in love with the area as well as the amazing collection of sporting art and manuscripts housed in the Museum. I went to re-think my Barbaro project and came away with a bevy of ideas.

The current exhibit is well worth the trip. Lives of Dogs Viewed Through Literature, Art and Ephemera features books and objects that span four centuries, detailing our longstanding relationship with canines, especially the sporting breeds.

The photo above is a Dutch dog collar from 1793--solid brass. Quite an impressive halter don't you think? A 1576 book, Turberville's Book of Hunting, gives detailed advice on the care and training of hounds, including dispensing treats. Other collars in the collection express the sentiment owners felt for their pets.

So even in the days when dogs slept in the dog house, there was a bond between dogs and their owners that went beyond the working relationship. It certainly makes me feel like a cookbook for dogs is not that much of a stretch when you consider the workmanship that went into that collar!

The exhibit is there through mid-December.