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Washington, United States
loves: you win if you guessed "pets" and "museums". Also books, art history, travel, British punk, Korean kimchi, bindis, martinis, and other things TBD. I will always make it very clear if a post is sponsored in any way. Drop me a line at thepetmuseum AT gmail.com !

Wednesday, April 07, 2010

royal collection

He is a bearded young king in a most correct sporting cap; you are a pug in a babushka kerchief.
You are a white cat that, having been gifted to a young prince, has been named "Snowdrop" and is vaguely disgusted.
You are a darling tiny fluffy dog that your exalted owners have named, of all things, "Tiney."

Yes, you can see all that and more at the online exhibition "Noble Hounds and Dear Companions" courtesy of royalcollection.org.uk. Two images are my particular favorites, and I hope you will find them:

- the 1905 image from Queen Alexandra's collection, "Lieut. Watson and my cat," in which an obliging young seaman sticks the royal kitten upon his noggin, and a shipmate's hand comes in from the left to point this out, in case we might miss it. Funny, and nice to think everyone was having light hearted fun.

- the 1866 photo, "Queen Victoria and Sharp," which finds the lonely Queen (widowed in 1861) tucking her hand around a soulful dog which leans into her with eyes set towards eternity. An image that speaks volumes of love, sadness, and trust. You'll see.

3 comments:

parlance said...

What an interesting find. I kept looking at pictures and thinking, Oh, I'll comment on that one to curator, but my memory is so short these days that I immediately forgot each one when I came across another good one.

but I do remember the fascinating poodle grooming styles.

curator said...

Hi Parlance! Oh I know - those poodles were something to behold, weren't they?

Everycat said...

Thank you for sharing that with us Curator. We have never seen a cat in royal pictures. It's good to know that at least two royals were cat lovers. All the royal dogs look loyal beyond belief. The cat on head picture is glorious!

The current queen is a cat hater. Really. She will not allow ANY cats on ANY of her many properties. This includes all the castles and palaces. We have heard that she does not allow staff who live in tied cottages/flats/houses to have cats either. Prince Charles hates cats too.

Strange how people can adore one type of animal but detest another. Unfathomable!

Whicky Wuudler