December's subject is the His master's voice (HMV) gramophone, which belongs to the Szekler Museum of Ciuc since 2008. This is an HMV 101 model with black rexine leather, manufactured in 1925 in Great Britain. The applied logo is perhaps related to one of Jack Russell's most famous terriers, named Nipper.
The logo initially began its "career" as a painting. In 1899, the English painter Francis Barraud painted the dog Nipper, who listens intently to the voice of his deceased owner. At first, the detail in the painting showed only a phonograph, the gramophone was added later.
In the original work, the sound came from a cylindrical phonograph through a black funnel. Since English phonograph manufacturers of the era showed no interest in the painting, Barraud decided to add color with a modern gramophone with a copper funnel. To be sure, he borrowed one from William Barry Owen, the American founder of the Gramophone Company, established in London. The work caught Owen's attention and he bought the painting, which went public on the cover of the company's winter catalog, published in 1899.
In 1901, the painting took another step towards world fame when the American company Victor Talking Machine bought it with the intention of using it as a logo on its gramophones and records. The manufacturer featured the logo on all its gramophones and records, and in newspaper advertisements, encouraging the readers to "look for the dog".
In addition to the gramophone, His master's voice later became a trademark of radio and other broadcasting equipments.
The gramophone can be seen at the museum's ticket office from Tuesday to Sunday, daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.