Whitehaven’s pets of the past have been highlighted by the Cumbria Archive Service this week.
From family dogs to parrots, the photographs capture the pets of Whitehaven people from days gone by and are believed to date back to the 1890s and 1900s.
The captures are part of a series of glass plate photographs stored in a wooden box used for lantern lectures.
Lantern lectures would illuminate an image onto a wall to be used as an illustration during lectures. They were often used as a form of education during the 1870s through to the early 1900s in Britain.
The entry from the parish’s catalogue on the images states that most of the subjects are studies of local people outside their houses, in best or working clothes. Several were of private means, but most are local farmers and work people.
Archivist Diane Hodgson added: “These photographs go to show that pet portraiture is not just a modern trend.
“It dates back to the late Victorian and Edwardian period, when photography was a relatively new art form and people were keen to have pictures of themselves and their loved ones as keepsakes and mementos.”
Grip and Lassie are both described as the family dog but there is no further information on the image of the pony.
The image featuring the parrot is listed as: “Mrs. Singleton, High House, farmer’s wife, 1897. In apron and cap; parrot in large cage beside her.”
The four photographs come from St Paul’s parish records held at Cumbria Archive and Local Studies Centre in Whitehaven.
