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'Weighing doggie'

Illustration
ca.1900 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Ernest Nister (1842-1909) began his publishing career in 1885 when he acquired a lithographic workshop in Nürnberg and printed books for London publishers. In 1888 he became a publisher in his own right with offices at 24 St. Bride Street, London. He appointed the writer and editor, Robert Ellice Mack, as director.

Nister specialised in high quality colour printing for children in the last quarter of the 19th century. Movable books with various mechanisms became his speciality after 1890 (when be published his first stand-up book) but he also produced numerous picture books, annuals, poetry, nursery rhymes, calendars and greetings cards. He worked with a core of writers, including Clifton Bingham and Robert Ellice Mack, and illustrators, in particular Eveline Lance, Lizzie Lawson, Harriett M. Bennett, Edith A. Cubitt and Rosa Petherick.

This illustration by Rosa C. Petherick accompanies a story entitled 'The Weighing Shop' by Ethel Dawson in Bright Eyes Story Book (no. 2275), published in London by Ernest Nister and in New York by E.P. Dutton & Co., ca.1900.

The illustration includes a golliwog doll. The original golliwog was a central character in a series of books by Bertha and Florence Upton published between 1895 and 1909. The doll the character was based on was influenced by the Blackface performance tradition, and as such evolved from a performance tradition grounded in racism. While from the late 19th century until the 1960s the golliwog flourished as a toy, its popularity began to wane in the 1970s as many British people felt that it promoted racial stereotypes.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Titles
  • 'Weighing doggie' (manufacturer's title)
  • 'The weighing shop' (manufacturer's title)
Materials and techniques
Watercolour on card
Brief description
Watercolour drawing by Rosa C. Petherick, ca.1900; commissioned by Ernest Nister.
Physical description
Watercolour drawing on stiff card depicting an interior scene of a group of children weighing dogs. A boy wearing green and a girl wearing blue weigh a little white puppy on a set of scales on a table top. Beside the table a younger girl in white and green holds a doll in her left arm. Another puppy sits in a basket on the floor whilst a larger dog stands on its hind legs and places its front legs on the table. With a red carpet and pale yellow walls. Partial view of a window in the background with floral curtains, a potted geranium, ball and book entitled 'My Pussy'. Apple on the tree outside the window. On the floor by the window is a golliwog doll (please see summary for explanation of the term 'golliwog'). A sign on the table reads: 'HARRY JONES / WAYS / ANIMALS AND / TOYS'. Mounted on card.
Dimensions
  • Mount height: 364mm
  • Mount width: 305mm
Production typeUnique
Marks and inscriptions
  • Inscribed by the artist in bottom right corner
  • Bookplate on verso reads: 'From the Library of Anne Renier and F.G. Renier'
  • Initialled in ink by Anne Renier on verso: 'AR'
  • Inscribed in blue crayon on verso: '12/12', '11030', '15' and 'R.C. Petherick'
  • Ink stamp on verso reads: 'Ernest Nister / Order no. 42085a/8'
  • Partial stamp on verso of card: 'Winsor & [Newton] / "Phil May" Dr[awing Board?]'
Credit line
Donated by Anne Renier and F.G. Renier.
Object history
Drawn by Rosa C. Petherick ca.1900 for Ernest Nister. Bequeathed to the V&A in 1970 by Anne and Fernand G. Renier as part of the Renier Collection
Subjects depicted
Summary
Ernest Nister (1842-1909) began his publishing career in 1885 when he acquired a lithographic workshop in Nürnberg and printed books for London publishers. In 1888 he became a publisher in his own right with offices at 24 St. Bride Street, London. He appointed the writer and editor, Robert Ellice Mack, as director.

Nister specialised in high quality colour printing for children in the last quarter of the 19th century. Movable books with various mechanisms became his speciality after 1890 (when be published his first stand-up book) but he also produced numerous picture books, annuals, poetry, nursery rhymes, calendars and greetings cards. He worked with a core of writers, including Clifton Bingham and Robert Ellice Mack, and illustrators, in particular Eveline Lance, Lizzie Lawson, Harriett M. Bennett, Edith A. Cubitt and Rosa Petherick.

This illustration by Rosa C. Petherick accompanies a story entitled 'The Weighing Shop' by Ethel Dawson in Bright Eyes Story Book (no. 2275), published in London by Ernest Nister and in New York by E.P. Dutton & Co., ca.1900.

The illustration includes a golliwog doll. The original golliwog was a central character in a series of books by Bertha and Florence Upton published between 1895 and 1909. The doll the character was based on was influenced by the Blackface performance tradition, and as such evolved from a performance tradition grounded in racism. While from the late 19th century until the 1960s the golliwog flourished as a toy, its popularity began to wane in the 1970s as many British people felt that it promoted racial stereotypes.
Other number
Nister - Previous Renier Collection pressmark
Collection
Library number
RENIER.341

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Record createdMarch 3, 2008
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