'Barry' a famous St. Bernard Alpine rescue dog, shown in profile, facing to the right of the image, standing with his head lowered. The depiction taken from the taxidermied body of Barry at the Natural History Museum in Berne. Lithograph print on paper. By Siegmund. Bern. 1815-1900.

Lithograph print of 'Barry' a famous St. Bernard Alpine rescue dog, shown standing with his head lowered and wearing a metal collar. The French inscription below the image states that he saved the lives of many unfortunate travellers.

This depiction of Barry is taken from the taxidermied body of Barry at the Natural History Museum in Berne, in the pose he was given in 1815, before it was refurbished by taxidermist Georg Ruprecht in 1923.

Barry, sometimes spelled Berry, (1800–1814) was a St. Bernard that worked as a mountain rescue dog in Switzerland. He lived at the monastery at the Great St Bernard Pass (a pass connecting Martigny in Switzerland to Aosta in Italy). He earned worldwide fame for his rescue operations and is credited with saving between 40 and 100 lives in his lifetime. There is a monument to Barry in the Cimetière des Chiens, and his body was preserved and put on display in the Natural History Museum in Berne.

His body has been on display at the Natural History Museum since 1815. The original taxidermist gave Barry a rather humble and meek pose as the Prior wanted him to serve as a reminder of constant servitude to future generations. In 1923 he was refurbished by the taxidermist, Georg Ruprecht who gave him a more alert and dynamic pose, with his head raised. Ruprecht also altered what would have been Barry’s natural appearance to represent that which was popular at the time, by modelling a larger head with a more pronounced stop.

His markings are very similar to those on a painting by Salvator Rosa, in The Great St Bernard Hospice in Switzerland.

This print depicts Barry in his original 1815 taxidermy appearance.

The above written with reference to the official website for Naturhistorisches Museum Der Burgeremeinde Bern, accessed: 16/07/2010

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