Perfect Little Works of Art: Dog sketches by Mabel Gear, Vernon Stokes, Sidney Barrett and Persis Kirmse.

This is another of those unusual things I seem to accumulate. I'm not exactly sure what it is but my best guess is a book of *samples, which would have been carried by a salesman? Sketches & Designs is written on the spine and the front cover, and the pages are filled with black-and-white images by familiar and not so well-known artists. The images have been pasted in as has a business card for The Photochrom Company. Most of the pictures measure 3.5 x 2.5” (about half the size of a postcard), although some are postcard size or even larger. They all have individual reference numbers, and/or titles. If you would like to see more images, please visit these previous posts:

J. Francis Smith

Susan B Pearse

Phyllis Purser

Fred Taylor

This time I’m going to share several dog sketches by different artists. 

Mabel Gear;

The one and only image by Vernon Stokes; 

Sidney Barrett;

The following page has a mixture of dogs and religious images. The dogs are by Persis Kirmse and the other images are by Enid Warne Brown. 

These are also by Persis Kirmse but this time they are drawn on a single sheet of paper. 

Another Persis Kirmse design this time titled: Cover design for dog studies on opposite page.

These are the images from the opposite page;

I know it's difficult to read the words in these small pictures, but together they make up a well-known nursery rhyme;

Monday’s child is fair of face,

Tuesday’s child is full of grace,

Wednesday’s child is full of woe,

Thursday’s child has far to go,

Friday’s child is loving and giving,

Saturday’s child works hard for its living,

And the child that is born on the Sabbath day

Is fair & wise & good & gay.

From the mention of a cover design, I assume the images might have been used in a book. I’ve tried to find it but have had no success. If you happen to know of it, please share the information as I would love to find a copy. 

I thought it could be The Day of the Dog by E. V. Lucas published in 1932. Persis Kirmse certainly did the illustrations but having now found a copy it’s obvious the cover is very different from the image above. It's possible the cover design was changed prior to publication, or perhaps there is more than one edition.  Again if you happen to know I would love to hear from you.

E. V. Lucas and Persis Kirmse also collaborated on The More I See of Men - Stray Essays on Dogs, If Dogs Could Write and No-Nose at the Show but as far as I can tell  the above cover has not been used on any of them.

I’m a Thursday’s child who has a long way to go - all the way to New York if this picture is to be believed!

Do you know which day of the week you were born? If you are unsure, you can check here but be prepared for some surprises!  According to the site, I’m approximately 2,173,350,469 seconds old (or I was when I was putting this blog post together). My birth flower is Poppy or Gladiolus (who knew?) and in dog years, I’m 476!  Harry S. Truman was President of the USA and Clement Attlee was Prime Minister here in the UK. Gosh that makes me feel old.

If you are interested in any of the following artists, please click on the links.

J. Francis Smith

Susan B Pearse
Phyllis Purser
Fred Taylor

Thanks for visiting,

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Notes & References 

Mabel Gear painter of birds and animals: Born at Ashby Rectory in Surrey, 1900. She studied at Colchester School of Art and under Septimus Power at Bushey. Gear exhibied at the Royal Academy; Royal Institute of Oil Painters; Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours; the Royal Society of British Artists, and abroad. She married Ivor I.J. Symes.
The Dictionary of British Artists

Persis Kirmse british artist born in Bournemouth, England, best known for her drawings, paintings and prints of animal subjects, especially dogs and cats.  Her sister, Marguerite Kirmse (1885-1954), also an artist, emigrated to the U.S. and was especially well known for her etchings of dogs.  Persis Kirmse stayed in Britain, and produced both fine art portraits and illustrations, usually in pastels, sometimes in oils.  Some of these were reproduced on calendars and sets of postcards.  She also made dog portraits for members of the European aristocracy.  She authored and illustrated several children’s books, including a series of animals enacting scenes from Shakespearean plays, which included Shakespeare at the Kennels (1934), Shakespeare with the Pets (1935), Shakespeare at the Zoo (1936) and Shakespeare and the Birds (1938).  She also illustrated animal-themed books by Frances Pitt and E.V. Lucas.  Kirmse exhibited her work, including a show of pastels at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1916.

George Vernon Stokes (printmaker; British; Male; 1873 - 1954): Painter in oil, watercolour and pastel, draughtsman and colour printmaker; who devised his own method of printing in colour. Noted for his animal subjects. Born in London and was privately educated. Exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1907; Royal Society of British Artists, Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour, the Fine Arts Society and provincial galleries. He illustrated magazines on natural history and dogs and with his sister, Cynthia Harnet: ' In Praise of Dogs', Country Life, 1936; 'Getting to know Dogs', Collins, 1947. He lived near Carlisle and latterly near Deal, Kent.

The British Museum

*Salesman samples are scaled-down versions of real products used to demonstrate features to retailers or potential customers. Also known as salesmen samples or salesman’s samples, these miniature goods were popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as they were easily transportable by travelling salespeople and allowed dealers to display a variety of items in their showrooms. Read more Collectors Weekly.com

If you are thinking of adding a small dog to your family, you might be interested in: 15 Best Small Dogs for Families with Kids