Patch by Corinna
Patch
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Creator
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Corinna
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Story
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I made a cyanotype print of this Victorian carte de viste of a woman with dog. She looked familiar, and I thought she might be a writer. An image search brought up hundreds of images of Victorian and Edwardian women and their beloved dogs, including a grainy photograph of an American writer, Louise Clarke Pyrnelle, whose dog bore some resemblance to this one. But, no, the women’s faces are too different. So, while the mystery remains, I have enjoyed seeing all the pugs, Chihuahuas, Pomeranians and mutts of all descriptions captured in photographs with their dogmoms.
I once explored an abandoned grand mansion in the Scottish Highlands. The decaying house was glorious but empty, so I gathered little knowledge about its previous occupants. On my way out of the grounds, through dense woods, I stubbed my toe, hard, on a boulder at the base of a huge old oak. I crouched down, pushed aside ferns, and found a memorial to two obviously beloved dogs, Brua and Tappie, who had died together in 1932. I felt at once a connection, across time, in an unfamiliar place, with their owner, an unknown woman. Later, I researched the dog’s owner, the former mistress of the house. She was a suffragette, photographer, and a lover of dogs, especially West Highland White Terriers, a breed developed by her ancestors. I think I would have liked her.
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Rights Holder
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Corinna
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Rights
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All rights reserved.
