FALVEY LIBRARY

You are exploring:  Library  >
 
Exhibits Home  > 
  
Animals Through Human Eyes: Vintage Zoological Illustrations  > 
  
Pet  > 
  
Nature of a Pet

Nature of a Pet




 

Little Girl, Little Pony

Bright Flowers: Choice Stories for Little People, front cover, 1889, published by J.S. Ogilvie Publishing: New York, USA

The equine seen here, colored white in an archetype of purity and innocence, matches the child in height, presenting an animal of little threat. Furthermore, the pony eats an apple straight from the little girl’s hand, thus representing a very tamable creature.  The image emerges again in 1898, recycled for the story “White Dandy", or, Master and I: A Horse’s Story by Velma Caldwell Melville.

 

 

A Little Lamb

Comfort, v. XXIII, no. 7, May 1911, cover illustration, published by W.H. Gannett: Augusta, ME.

The scene shows children adorning a lamb with flowers in celebration of Spring. The lamb is often a symbol of innocence as well as Spring, a season of rebirth as new life begins after the harshness of Winter.