Manchesters in Art
1800-1850
Gentleman on Bay Hunter
Artist: Ben Marshall
1806
The Rat Catcher and his Dogs
Artist: Thomas Woodward
Exhibited in 1824The village rat-catcher, taking a rest on the steps, is identified not only by the cage containing live vermin by his side, but by his unusual hat-band, portraying his prey. A cat stalking the caged rats, disregarded by the man absorbed in playing with his terriers, introduces a note of humour to the scene. The purpose of the rat-catcher's occupation was probably straightforward pest control, although 'ratting' - when dogs competed to kill live rats in a pit - was a popular blood sport. Woodward was employed as an animal painter by Queen Victoria but he also produced landscapes and historical subjects. (Painting now part of the Tate Collection)
Artist: Thomas Barker of Bath
1769-1847
Engraving from The Farrier and Naturalist
Published in 1828"The most distinct varieties [of terrier] are, the crooked legged and straight-legged ; their colours generally black, with taned legs and muzzle, a spot of the same colour over each eye ; though they are sometimes reddich fallow or white-pied."
The Princess Victoria in Kensington Gardens, 1828
Princess Victoria As A Girl
Artist: Richard Westall
1830The artist, who was Princess Victoria's drawing master, portrayed her aged 11 sketching from nature. Seated on a bank by a stream in a wooded landscape with a classical urn behind, she appears innocently unaware that she is being observed. Her bonnet is discarded at her feet and her favourite terrier, Fanny, is at her side.
early-1800s
Artexerxes (Age 12 Years)
Artist: F.C. Turner
Engraver: R.G. Reeve
Engraved 1835-1837
Published in The dogs of the British Islands
By author John Henry Walsh (1872) but dated considerably earlier
John Alfred Wheeler
mid-1800s
Art: Paul Powis
circa 1844
Charles Dickins Langley
1845
Ratting at "The Graham Arms", Graham Street, London in the mid-1800s