Dog trade cards are a fun collectible and a great choice for a new collector. They are inexpensive, numerous, readily available, and take up little space.

Trade cards commonly advertised tobacco products, but also candy, coffee and tea, soap, toothpaste, medicines, and even thread (as in the J&P Coats Thread trading card below).

Some people collect complete sets such as these:

• Companies, like John Player & Sons, and Gallaher, Ltd. issued numbered sets of cards, each featuring a breed illustration and profile.
• The Berlin Morning Post (der Berliner Morgenpost) issued a collectible print each week in 1960 of various breeds.

Other collections could reflect:

• a breed
• a time period
• a country
• the product advertised
• cards that are printed on unusual media, such as silk, playing cards, cigar bands, and even film transparencies.

You can’t go wrong if you remember the old rule, collect what you love.

Most cards are vintage, but some are more recent. My trade cards range from the 1890s to the 1990s. Ask whether the card you’re interested in is an original, or a reprint. Some popular cards, such as the Player and Gallaher sets were reprinted; reprints should be less expensive.

The Corgi and Newfoundland cards above were both premiums with tobacco products. The Corgi card was printed in the UK in 1979. The card back gives breed details, while the front features a charming drawing of a Corgi.

The 94-year old Newfoundland card is unusual; it was printed on silk. This card shows a prominant Newfoundland of that era on the front, and pedigree, show, and ownership details on the back.

To learn more about dog-themed trade cards:

• Select your breed (or any well-represented breed) on Donna’s Dog Cards of the World site, and read the details of the cards shown. This will give you a thorough overview of the types of cards that were made.
• Read Dogco.com’s article The Dogs of Victorian Trade Cards.

Are you ready to search out your own dog-themed trade cards? Check out my favorite sources for dog cards; Donna’s Dog Cards of the World, and eBay.

Enjoy!

While your family is together for the holidays, why not look through old photos for those that include the family dog? You may be surprised how often the family dog appears in your photos, and how cherished they seem to be.

Look closely at each photo. Is the dog the sole subject of the photo? Is he on the furniture? Is the dog sitting formally alongside family members, or is he in someone’s arms? Is there communication between the dog and people? Is the photo humorous?

I found a wonderful family portrait from the 1930s on the day my grandparents adopted their new dog, Foxie. There is a later photo of Foxie posed alone in the driver’s seat of the car, as if she were headed to town. Mitzi, the family German Shepherd, figured prominently in the photo taken the day my grandmother brought my father home from the hospital (above). A later photo shows Mitzi laying beside my father as he slept on a blanket on the lawn.

Sometimes a poor photograph that was saved shows the degree of attachment for a pet. I found a photograph of a white blur, kept for nearly one hundred years, obviously out of sentiment. It is the only known photograph of my grandmother’s childhood dog, Teddy.

Now that you’ve found photographs of the family dog, what can you do with them? Here are some ideas:

• Put together a photo album with captions.
• Create scrapbook pages or an entire album.
• Frame and display the photos as a group.
• Make copies and give to dog-loving relatives. Frame special photos as gifts.
• Display the photos on your website, or a photo sharing site (like Flickr, Yahoo, or Snapfish).

Make sure you choose acid-free materials to preserve your precious photographs.

Our dogs are so important to us today, but often they were just as important to those in our past. Talk to your older relatives. Show them the photos you’ve found, and take notes as they reminisce. Ask about their pets and write down the stories. You may find you come from a long line of dog-lovers.

For wonderful old dog photos, browse the Old Photos with Dogs group on Flickr. You can also join the group and contribute your family photos. Enjoy!

I frequently wander through the AKC Museum of the Dog and wish for prints of my favorite pieces. Happily, you can find great dog art online. Why not buy yourself a little present?

• Fine Art Dog Prints: This site has many breed-specific prints by a variety of artists
• All Posters and Art.com: Both of these sites have a wide variety of modern and traditional dog art. I can spend a lot of time browsing these sites!
• Collectors Prints: This site has a large selection of antique prints, most with certificates of authenticity.
• Enid Groves: A friend in Seattle sent me one of Enid’s humorous breed studies. (Thanks, Diana!) See if Enid has your breed.
• eBay : Of course, eBay is always a great source for dog art. You can find old pieces, and discover new artists. It’s not uncommon to find prints signed by the artist.

If you have a favorite breed, try searching for an artist or collection dedicated to that breed on Google or Yahoo. Check with your breed club; often members who are artists specialize in their breed.

Do you have a favorite dog art site or artist that’s online? Please let us know!