BC Museum: Red Border Collies Part II

THE BORDER COLLIE MUSEUM Permanent Collection

Above, a Romanian postcard depicting two frolicking collies, one tricolored, the other red and white.

RED BORDER COLLIES IN ART

Red collies have been depicted in art at least since the 19th century, proving that there have been red working collies at least since then. James Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd, writing about his collie, Hector, at the very beginning of the 19th century, describes the dog by saying he "had a great attachment to this animal, who, with a good deal of absurdity, joined all the amiable qualities of his species. He was rather of a small size, very rough and shagged, and not far from the colour of a fox." Hector was a red dog!

Above, left, a birthday card from around 1910 with a photo of a young girl and a beautiful prick-eared red and white Border Collie. This is a posed photo, because the editor has another similar one, but with the girl and the collie in a slightly different pose. Above, center, a post card also from around the turn of the 20th century or slightly before, of a red and white collie. Above right, a lovely painting from a calendar dating from 1935, of a young boy hugging a red and white collie. In this particular painting (artist unknown, but very much in the style of the illustrators of that era) the dog may in fact be a sable collie--note it's black nose--turned red in the light of a campfire.

Below, left, an Elsley Victorian-era painting. Below, right, a more modern painting, artist and date unknown.