Francis Barraud
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Francis James Barraud (June 16, 1856 in Liverpool, England - August 29, 1924) was an English painter. His most famous work, His Master's Voice, is one of the most well-known commercial logos in the world, having inspired the music industry trademark depicting a dog (Nipper) and phonograph, which is used by several corporations, including HMV, RCA, and JVC.
The painting His Master's Voice originally showed the dog (who had in fact died some years previously) listening to a cylinder phonograph. This was a rare model, electrically driven and housed in a distinctive round-cornered case, known as the Edison Commercial Phonograph and produced by Edison's factory exclusively for the British market; Barraud probably derived the idea of purchasing this model from Hubert von Herkomer who kept a similar machine in his studio. Barraud afterwards replaced the phonograph with a disc machine on the suggestion of William Barry Owen of The Gramophone Company, who then bought the picture. It was used in advertising by the Gramophone Company and by its U.S. equivalent Victor and became one of the world's best known trade marks, although it did not appear on British record labels until 1909.
