Dogs' day out: a Brass Era drive with canine companions

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Observers of the Catholic calendar will be aware that today is the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi. This fact has no further bearing on this article, except that the theme of it is somewhat apt, St. Francis being the patron saint of animals. Clearly, the three dogs in this picture have been well and truly blessed, because they're off for a ride in a trio of smart Edwardian cars—not grand limousines or landaulets, but fully-open runabouts and tourers, perfect for the canine with a penchant for the open air. It is hardly necessary to point out that the smallest car with the largest dog is an Oldsmobile Curved Dash, or that the one on the right is a 1906/07 Buick, but we don't have any idea what the one on the left is.

With all the cars being American, the scene is obviously somewhere in America or Canada, but specifics are going to have to remain a mystery. It doesn't matter, though—the main thing is that these motorists were sure to have had a wonderful time with their four-legged companions.

Lovely as the dogs are, the most interesting vehicle in this photograph is probably the Buick. After a few experimental models, David Dunbar Buick's cars only started production in 1904, when just 37 were made. Production increased rapidly to 750 cars in 1905, 1,400 in 1906 and 4,641 in 1907. Those figures mean this is most likely a 1907 model, but it's an extremely rare car either way. That little lapdog didn't realise just how lucky it was...

Words: Zack Stiling
Photograph: Stiling Collection

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