Today is the Fourth of July, and it wouldn’t be complete without an installment of The Archives and another historical pit bull terrier representing the United States. Archive #9 is a postcard produced during the onset of WWI, by artist Wallace Robinson.
These historical artifacts tell an important story. In the case of Archive #8, it shows how a match in Kentucky between Lloyd’s Pilot and Kreiger’s Crib for the (first) American Championship in 1881, created s spike in interest of breeding pit bull terriers in the United States for the purpose of sport.
In the spring of 1861 – at the start of the American Civil War in Camp Wayne in West Chester, PA, a civilian gifted the 11th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry with a four week old puppy. The soldiers named her Sallie Ann Jarrett after their commanding officer, Colonel Phaon Jarrett and a young townswoman they were fond of.
The attached press photo appeared in a side story by an American media company – ACME Newspictures, dated November 2, 1933. In Archive #7, we will discuss this unexpected interspecies relationship between a Boston Bulldog named Peaches and a wild rabbit.
For nearly a century, generations of children grew up watching some version of a pit bull dog named Pete the Pup. In Archive #6, we take a look at the real life dog who played the character of Pete in the Our Gang comedy series.
Given that today is Memorial Day, it provides us with an opportunity to showcase a pit bull terrier representing the U.S. and its values for the next installment of The Archives. There’s plenty to choose from, too, but for Archive #5 we settled on this well known 1915 WWI propaganda poster by artist – Wallace Robinson.
