If you have been following along, you have watched as we considered postcards which showed animals in suits, and animals who wore primarily hats. We then discussed animals (mainly cats and dogs) with bows. Today we shall conclude this train of thought at Collars. (I hope. I know I have already discussed spectacles worn by characters on postcards, but I haven’t specifically done ANIMALS with eyeglasses. Magnifying glasses may prove an obstacle, though. Is the magnifying glass really an eyeglass, or is it simply a prop for any animal wearing a deerstalker hat? And why would a bear, say, need a deer…where were we?)
Talking about collars limits us primarily to dogs. (The cow above was here just to lend us a little variety.) But though the role of fashion in dog collars might seem at first to be limited, there ARE variations related to societal expectations. Just as fashion is used to indicate the character of cartoon humans, so too can it be used to show us what sort of dog we’re dealing with This chap, for example, is a lover, not a fighter.
A plain leather strap shows we are dealing with basic Dog, concerned with everyday dog concerns in this human-eat-human world.
It also helps when you are not QUITE sure how to draw dog shoulders.
Such collars are utilitarian, not heavily decorated. Their job is not to draw attention, just to help the reader think “Dog”. A collar is as basic to some people’s concept of dogs as the hydrant.
The collar takes on more significance when we are showing off watchdogs and guard dogs. As verifiable Tough Dogs, they need Tough Dog gear, i.e. a collar with spikes.
It is not a coincidence that so many tough dogs are NAMED Spike. It’s like the typical cartoon tough guy in his significant derby, so often named…well, Spike. Naming a tough guy Derby would not help matters. Forget I said anything.
The spiked collar is so obviously a sign of the Tough Dog that some cartoonists used it as the basic joke. The bigger and tougher the dog, obviously, the broader the collar and the bigger the spikes: this puppy’s owners obviously expect him to grow into his clothes. (By the way, how does anybody sleep while wearing a collar with spikes this big, dog or human? I tried to get some specifics on this from a lady dressed in black who had outrageous spikes on her neckpiece, but she kept veering into other subjects and I never did get an answer. Nor anything else, thank you for asking.)
Of course, collars can be utilitarian in other ways. Frederick L. Cavally liked detailed objects ALMOST as much as he liked drawing expressive faces: he seems to have spent more time on this very workaday collar with its buckle and its ring for leash attachment than on the damaged undies.
While this artist has given us puppy eyes and another working collar with an even bigger loop for the leash.
Speaking of things attached to collars, THIS dog must have an amazing reputation. Why did they even build a doghouse: he can’t get inside it with this bit of work. In fact, leashes, ropes, and chains…yeah, I heard that. “Would be a whole nother blog.”
