Interesting Picture from The Sandhills

[Delmonico]

I've been doing some serious searching on the Butcher Collection this week for a research project.  We often think from stories and the dress in the pictures that all homesteaders were dirt poor.  Not always.  Any way I found this one, this fella despite the family being a bit ragged has some goods worth some money.  The date is 1889 or 1890 (a typo says 1990) any way he has a new-fangled repeating shotgun and what is more interesting is the dog.  It sure looks like a Lab to me and as a lover of these fine dogs (my new pup is asleep under my antique wooden rocker as I type) I know that they had just started coming in from Labrador on the east coast about this time and were a bit pricey.

Anyway this fella sure seems to have one, with the railroad creeping into the sandhills and the vast amount of natural lakes in the area,  I bet this fella shipped a few barrels of ducks back east in the fall and spring.

The number on the file is the number in the collection, if you want to see the full picture got to:

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award98/nbhihtml/pshome.html

The number on my file will get you it by typing it into the search.

[Dogwoman]

Gee.  That's VERY interesting.  Part of me looks at that dog and says it's a lab, another part says it's not.  Something about the leanness (and the dog is not underweight) doesn't speak lab.  However, if this dog is young, it very well could be a lab.  They don't get that stocky build until 14-18 months.   Yet that head has the squareness of the old labs.  I've seen labs carry their tail that way when leaning into something. 

Pretty cool!!!!  Historical photos of labs are VERY hard to come by.

[Delmonico]

Dogwoman, today Labs are the most popular bird dog in this area, they are fantastic on pheasants which can sometimes drive a pointer nuts by not playing fair.   Most Labs you see today around here are long and lanky.  I've heard guys from out of state even call them "Nebraska Labs."   I've seen many a lab that looked like him, both I owned before did.  Look at the lips of the one in the picture.  That's what first caught my eye.

[Chantilly]

Meet Bad Belle Starr 

[44caliberkid]

Additionally, the breed has likely undergone some slight changes in the last 120 years.

[Delmonico]

Nice one Chantilly, they are so lovable but always with a streak of onery.   My new buddy Rowdy.

One note on dogs, one sees a lot of what apear to be Newfoundland's in old pictures, the Labs close ancestor, of course one went to the pPacific and back with The Corp of Discovery.

[Vernon/IN]

I know what you mean about Labs

Here's a shot I call "Marlboro Pup".  His name is Max and the shot was taken when he was about 8 months old (he's now almost 3 years old.

That is a piece of straw in his mouth, he carried that around for almost an hour.

Vernon

[Silver Creek Slim]

Here's my "pup", Lady. She's 7 year old. As ya can tell by the white patch on her chest, she's not a purebred. She loves hunting Dakota Territory pheasants. 

Slim

[Delmonico]

Well, I'm guessing from that picture we do have PC dogs.

[Pvt Hoover]

Dont have picture handy, but my first lab pup came from the Central City, NE area.  Great instincts as a pup.  He could find doves easy on cold retrieves and would catch pheasants live.  Working on a golden retriever right now.  Both good dogs

[deucedaddyj]

We've had a lab or two over the years, and they were all great dogs.

Right now we have 2 dogs that are part lab, part bull mastiff. They have the body of the Mastiff and a larger version of a labs head. Really odd looking dogs, but they're the best we've ever had.

[Mustang Gregg]

When I get home from Indiantown---I'll post some pix of my Blackie.
He's a 115# & his name is HOSS.

[oscar]

Here is a picture of my pup too. Del and I came upon new family members about the same time.
His name is buddy. They are sure smart. This young man is my second lab. I finally have gotten my wife to see just how great big dogs are. She used to be a cat lover but no more.

cats are ok, but, i love dogs, always have.

[Marshal harpoluke]

I've been doing some serious searching on the Butcher Collection this week for a research project.  We often think from stories and the dress in the pictures that all homesteaders were dirt poor.  Not always.  Any way I found this one, this fella despite the family being a bit ragged has some goods worth some money.  The date is 1889 or 1890 (a typo says 1990) any way he has a new-fangled repeating shotgun and what is more interesting is the dog.  It sure looks like a Lab to me and as a lover of these fine dogs (my new pup is asleep under my antique wooden rocker as I type) I know that they had just started coming in from Labrador on the east coast about this time and were a bit pricey.

Anyway this fella sure seems to have one, with the railroad creeping into the sandhills and the vast amount of natural lakes in the area,  I bet this fella shipped a few barrels of ducks back east in the fall and spring.

The number on the file is the number in the collection, if you want to see the full picture got to:

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award98/nbhihtml/pshome.html

Intristing photo,  the shotgun apears to be later-- it has the 2-piece lever that was standard on the1901 like Mine.  It appears to be a 10ga. with a standard barrel and stock 2 screw forarm.  Mine is similar except it has a 21" heavy barrel and is set up as a riot gun--all origanal.  Is the date accurate?

The 1901 wasn't releassed till 1895 (the last date of manufacture) Most 1887's had solid levers--some were later retrofited by Winchester.

Can You shed any light on this?

Nice Dog.

The number on my file will get you it by typing it into the search.

[Black River Smith]

Did we ever get a response about Marshal harpoluke comment to the time frame of this Butcher picture.  The Marshal quoted Dels statement then accidentally typed inside the quote rather than outside it.  I am just copying the Marshal's statement below in hopes of getting a clearer understanding of the possible time frame that these pictures portray/come from.  Could be anywhere from 6 to 10 yrs later than listed if the Marshal's observations are correct.  I don't have the picture enhancing capabilities that some do.

"""""Intristing photo,  the shotgun apears to be later-- it has the 2-piece lever that was standard on the1901 like Mine.  It appears to be a 10ga. with a standard barrel and stock 2 screw forarm.  Mine is similar except it has a 21" heavy barrel and is set up as a riot gun--all origanal.  Is the date accurate?

The 1901 wasn't releassed till 1895 (the last date of manufacture) Most 1887's had solid levers--some were later retrofited by Winchester.

Can You shed any light on this?

Nice Dog.""""

I agree you all have nice looking dogs.  My first was a Black Lab male the lived 12 yrs, now we have a Yellow Lab female.

[Delmonico]

I missed that in the quote.   I'm not as good on these as other guns.  There could be a mistake in the date, but one thing the collection is good at is pegging dates exact.  Butcher kept the negatives and kept notes on them.  I'll go back and look at the picture some more and see what else I can find.

[Books OToole]

see what else I can find.

Metal wheeled carts and pigs.

Therefore any [gun] carts with metal wheels, belong to pig farmers.

Books

[Delmonico]

Good idea Books, reeks of "Unforgiven."

Has anyone got a good picture of a 2 piece 87/01 lever.  Some things I do make it look 2 piece, some 1 piece.  Any 87 experts here?

One thought on the date is that there is a sodhouse that has been added on to with a frame building, in that part of the sandhills by the time the 1901 came out they would have been rare, that is why Butcher stated the project. Most would have went to a frame house by then.   Also notice the amount of elk antlers in the photo, a common animal at the earler date, gone in just a few short years.  The mice and voles eat them pretty fast up there.

[Lone Gunman]

The 1901 wasn't releassed till 1895

    Uh...the 1901 was released in 1901. 

Here's the two levers, I doubt that will show up on the Butcher photo.

[Delmonico]

Ok, that helped, that ain't where I was seeing it.  I would guess the date is right.