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Love Immortal: Antique Photographs and Stories of Dogs and Their People
An artfully designed compendium of 200 antiquarian photographs, all published here for the first time—including daguerrotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes, cartes de visite, and sepia and black-and-white images—culled from the private collection of longtime antiques collector, dealer, and appraiser Anthony Cavo, accompanied by an entertaining mix of historical anecdotes, true stories, excerpts from literature, letters, quotes, and fun facts.
“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.”—Anatole France Dogs have been beloved companions since the dawn of humankind. With the advent of photography in the nineteenth century, this love was immortalized for the first time on film. While the clothing and the hairstyles of yesteryear may be very different—and intriguing to the modern eye—in these photos, the evident love between pet and owner is unmistakable, and remains as poignant today as when these images were taken. An avid collector of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century photographs for more than fifty years, Anthony Cavo has amassed an enormous catalog of antique photography, including hundreds of shots of people and their dogs. From this huge array, he has carefully curated 200 extraordinary pictures. These photos were taken from approximately 1840 to 1930 and offer a wide display of both candid and formal studio poses. Cavo arranges his subjects thematically and combines different photographic formats and images from different eras to create visual interest—whether the mix features a particular breed, a selection of images in shadow, or two images identical in pose but taken decades apart or in vastly different locations. In his introduction, Cavo offers a personal overview of this incredible treasury, which provides background on his lifelong experience as a collector and dog lover as well as touches briefly on photography’s birth and various forms in its earliest years. Hehas gathered not only a fascinating array of facts, history, quotes, and anecdotes about dogs which he sprinkles among these charming and fascinating photographs, but enhances the viewing experience for the reader through pointing out details, such as style trends, that help identify when an image was taken Here, too, are delightful anecdotes, from kidnapped pups who escaped and found their way home to devoted dogs who saved their owners’ lives. Cavo offers fun insights into the history of our association with pets, information on a range of breeds, and tips about animal care throughout the ages. Here are touching true stories, quotes from famous historical figures, and a cornucopia of miscellaneous trivia, such as: The ultimate companion book on humans’ favorite animal companion, Love Immortal is essential for all devoted to dogs, animal lovers, those with an interest in photography , and miscellany buffs.
“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.”—Anatole France Dogs have been beloved companions since the dawn of humankind. With the advent of photography in the nineteenth century, this love was immortalized for the first time on film. While the clothing and the hairstyles of yesteryear may be very different—and intriguing to the modern eye—in these photos, the evident love between pet and owner is unmistakable, and remains as poignant today as when these images were taken. An avid collector of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century photographs for more than fifty years, Anthony Cavo has amassed an enormous catalog of antique photography, including hundreds of shots of people and their dogs. From this huge array, he has carefully curated 200 extraordinary pictures. These photos were taken from approximately 1840 to 1930 and offer a wide display of both candid and formal studio poses. Cavo arranges his subjects thematically and combines different photographic formats and images from different eras to create visual interest—whether the mix features a particular breed, a selection of images in shadow, or two images identical in pose but taken decades apart or in vastly different locations. In his introduction, Cavo offers a personal overview of this incredible treasury, which provides background on his lifelong experience as a collector and dog lover as well as touches briefly on photography’s birth and various forms in its earliest years. Hehas gathered not only a fascinating array of facts, history, quotes, and anecdotes about dogs which he sprinkles among these charming and fascinating photographs, but enhances the viewing experience for the reader through pointing out details, such as style trends, that help identify when an image was taken Here, too, are delightful anecdotes, from kidnapped pups who escaped and found their way home to devoted dogs who saved their owners’ lives. Cavo offers fun insights into the history of our association with pets, information on a range of breeds, and tips about animal care throughout the ages. Here are touching true stories, quotes from famous historical figures, and a cornucopia of miscellaneous trivia, such as: The ultimate companion book on humans’ favorite animal companion, Love Immortal is essential for all devoted to dogs, animal lovers, those with an interest in photography , and miscellany buffs.
240 pages, Hardcover
Published August 30, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
November 11, 2022
A lot of interesting little tidbits of information about photography through the ages, and lots of dogs. That makes anything instantly better. It also shows that we have always been this stupidly obsessed with our animals. My favorite photo was one from the 1910's that was, if I remember rightly 15" by 16" (which back then was EXPENSIVE) of a man standing next to his dog, with the dog in a wooden go-cart. This man shelled out MONEY to have a photo of his dog in a go-cart.
Cavo does mention how interesting it is that so many people chose to be photographed with their dogs, and how it shows how much people love their animals. I'm not refuting any of that, but what really stuck out in my mind was old photos that itinerant photographers took of homesteads out west. These people would pull out their most important possessions to be in the photo with them. One that sticks out is the family that pulled their singer sewing machine out and set it on the front porch along with a very nice rocking chair, a pair of hitched horses, and two dogs. In some of these old photos, people enjoyed showing off things they were proud of, and obvious we have always been proud of our good boys and girls. It also brought to mind that one photo of the flu pandemic of 1918 where an entire family posed for a photo, and everyone wore a mask, including the family cat. I take some comfort in realizing that yes, we as a people have always been this weird.
Cavo does mention how interesting it is that so many people chose to be photographed with their dogs, and how it shows how much people love their animals. I'm not refuting any of that, but what really stuck out in my mind was old photos that itinerant photographers took of homesteads out west. These people would pull out their most important possessions to be in the photo with them. One that sticks out is the family that pulled their singer sewing machine out and set it on the front porch along with a very nice rocking chair, a pair of hitched horses, and two dogs. In some of these old photos, people enjoyed showing off things they were proud of, and obvious we have always been proud of our good boys and girls. It also brought to mind that one photo of the flu pandemic of 1918 where an entire family posed for a photo, and everyone wore a mask, including the family cat. I take some comfort in realizing that yes, we as a people have always been this weird.
September 13, 2025
I PURPOSELY TOOK MONTHS TO READ THIS BEAUTIFUL BOOK! I treated this book as a special treat to myself. I wanted to save it, like a fine bottle of perfume, or wine or cognac. I would sit down and ever so often, flip through and read each page. The photos are all at once haunting and beautiful, his commentary and knowledge is amazing, I learned a lot of interesting facts about history and dogs, and this is one of the most special books I think I have in my collection. I even gave a gift of this book to my elderly mom who loved it. It’s a coffee table book that also reads like a Time Machine! Pictures, the periods it touches on, the types of dogs in the book, it is all just a perfect mix of a wonderful, beautiful book. This would make a wonderful gift for anyone who loves dogs. It could easily be read, covered to cover in a day, but will be something to flip through often. I loved every page.
September 6, 2022
An absolutely beautiful must read. Well done by Dr. Cavo.
January 27, 2026
I love antique photographs.
I love dogs.
Put them together and how could I not love this book of 200 photos, taken between 1840 and 1930, all of them showing dogs with their humans?
I'm a dog lover and I've always been fascinated by the fact that throughout history, artists and photographers have chosen to include dogs in their family photos and paintings. I do the same. My father grew up in poverty and only three photos exist of him between the ages of three and 18 yet, when he passed away, we found amongst his 'treasures' a photo of their family dog from when he was a young boy. Here was a family that couldn't afford to take photos of their humans, yet someone had managed to secure a of photo of their dog. And my dad had kept it for over 70 years. That says something.
There isn’t a lot of text in the book, but that’s OK because the focus is, rightfully, on the wonderful photos of dogs and their people. The author doesn’t have much information on most of the people/dogs featured (sometimes he doesn’t even have a precise year in which a photo was taken), but the emotion comes through in the photos. Much of the text focuses on the different types of photography and its history, which is interesting, plus other snippets such as clothing styles of the day and historical fun facts.
Bonus: the book itself is absolutely beautiful, with a cover and binding that makes it look like an antique itself. It would make a lovely gift for a dog lover.
March 28, 2024
The photos were all sweet, and some were surprisingly sharp in resolution for having been taken with primitive photo technology. Re: text content, the book was at its best when describing the photos: the (presumed) breed of dog, fashions of the time, photo technology of the time, various features of the composition of the photo, etc. I definitely learned some things about dog breeds and characteristics, historic fashion, and photo technology!
It also included some modern-day interludes (e.g., don't ever let your dog put its head out the window of a car, "pit bull" is actually several breeds and they might still be dangerous to you, a story about a recent rescue dog who became an accidental diabetic alert dog) that seemed out of place at least, and irresponsible at worst ("while there may be cogent arguments on both sides of the pit bull debate"? um, no, there aren't really). The book could've done without these and still been delightful.
It also included some modern-day interludes (e.g., don't ever let your dog put its head out the window of a car, "pit bull" is actually several breeds and they might still be dangerous to you, a story about a recent rescue dog who became an accidental diabetic alert dog) that seemed out of place at least, and irresponsible at worst ("while there may be cogent arguments on both sides of the pit bull debate"? um, no, there aren't really). The book could've done without these and still been delightful.
April 13, 2023
Well done. Beautiful covers and crafting all around too.
It's more than just photos of antique age- as it is filled with context information. Some of which truly is fodder for thought about base issues and realities for those pictured periods of time.
I really loved the pages of opposing pictures with the naming of layers for women's clothing in them. Beyond their dogs, the women lost at least 3 layers of clothing within that spanning century. There was a minimum of 4 layers of full body clothing during the Victorian century. How could you remain unheated? No wonder so many females were fainting and swooning.
So many photos are babies and children with their pet dogs. So many sailor suits.
Bonds so deliciously displayed! Well worth more than a couple of sit downs for this one.
It's more than just photos of antique age- as it is filled with context information. Some of which truly is fodder for thought about base issues and realities for those pictured periods of time.
I really loved the pages of opposing pictures with the naming of layers for women's clothing in them. Beyond their dogs, the women lost at least 3 layers of clothing within that spanning century. There was a minimum of 4 layers of full body clothing during the Victorian century. How could you remain unheated? No wonder so many females were fainting and swooning.
So many photos are babies and children with their pet dogs. So many sailor suits.
Bonds so deliciously displayed! Well worth more than a couple of sit downs for this one.
September 21, 2022
A very thoughtfully composed photojournal that highlights images of dogs and their owners in the 19th and early 20th Century. Each photo invites careful consideration by the reader as many share the original captions or historical insights and cultural trivia.
Unfortunately, by using a sepia tone with the photos, corresponding printing was difficult to read-especially when paired with an extremely small font.
Nevertheless, this was a charming work filled with sentimentally nostalgic glimpses of life from long ago which attest to the eternal bond that dogs will always share with their owners. A must for anyone who has ever owned and loved a dog.
Unfortunately, by using a sepia tone with the photos, corresponding printing was difficult to read-especially when paired with an extremely small font.
Nevertheless, this was a charming work filled with sentimentally nostalgic glimpses of life from long ago which attest to the eternal bond that dogs will always share with their owners. A must for anyone who has ever owned and loved a dog.
November 30, 2022
This book brought me such genuine joy - seeing visual proof of the bond between human and dog from about 1840 to 1930 was such a delight. The author also provided plenty of interesting information about dogs, the history and technicalities of photography, and even dating antique photographs - I actually found that I learned quite a bit. In addition, there are some wonderful anecdotes about loyal dogs that warmed my heart. I highly recommend this for any dog lover.
December 15, 2022
What a wonderful book. I wasn’t sure I would enjoy this book that a friend gave me for Christmas. The pictures and accompanying text were delightful and edifying. I thought I knew a lot about my best friends but there is always more to learn! And about their owners too.
December 22, 2022
This was lovely :-) Exactly what it says on the tin!
December 27, 2022
Really fun to look at.
January 8, 2023
Just plain fun and full if cute dog pictures
April 2, 2024
If you love dogs and old vintage B&W photos, this book is for you. It's just beautiful to look at.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews