In 1907, London medical students protested over a statue raised to a little brown dog. Bonfires burned late into the night. Large groups marched through the streets clashing with police. Gangs were arrested trying to pull down the memorial in midnight raids. Medical “hooligans” stormed meetings of their opposition. Behind this episode was an international conflict between pro-science and anti-vivisection groups. Tensions were high and growing. For some, physiology was growing in triumphal leaps and bounds. For others, science’s use of animals was rising too fast. Laws were ignored, and moral imperatives required action. In 1903, a celebrated libel case made London a hotspot for this debate. Anti-vivisectionists lost in court but used their new brown dog statue to win the propaganda war. Action provoked reaction for the next five years.
Edward K. Ford was an eyewitness. His pamphlet provides a rare on-the-ground account. It also includes key material on legal issues, as well as press and public reaction. His anti-vivisection perspective is plain. This remains essential reading for any study of the brown dog affair, anti-vivisection campaigns, and the history of science in society.
This Euston Grove Press volume produces a complete facsimile of 1908 pamphlet.
The Brown Dog statues are located in Battersea, London (map). The original statue was removed from its original location and destroyed. The second Brown Dog statue is located in Battersea Park and can be visited whenever the Park is open.
Author
Edward K. Ford is an enigma. Nothing is known about him other than he wrote this pamphlet. Most likely, “Edward K. Ford” is a pseudonym for Emilie Augusta Louise Lind af Hageby (1878-1963), who co-founded the Animal Defence and Anti-Vivisection Society.
Details
Ford, Edward K. (1908) The Brown Dog and His Memorial (London: Euston Grove Press), 56 pages. 2013 complete facsimile of 1908 pamphlet.
- ISBN 9781906267346 (paperback) – Available for sale through online retailers, such as Amazon UK, Amazon US, and others.
- ISBN 9781906267339 (ebook Kindle)
- ISBN 9781906267384 (ebook Apple)
A free digital edition is available for viewing and download below and through Internet Archive.
Related Book from Euston Grove Press
- Joe Cain. 2013. The Brown Dog in Battersea Park (London Euston Grove Press), 32p. ISBN 9781906267353.
This is a photoessay of the second brown dog statue in Battersea Park, sculpted by Nicola Hicks, and includes a brief history of the first brown dog statue. It includes original new research into the fate of the first statue and its disappearance.
Read Brown Dog and His Memorial
(This is a large file; it may take several minutes to download. A digital edition also is available through Internet Archive.)