Early Portrait Photos of Victorian People Posing With Their Pets

Victorians kept pets for a variety of reasons. Pedigree dogs conveyed class and status, cats caught mice, and rabbits could be eaten when times were hard. But evidence from interviews, diaries, photographs and the numerous newly created pet cemeteries suggests that, above all, emotional attachment was a crucial part of the relationship between most Victorians and their pets.

Dogs, for example, were held to have virtuous characteristics that echoed the values of the Victorian human world – they were seen as steadfast, loyal and courageous.

Here below is a set of lovely photos that shows portraits of Victorian people posing with their pets in the mid-19th century.