Love Immortal: Antique Photographs and Stories of Dogs and Their People

A dog needs a person just like a person needs a dog. Whether as a pet, trained to rescue, tow a pony trap, hunt, or simply as a trusty friend, Anthony Cavo’s charming tribute of 200 antique photos, Love Immortal, proves the joy of partnership. The captioned, annotated black and white images snapped in over twenty countries, mostly between 1840 -1940, can be identified by changes in fashion: the slightly pompous German beaver-felt top hat, young women in their ‘Victorian Whites,’ created in enviable natural fabrics, the huge sleeves or hats displaying the fashion of the day.

While dogs steal the scene as the subject of the book, their people are a lesson in social change. Photographs, more respected before the click of a cell phone, were lastingly treasured as studio portraits or as memories captured in an outdoor setting.

The pages follow no particular sequence, with people and dogs complementing each other. Cavo answers questions we never thought to ask: the first pet shelter opened in 1869, which breeds have fur or hair, and if no dog is around for the occasion, to introduce a suitable a prop dog. Love Immortal offers sheer enjoyment.