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I am a collector of vintage dog books and photographs. Since I arrived back in the city of Indianapolis, I’ve been having a difficult time walking four dogs on leashes and taking photos of our adventures all at the same time. So… sitting in my office yesterday, I looked up and saw some of my framed, antique images on the wall and hard-bound, first editions on the shelves and thought they might be interesting to share with fellow dog and history-lovers.

In 2005, I purchased this photograph at the wonderful Second Edition Bookstore (http://www.secondeditionbooksbutte.com/) in Butte, Montana. No information came with it other that a note penciled on the back reading, “Grandmom’s Dad,” which I assume correlates with the X above the second man from the right. I love everything about this scene: the men and woman dressed up in old, yet formal garb posing on a snow-packed mountain somewhere at high elevation, and the dog handler kneeling below the group with a string of working dogs that appear to be maybe Samoyeds.

Who are these people? Exactly what is the breeding of these dogs and what are they being used for? Who is the one woman in the photo? Where did they come from? And where did they go after this photo was taken? Who is the photographer? And how did this photo get to a used bookstore in Butte, Montana and then end up in a writer’s suburban Indianapolis home? 

Life is a string ~~~ we are all connected.