Our Dumb Animals

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Our Dumb Animals
Our Dumb Animals Vol 1 No 1 (June 2, 1868) front page.png
Front page of the first issue of Our Dumb Animals (June 2, 1868)
1st editor George T. Angell (1868–1909)
2nd editorGuy Richardson (1909–1943)
3rd editorWilliam A. Swallow (1943–1968)
Categories Animal welfare
FrequencyMonthly
Publisher Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
FounderGeorge T. Angell
First issueJune 2, 1868;157 years ago (1868-06-02)
Final issue
Number		March 1970;55 years ago (1970-03)
Vol 103 No 3
CountryUnited States
Based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States
LanguageEnglish
ISSN 0275-2476
OCLC 977896424

Our Dumb Animals was an American animal welfare magazine published monthly from 1868 to 1970 by the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA). Founded and originally edited by George T. Angell, it has been described as the first periodical in the United States devoted entirely to animal welfare and kindness toward animals. The magazine reported on cases of animal cruelty, legislative developments, and the work of the MSPCA and related organisations. It also promoted humane education through essays, fiction, and visual material, including a regular "Children's Department" aimed at encouraging compassion for animals.

Contents

Following Angell's death in 1909, the magazine was edited by Guy Richardson and later by William A. Swallow, who oversaw its publication until the late 1960s. Our Dumb Animals was succeeded in 1970 by a new magazine titled Animals. The publication is recognised for its influence on the early American humane movement and its role in promoting humane values through education and advocacy.

Founding

George T. Angell, founder and editor of Our Dumb Animals George Thorndike Angell.jpg
George T. Angell, founder and editor of Our Dumb Animals

Our Dumb Animals was founded in 1868 by George T. Angell, a Boston lawyer and humanitarian who became a leading figure in the early American animal protection movement. Angell was inspired to act after witnessing the deaths of two horses in a race in 1866, an event that prompted his lifelong commitment to humane education and advocacy for animals. Influenced by Henry Bergh, who had founded the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in New York, Angell established the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and launched Our Dumb Animals as the society's official magazine to promote humane values and raise public awareness of animal cruelty. [1]

By the time of his death in 1909, Angell had become widely known as "the friend of animals". [1] Through Our Dumb Animals and his leadership of the MSPCA and the American Humane Education Society, he helped to establish thousands of Bands of Mercy across the United States and abroad, encouraging children to pledge kindness toward all living creatures. [1]

History

Our Dumb Animals was first published on June 2, 1868, with a subscription fee of US$ 1 per year, payable in advance. [2] It was published monthly by the MSPCA, and in later years was also issued by the American Humane Education Society and the Band of Mercy of America. [3]

More than 200,000 copies of the first issue were distributed, including 25,000 handed out by Boston police officers. [4] Complimentary copies were also sent to newspaper editors, legislators, clergy, and teachers. [5]

Following Angell's death in 1909, Our Dumb Animals was edited by Guy Richardson, [6] who later served as secretary of the MSPCA. [7] After Richardson's retirement in 1943, the position was taken over by William A. Swallow, [8] who from 1943 to 1968 served as vice president, secretary, and member of the board of directors of the MSPCA, the American Humane Education Society, and the Angell Memorial Animal Hospital in Boston. [9]

The final issue of the magazine was published in March 1970. [3] In May 1970, it was succeeded by a new bimonthly publication titled Animals. [10]

Title and motto

The word "dumb" in the magazine's title referred to animals' inability to speak rather than to a lack of intelligence. [11] Each cover carried the motto "We Speak For Those Who Cannot Speak For Themselves". [12]

Content

Cover of Our Dumb Animals (May 1915) Our Dumb Animals - May 1915 cover (cropped).jpg
Cover of Our Dumb Animals (May 1915)

The magazine featured reports on the MSPCA's activities and members, updates on pending legislation. [5] It also published accounts of animal cruelty, often juxtaposed with depictions of the animals' intelligence and loyalty to highlight the contrast between human and animal behavior. [5] [13]

It also included material on humane education, such as essays and fictional animal morality tales, [5] and a regular "Children's Department" with stories and illustrations encouraging kindness toward animals. The magazine made extensive use of visual material, including reproductions of animal paintings by Edwin Landseer and Rosa Bonheur. [12]

Legacy

Our Dumb Animals was featured in the exhibition Be Kind: A Visual History of Humane Education as an important publication in the early American humane movement. The exhibition described it as the first magazine in the United States devoted to animal welfare and kindness toward all species. Its success was said to have inspired similar publications and contributed to the growth of humane education. The magazine was also noted for combining educational content with visual design, helping to shape early efforts to communicate humane values through print media. [12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "GEORGE T. ANGELL DEAD.; Known Here and Abroad as 'the Friend of Animals.'". The New York Times . March 17, 1909. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved October 26, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Our Dumb Animals". Our Dumb Animals. Vol. 1, no. 1. Boston: Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. June 2, 1868. p. 1. Retrieved October 26, 2025.
  3. 1 2 "Our Dumb Animals". University of St Andrews Library . Retrieved October 26, 2025.
  4. ↑ "George Thorndike Angell". MSPCA-Angell . Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Freeberg, Ernest (2020). A Traitor to his Species: Henry Bergh and the Birth of the Animal Rights Movement. New York: Basic Books. pp. 33–34. ISBN   978-0-465-09386-1.
  6. ↑ "Our Dumb Animals". Our Dumb Animals. Vol. 41, no. 11. Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. April 1909. p. 175. Retrieved October 26, 2025. Articles for this paper may be sent to Guy RICHARDSON, Secretary, 19 Milk St.
  7. ↑ "Activities for Dumb Animals Are Continued". The Cambridge Tribune . Vol. L, no. 23. Cambridge, Massachusetts. August 6, 1927. p. 3. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
  8. ↑ "New Editor". Our Dumb Animals. Vol. 76, no. 5. Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. May 1943. p. 90. Retrieved October 26, 2025. We are pleased to announce that William A. Swallow has been appointed Editor of Our Dumb Animals, to succeed Guy Richardson, lately retired.
  9. ↑ Rolle, Elisa. "Woodside Cemetery, Yarmouth Port, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, USA". Queer Places. Retrieved October 26, 2025.
  10. ↑ "Animals (Boston, Mass.)". Commerce Research Library. Retrieved October 26, 2025.
  11. ↑ Preece, Rod (2011). Animals and Nature: Cultural Myths, Cultural Realities. UBC Press. pp. 34–35. ISBN   978-0-7748-4220-4.
  12. 1 2 3 "Our Dumb Animals". Be Kind: A Visual History of Humane Education. June 27, 2012. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  13. ↑ Song, Hoon (2011). Pigeon Trouble: Bestiary Biopolitics in a Deindustrialized America. University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 56–57. ISBN   978-0-8122-0009-6.
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