Railroad Jack

Help historian @KelliHuggins find out what happened to the long-lost body of train-riding canine celebrity Railroad Jack for her book on Jack & his rival Owney

[Railroad Jack @FindingRRJack]

@Museummutt Right!? This one was a total surprise find!

[Railroad Jack @FindingRRJack]

Been awhile since I Tweeted but take a look at this cool Owney stamp from Liberia. Truly a global figure in life and death!

[Kelli Huggins @KelliHuggins]

New Owney acquisition! It's a 2018 Year of the Dog stamp from Liberia. It's the first non-US Owney stamp I've seen. Don't really know the backstory of how it came to be but it's pretty cool #animalhistory

[Railroad Jack @FindingRRJack]

#Museum30 something tiny: little Owney pins adorning the vest of a little Owney stuffed animal

[Railroad Jack @FindingRRJack]

#Museum30 artwork: tiny Owney sculpture by artist Brad Oldham

[Railroad Jack @FindingRRJack]

#museum30 pests: Owney and Railroad Jack were both great ratters, but they were no match for Oval Jack, official ratter of the Duluth, MN Booth Packaging Co. He was notorious for jumping through windows or down elevator shafts after rats

[Kelli Huggins @KelliHuggins]

#museum30 spoon: One of my favorite pieces of Owney ephemera I've come across in my @FindingRRJack project is this commemorative spoon for the exhibit of Owney's taxidermied body at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. I love the little details. Photos from the National Postal Museum

[Railroad Jack @FindingRRJack]

Stay tuned for some Railroad Jack and Owney #Museum30 content this November

[Kelli Huggins @KelliHuggins]

I've debated doing #Museum30 this year because I'm museum-adjacent but I'm in! Who am I? Educator, massive book nerd, excellent furniture mover (other duties as assigned), historian of weirdness, baking aficionado, bad artist. I'll probably do some tweets from @FindingRRJack too

[Railroad Jack @FindingRRJack]

@KTDidz Ha! That's about the only explanation people didn't use! I kind of with they did though

[Railroad Jack @FindingRRJack]

Polishing a chapter about lore around the dogs and you will not believe just how many different explanations people came up with to explain how Owney lost his eye. So. Many. Stories.

[Railroad Jack @FindingRRJack]

A dog taxidermy diagram from 1900 for your spooky season viewing pleasure

[Railroad Jack @FindingRRJack]

This kind of story feels vaguely familiar for some reason...

[Reuters @Reuters]

Boji the street dog has become a regular sight on ferries, buses and metro trains in Istanbul, Europe’s largest city.

A devoted commuter, the dog enjoys long journeys on public transport, up to 30 kilometers on a regular week day https://t.co/usY6ap7nCe 1/5

[Railroad Jack @FindingRRJack]

What do Railroad Jack and Owney have to do with 19th century dime novel culture? Quite a bit, I think! Doing some reading to polish up my argument.

[Railroad Jack @FindingRRJack]

@Museummutt Wow! Do you have designs I don't? I'm genuinely curious how many there have been.

[Railroad Jack @FindingRRJack]

Guess who has four different Owney mugs now? Here's the newest acquisition. Just how many designs are out there?!?

[Railroad Jack @FindingRRJack]

So that's my 10 favorites (there are a bunch of others who could have just as easily been on this list, too!). Which are your favorite dogs in history? #NationalDogDay #InternationalDogDay

[Railroad Jack @FindingRRJack]

For #InternationalDogDay, a thread of my top 10 favorite late 19th century dogs currently making an appearance in this project. #NationalDogDay

[Railroad Jack @FindingRRJack]

#1 Railroad Jack, terrier, Albany, NY
Of course, Jack is my top dog. The contemporary and rival of Owney, you know I think Jack deserves far more recognition.