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"Pep" the prison dog...
"Pep" the prison dog...
Item # 645378
January 15, 1926
THE NEW YORK TIMES, January 15, 1926
* "Pep" the prison dog
* Eastern State Penitentiary
* Governor Clifford Pinchot
Page 20 has an editorial headed: "The Penitentiary Dog" which seems to change of the story the media described as a "cat-murdering" dog being sent to prison to something more realistic. (see)
Other news, sports and advertisements of the day. Complete in 44 pages, a little spine wear, nice condition.
source: daily mail.com: He was known as the Pennsylvania cat-murderer, a vicious hound sentenced to life imprisonment at Eastern State Penitentiary for the grisly killing of the governor's moggie.
In his prison mugshot from 1924, he is seen with ears drooping backwards, an identification number hanging form around his neck looking decisively guilty.
According to newspapers stories at the time, Pep the Black Labrador attacked and killed a cat belonging to the wife of Pennsylvania's then governor Gifford Pinchot.
But he was framed. Pep was actually entirely innocent, and his actual offence was nothing more serious than chewing the cushions of the sofa on the governor's front porch.
Owner: Pep had been a gift to Pennsylvania Governor Gifford Pinchot
Owner: Pep had been a gift to Pennsylvania Governor Gifford Pinchot
The account of him killing the cat was entirely fictitious, made up by a newspaper reporter taking a touch more than his fair share of journalistic licence.
The editor loved the story as it was frequently reprinted bearing the mugshot picture.
Governor Pinchot's son would later recall how his father was inundated with 'absolutely thousands of letters' about Pep and his prison sentence.
Of course the real story is far less exciting. Pep was originally a gift to Pennsylvania Governor from the nephew of his wife Cornelia Bryce Pinchot.
Category: The 20th Century
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