by David Urmston | Apr 11, 2024 | Article Archives
The Resurrection of the London Fancy Canary Printable Version of Article The London Fancy canary is nothing if not an enigma. Doubts have even been expressed as to whether this ancient breed did ever exist as a distinct breed of canary. Long since extinct, efforts...
by Steve Feinberg | Apr 11, 2024 | Article Archives
My Life in the Pet Industry – Part 1 Printable Version of Article My name is Steve Feinberg. I spent 45 years working in the pet industry. It never really felt like work. My involvement with pets started when I was 10 years old. My neighbor gave me a chrome and...
by Emiliano Spada | Mar 8, 2024 | Article Archives
History of Faux Bois Aquariums Printable Version of Article Faux bois aquariums are relics of a time when even utilitarian things such as a fish tank looked like small works of art. Their rustic appearance is very far from the minimalistic design of modern aquariums...
by Lee Finley | Mar 8, 2024 | Article Archives
Barnum’s Sticklebacks Printable Version of Article SMALLER THAN TOM THUMB; MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN A CIRCASSIAN LADY AND MORE EXCITING THAN “UNCLE TOM’S CABIN” – LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, P.T. BARNUM PRESENTS…“THE BREEDING STICKLEBACK.” [Author’s Note: The above...
by David Urmston | Mar 8, 2024 | Article Archives
The Roller Canary Printable Version of Article In a previous article I wrote abut my grandfather’s involvement with the trapping of wild birds, his other involvement with birds centred around the breeding of roller canaries. We lived in the north of England in an area...
by Lee Finley | Feb 12, 2024 | Article Archives, Dogs and Cats of Yesteryear
William Alford Lloyd, the Aquarist, and His Cat, Mim Printable Version of Article UPFRONT William Alford Lloyd is one of the greats of 19th Century aquarists – in many ways possibly the greatest of them all. It feels a bit strange doing a piece where his name is first...
by Emiliano Spada | Jan 5, 2024 | Article Archives
Easiest “Pet” Ever Printable Version of Article The year 1975, in the United States, was definitely one to remember for multiple interesting reasons and historical highlights. Let me bring you back in time. Gerald R. Ford Jr. was president of the country,...
by Robert Krause | Jan 5, 2024 | Article Archives
The Hamster Market & CritterTrail Printable Version of Article As a young boy through my teenage years, my passion for turtles always found me stopping to visit and explore pet stores every chance I got. Most pet stores concentrated on either tropical fish or...
by Sharon Weintraub | Dec 8, 2023 | Article Archives
William Goebel’s Wonderful Water-Folk Printable Version of Article In my November 3, 2023, article for this website entitled “Who Made These Mermaids,” I discussed the fact that although aquarium catalogs around the turn of the last century swarmed with schools of...
by Emiliano Spada | Dec 8, 2023 | Article Archives
The Heikomobile: No Compromise Printable Version of Article Born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, in 1944, Heiko Bleher is a living legend and a true icon of the aquarium industry. I have always thought of him as the natural heir of Auguste Rabaut and Percy Fawcett, but...
by Emiliano Spada | Nov 3, 2023 | Article Archives
William Alford Lloyd: the Unpublished Letters of a Great Aquarium Pioneer Printable Version of Article Even though in today’s world you can get almost anything while sitting comfortably in front of your computer, in many cases I still prefer doing things in person....
by Phil Cooper | Nov 3, 2023 | Article Archives
O’Dell Manufacturing History and Recollections Printable Version of Article I owned a pet store in Bay City, Michigan in 1970 and had a very good customer named Clark O’Dell. He’d come in regularly and buy fish and as our friendship grew, we even split the cost...
by Sharon Weintraub | Nov 3, 2023 | Article Archives
Who Made these Mermaids? Printable Version of Article Aquarium catalogs around the turn of the last century are swimming with schools of mermaids for ornamenting aquariums. Unfortunately, other than typically describing these undulating ondines as “imported,” the...
by Lee Finley | Nov 3, 2023 | Article Archives
DIY – Building your own Aquarium in 1862 Printable Version of Article As I believe I’ve noted before in this forum my main interest in the history of aquariums is firmly rooted in the 19th century. In the early stages of aquarium use in the United States there...
by MOAPH | Oct 6, 2023 | Article Archives
The William T. Innes Photo Tank Printable Version of Article William T. Innes is a legend in the aquarium hobby. Innes was a publisher of one of the longest-running aquarium magazines, called “The Aquarium”, plus a printer, publisher, photographer, and aquarist. MOAPH...
by David Urmston | Oct 6, 2023 | Article Archives
Catching Pet Birds for a Living – 100 Years Ago Printable Version of Article This is a great new article from a lifetime bird keeper and bird breeder. This article is about how his grandfather trapped and sold native pet birds in the UK to support his family....
by Sue Brown | Oct 6, 2023 | Article Archives
Our Story – FM Brown Printable Version of Article It’s seldom (maybe never) that you find a pet company that has been privately held and run for six generations! Here is the history of the F.M. Brown’s Company, which sells products for pet birds, small animals,...
by Emiliano Spada | Sep 8, 2023 | Article Archives
Collecting Marine Life for a 19th-Century Public Aquarium Printable Version of Article January 26, 1874. On the ground floor of the Zoological Station at Naples, a revolutionary research center on marine biology located in southern Italy, the Naples aquarium opened to...
by Joseph Ferdenzi | Sep 8, 2023 | Article Archives
My Balanced Aquarium Experiment Thank you to the Greater City Aquarium Society for publishing this article and allowing the museum to share...
by Andy Black | Sep 8, 2023 | Article Archives
Look What I Found Tucked Away in a Cupboard For those who are incredibly new to the pet industry, and for some who might not even been born when this was a thing, the image above is the Pets.com sock puppet. A friend bought me this as a piece of pet industry...
by Frank Williams | Sep 8, 2023 | Article Archives
Meet the...
by Robert Ellerman | Sep 8, 2023 | Article Archives, Gone But Not Forgotten
Al Klee Memorial To the majority of aquarium hobbyists today, unless they are interested in the hobby’s history, the name Al Klee probably means nothing. To hobbyists active from the early 1950’s until the early 1970’s, the name Al Klee is...
by Gary Bagnall | Sep 8, 2023 | Article Archives, Gone But Not Forgotten
Bob Mailloux Memorial We are deeply saddened by the news of Bob Mailloux’s passing on August 26, 2023. Gary Bagnall reflected on their longtime friendship: “The one constant as you get older is that you lose your older friends. This past week, we lost a true icon and...
by Emiliano Spada | Aug 4, 2023 | Article Archives
Antique Portraits of Aquarium Life from the Zoological Station at Naples Printable Version of Article The first photograph of a living fish (a pike) was taken in 1853, at the Fish House of Regent’s Park Zoological Gardens (London), by Don Juan Carlos María Isidro de...
