English Victorian ceramic plate - one in a series of dog portraits painted by G. Pederson. Hand-colored transfer print.         
10.5 inches  -  ca. 1905.
Light scratches -  to be expected for its age.  Border trim shows minor loss. Please see details in photos....
                                ONLY ONE AVAILABLE
       The Kennel Club Calendar & Stud Book of 1878 lists the Mastiff "Tom. - Mr. W. Thornley Stoker's, 16 Harcourt Street, Dublin: breeder, Miss Aglionby;  whelped 1874."
 
"Tom" named after Thornley's brother, Tom Stoker, who was at the time serving in the Indian Civil Service.
                             From Dracula (1897):
  " A good deal of interest was abroad concerning the dog which landed when the ship struck, and more than a few of the members of the S.P.C.A., which is very strong in Whitby, have tried to befriend the animal. To the general disappointment, however, it was not to be found. It seems to have disappeared entirely from the town. It may be that it was frightened and made its way on to the moors, where it is still hiding in terror. There are some who look with dread on such a possibility, lest later on it should in itself become a danger, for it is evidently a fierce brute. Early this morning a large dog, a half-bred mastiff belonging to a coal merchant close to Tate Hill Pier, was found dead in the roadway opposite its master's yard. It had been fighting, and manifestly had had a savage opponent, for its throat was torn away, and its belly was slit open as if with a savage claw."
       Webmaster note: In the late 1800's, according to the Mastiff Club of America, "the term 'Mastiff' describes a group of dogs rather than a single breed." This was generally the case in England & Ireland, as well.