Dog Larger Than a Ship Occupies the Foreground in Oakland's Ancient Seal - Oakland Tribune, 18 Jul 1909, Sun, Page 6

Dog Larger Than a Ship Occupies the Foreground in Oakland's Ancient Seal

The Seal of the City of Oakland Showing a Horse As Large As a House and a Dog Larger Than a Full Rigged Ship. This Is the Seal Mayor Mott Wishes to Have changed.

Mayor Mott Wants New Emblem for the City

Old Design Is Famed as a Freak in Art

THE city of Oakland is to adopt a new seal. Mayor Mott is preparing a message to the Council on the subject, suggesting the adoption of another official symbol of the municipality, and there is no doubt that the legislative body of the city, which is in accord with the executive department of the same, will take affirmative action upon the suggestion.

For years Oakland has been acquiring the extent and the importance of a metropolis. Her business has quadrupled, her population has increased beyond precedent in this section of the country, while her new business structures, in many respects, have no superiors in beauty of design, richness of interior decoration and completeness of appointments on the Pacific coast. 

Seal 56 Years Ago

Regardless of these facts, however, the seal of the city is the same today as it was fifty-six years ago, when Oakland, at that time a town, was little more than one year old.

Generally speaking, the designs of municipal seals do not add to the effectiveness of the document which they are used in certifying to, but the aim of cities in adopting such designs is to have them representative of the natural resources and the varied industries, or otherwise, for which they are noted.

Ordinarily speaking, it may be assumed that the residents of this city or the trustees of the town after its incorporation could have no idea of the extent to which the home of their adoption was to grow when they ordered and accepted the seal in question, and, as a consequence, while, in some respects the symbol is to be commended, at the same time, it must be said that it is a poor and indeed grotesque representative of the extent and importance of the Oakland of the present day.

Oakland as it was

According to the present seal, Oakland has a row of cigar-box looking structures on its main street. The spire of a little church which once stood on Tenth street, between Broadway and Franklin, is extended until it pierces, the clouds. The background is the Berkeley hills and their crown of redwoods. In the foreground there is a view of the waterfront, showing steamers and selling vessels plowing the undredged waters of what was known as the estuary of San Antonio, now Oakland harbor, together, also with vessels moored to a wharf scarcely large enough to resist the efforts of a fishing boat in a blow from towing it out to sea.

Fac-Simile of Town Records Adopting Seal As Designed.

The most remarkable feature of all, however, is the use to which, according to the design, the wharf is put. There is no evidence of a cargo discharged or merchandise of any kind awaiting shipment, but instead, on the outermost end there is an elegant representation of dog, and on the end nearest the shore there is the figure of a horse suggestive of nothing save the life-size sign of an equine used by up-to-date saddlers. 

Dog as Large as Ship

The presence of a dog and a horse on a city seal, as it is, is rendered all the more ridiculous by the fact that these animals occupy all the available space and the horse appears to be larger than the then business structures which range away from the wharf to the foothills, while the head of the dog on its haunches is almost on on a level with the truck of the foremast of bark tied to the wharf.

Autograph of A. W. Barrell, One of Trustees, Who Accepted the Seal.

History does not inform us that Oakland was especially engaged in those days in the horse business, not even in the canine industry, but there is no doubt about the fact that the seal then adopted placed both those activities on an even plane with the commerce and trade which were represented by scudding and steaming craft of many styles and dimensions. 

Dog Has a History

Descendants of some of the men who were trustees of the town have an explanation for the prominence which was given to the dog in the seal, but at this writing, no light has been shed on the subject as to how the horse attained to such distinction.

Fac-Simile of Clerk Huributt's Records of Trustees Ordering Seal to Be Designed. 

The dog represented was a pet animal of General Horace W. Carpentier, who was a leading factor in the early history of Oakland. It was Carpentier who succeeded in getting the waterfront of this city transferred to him in return for a little school, a transfer which has since been the cause of much rancorous controversy among citizens, much litigation and an indescribable amount of annoyance, to say nothing of the loss which has been sustained by the city by the obstacle it placed in the way of manufacturing and commercial development.

Happily, however, there now seems to be an end to all this annoyance by a final decision of the court, vesting the ownership of the waterfront in the municipality of Oakland, a decision which is to be commemorated by a bond issue which will supply money with which to erect piers and wharves along the harbor at points convenient to shipping, manufacturing and commercial centers.

At the time of the transfer in question Carpentier, although not an official of the town, had undoubtedly considerable influence with the then trustees, and it is said that this influence enabled him to have his dog go down to history as one of the most prominent exemplars on the coat-of-arms, first of the town, and later, of the city of Oakland.

For fifty-six years that dog has been on the die and thousands and thousands of impressions of him have been made on legal papers which have gone to all parts of the world. It is needless to say that the figure of the dog has attracted more attention than has any other feature of the design, and the discovery of his prominence there has led to speculation as to the taste of the artist or the engraver who would incorporate in a design which was intended to be a dignified symbol of a growing community a character apparently meaningless and unimportant.

Caused Surprise

The fact, however, that the dog belonged to General Carpentier raised him above the consideration generally accorded the average canine of the time, and, as General Carpentier had his way about most things in those peculiar times, it required no more than a suggestion to the clerk of the town and the town trustees that the dog be placed on the seal and the suggestion was complied with greatly to the surprise, the amusement and the mortification of three generations, according as these generations have viewed the purpose of a seal of state.

Aside from the fact that the dog belonged to Carpentier, and that it was as prominent on the seal of Oakland as were the endices [sic] of Oakland's commerce, it had other distinctions, among them the fact that it had been the cause of considerable litigation, and that its name was "Polo."

The chronicles of the time are silent as to what "Polo" meant, or, indeed, whether it meant anything. but the descendants of the pioneers of the town still alive have long been in possession of the information that it was in this city and not in Burlingame that the first "Polo" figured on the Pacific coast.

It is a known fact that the dog "Polo" is no more and that the monument to his memory, which the city of Oakland has maintained these many years is to be revised, altered and rendered expressive of newer conditions, however, with the greatest respect to the memory of the dog that could command influence and backing to make him memorable even among men.

Autograph of Ambrose S. Hurlbutt, First Clerk of Town of Oakland, Who Designed Seal.

The history of the early days of Oakland is told briefly in the minutes of the legislative bodies of those days when the trustees used to meet in the office of Justice Edson Adams, sometimes to transact business, sometimes only to adjourn. 

Met in 1852

These records show that the first meeting of the town trustees was held May 12, 1852, and that it was when the town was only fourteen months old the lawmakers decided that they wanted the importance of the place to be attested by the adoption of a seal. This action was taken at a meeting held at 8 o'clock at night in the office referred to, July 12, 1853. There were present Trustees Barrell, Staples, Moon and Adams. Trustee Marier was absent. The clerk of the Board of Trustees was Ambrose S. Hurlbutt. The motion to establish a seal was made by Trustee Adams. A facsimile of the same in the handwriting of Clerk Hurlbutt appears on this page. The record of the act reads as follows:

On motions of Mr. Adams it was unanimously ordered that the clerk of the board be directed to devise a common seal for the town and to cause the same to be engraved at a cost of not more than fifty dollars.

Seal Adopted

The next step in this march of improvement took place at the meeting held in the same place, August 6, 1853 when the seal was adopted, the record, which is also reproduced herewith in facsimile, being as follows:

On motion of Mr. Adams, it was ordered that the seal as devised and provided by the clerk shall be the common or corporate seal of the town of Oakland. Said seal exhibits view of the town north of the bay of Contra Costa or San Antonio in front and the Redwood mountains in the background and around the margin the words: "Seal of the town of Oakland."

The town, however, had aspirations to become a city, and gratified that ambition March 25, 1854, when it was less than two years old. At the first meeting of the City Council held after that date there were present Councilmen E. Gallagher, G. M. Blake, A. D. Eames, John Kelsey. W. C. Josslyn, A. Marier, and General Horace W. Carpentier, who had been elected the first mayor of the municipality.

No time was lost in recognizing the importance of the coat-of-arms of the city, because one of the very earliest acts of the new board was the adoption of a motion by Alderman Kelsey. which is referred to in the record as follows:

"On motion of Alderman Kelsey, the town seal was adopted as the city seal, and the clerk was instructed to have the word 'city' substituted for the word 'town' on the seal." A copy of the seal is herewith printed. 

All Are Gone

Of the town trustees of that early day there is not one alive. The last of these to pass away was A. W. Burrell, whose name, however, in the records referred to here appeared as "Barrell," both in his own, as also in the handwriting of the town clerk, A. S. Hurlbutt. The last mentioned, Mr. Hurlbutt, however, is still alive, and a resident of Westport, Connecticut.

It is not known how many of that first city council still survive, but the probability is that most of them have been called hence. General Carpentier, however, is known to have survived all these years and is now a resident of Galway, N Y., where, it is said, he is in well-preserved condition.

Thus the signet of the municipality started out a first and a second time on a line of duty which it has followed up to the present time. There is reason to believe, however that its day for retirement is not far distant. Mayor Mott and all the city officials who have given the subject any attention appreciate the fact that it is no longer emblematic of this city, that it is a relic of a past, a great deal of which may be forgotten with advantage to the community and that later methods, achievements and development should henceforth be the characteristic of Oakland's coat-of-arms.

Dog Larger Than a Ship Occupies the Foreground in Oakland's Ancient Seal Sun, Jul 18, 1909 – Page 6 · Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California) · Newspapers.com
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"The seal of the city of Oakland has a large houn' dog as big as an elephant sitting in De Fremery Park," commented Commissioner Harry B. Anderson. "A houn' dog couchant might be a good emblem on the electroliers." 

Mayor Mott Suggests Bureau of Esthetics to Help Out City. Seal of the City of Oakland Fri, Feb 14, 1913 – Page 17 · Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California) · Newspapers.com

"The old seal pains me," Higgins explained to the council. "It is really a disgrace; it is a thing to make one weep. In the foreground is a body of water. On its surface are some rowboats, fitted out as sailing vessels; an ancient sidewheeler wheezes into the picture and sticks on a mud-bank. In the background, on what is supposed to be a wharf, a gargantuan dog bays dolefully at a stunted oak. Behind the tuneful dog is a horse one-half the size of the dog. What his place in the picture is no one has ever been able to learn."

Council Votes to "Can" Old Seal Mon, Oct 16, 1916 – Page 9 · Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California) · Newspapers.com

A design for the new official seal of the City of Oakland submitted by W. H. Foster was formally adopted by the Council and Mayor John Davie was authorised to purchase it. The drawing depicts the city hall in the foreground with the hills of the Golden Gate and the setting sun in the background. On right side of the hall is shown a dock with a railroad track and a freight train, while on the left side there is a wharf with an oceanic steamer taking on cargo.

new official seal of the City of Oakland W. H. Foster Fri, Nov 17, 1916 – Page 18 · Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California) · Newspapers.com