The original periodical of the ASPCA was a magazine published monthly between 1876 and 1909 called “Our Animal Friends.” It was preceded by another periodical called “The Animal Kingdom” and it’s publication concluded when John P. Haines made the decision to stop publication due to cost. While it was not nearly as interesting, in my opinion, as the fiery and fiercely opinionated “Journal of Zoophily” (which was the periodical of the American Anti-Vivisection Society and Woman’s SPCA in Philadelphia) it is also an interesting reflection of the time.

Unlike Zoophily, which was steadfast in it’s quest to inform its readers about all manner of topics relevant to the humane movement and ALL the atrocities associated with them, “Our Animal Friends” was much more aligned with humane education and included multitudes of stories about humane treatment of all sorts of animals, both wild and domesticated, intended to influence readers to act more kindly and be more aware.

That’s not to say that “Our Animal Friends” never published an opinion piece or rose issues to inform the public; that certainly would be untrue. However, particularly under John P. Haines, the attitude of the entirety of the ASPCA was becoming more moderate in an attempt to keep multiple stakeholders satisfied, and so the content of the periodical was much more temperate than other periodicals of the time.

All that being said, it definitely did have certain charms. One of the regular features was a column called “Dear Letter-box.” This column included letters written from children across the country, and today I’ll share a few. These letters come from issues around the time period of 1894-1896, during the time when the ASPCA was assuming control of animal control in New York City.

These letters give us the unique opportunity to understand how the humane movement was influencing the attitudes of children toward animals, and to hear from children themselves about how they perceived animals during this time. I’d love to know what you see when you read them. Enjoy.

-Audrey