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C. M. Coolidge, known for his "poker playing dogs", was a brilliant man with innovative ideas and an entrepreneurial instinct about art. Born in a small town in upstate New York to Quaker parents, he didn't receive a formal college education, but did take some college business classes later in his life. By the time he was 18 or 19, he took a few lessons in portrait painting, along with a course in bookkeeping a few years later. His love for reading resulted in a solid self education. At the age of 19, he started doing cartoons for newspapers in surrounding neighborhoods. A few years later, while living in Rochester, NY, he wrote and illustrated a weekly newspaper column.

Coolidge loved people and was quite social. At around the age of 20 or 21, he was elected Superintendent for one of the local school districts. Later, he was elected Town Clerk. Around the same time, he became active in the Masonic Lodge. Coolidge had lofty plans for himself, although most of his pursuits didn't work out or were short-lived. When he was 27 or 28, he started the first bank in the town of Antwerp, NY. He worked there for a short time, and then became a druggist. That; however; did not hold his interest for long. And, a year later he founded his hometown's first newspaper. Unfortunately, that failed a short time later.

Between jobs and in his free time, he would draw cartoons for area newspapers and would do caricatures of people. One of his many elaborate projects was the writing of a comic opera concerning the elimination of mosquitoes. Interestingly, it was produced but made no real money. He also applied for a patent for collecting fares on street cars. Although, again, nothing became of it.

The one consistent endeavor he held onto was his love of comics and art. He began to do dog paintings around the turn of the century. Mainly, they were purchased by cigar companies and used as giveaways. Coolidge's big break came when the advertising firm Brown & Bigelow approached him to do a series of paintings that would be used on calendars and other memorabilia. That was in 1903. Around this time is when his infamous poker dog paintings got underway.

Over the next ten years, Coolidge created 16 paintings of dogs - seven that portrayed dogs playing pool. The other nine were dogs surrounding a poker table. By putting dogs in art, yet in a situation familiar to middle class Americans, he not only anthropomorphized them, but created an instant kitsch fad. It certainly helped the cigar and calendar businesses for which he worked. A few of his original dog paintings sold for US$2,000 to US$10,000 dollars - an astonishing amount for the time period.

For years his images of dogs playing poker while drinking, smoking, and basically getting into trouble graced bachelor pads, bars, and taverns around the country. The scenes always evoked feelings of something American and something modern. Recently, a pair of his poker dog paintings entitled A Bold Bluff and Waterloo, expected to go for US$30,000 to US$60,000, surprised the art world by selling for $590,00 for the pair.

More meaning for A Friend In Need:

A few theories about his art give more meaning than what initially meets the eye. One theory states that the painting A Friend In Need has great significance. "Coolidge's painting was used in the Second World War to boost the moral of Dutch citizens. The dog with the cigar being Churchill giving America help (on his left hand side), which goes unnoticed. Russia (the most left dog) tries to attract USA's attention, while Hitler (the dog with the pipe and the 'big ears' in front of the clock) watches anxiously."(1)

Poker enthusiast Jim McManus has stated, "[In] A Friend in Need, the blatant cheating refers back to the early nineteenth century, Mississippi riverboat days, when poker was mainly a series of opportunities to fleece the suckers."

A specialist for Sotheby's Auction House, Alison Cooney, says that people who dismiss the painting as simply "kitsch art" are missing the deeper meaning of his work. "It's a humorous, ironic take; she continues, a jab at middle-class America; another way of poking fun at ourselves."(2)

Another theory suggests that the dogs were all aspects of C.M. Coolidge himself. Known to his friends as "Cash", he loved a good bet and was something of a hustler.(3) He wore a hat and often held a cigar, just as his paintings of dogs did. Other sources hint that he looked like the bulldogs he painted.

In a recent tongue-in-cheek article by Steven J. Rolfes, he writes "In this iconic work, we see a masterly representation of the Last Supper, with Christ (on the left) sitting conveying His wisdom to His followers. We see Judas to His right, with the bag of silver coins at his pawside." He asserts that the painting A Friend in Need has deep arcane roots in a very secret society that even precedes the Illuminati called the "Prior of Dogbone."(4) This important insight is one that Coolidge himself would appreciate.

After his success with painting dogs, a new idea provided him a profitable income. He started the invention of "Comic Foregrounds", which are wooden life-size cartoon stand-ups with the face cut out so that one can place their head for funny photos. He completed hundreds of them, including the famous Man Riding a Donkey and Fat Man in a Bathing Suit. Some of these comic foregrounds had hand lettering at the bottom. He would often hire students to do them.

C.M. Coolidge was a bachelor for most of his life. When he was 64, he met Gertrude Kimmel, an art student who was doing some lettering work for him at the time. They were married in 1909 and had a daughter a year later.

A few years later, when Coolidge was about 70 years old, he fell and hurt his knee. According to an account written by his daughter Marcella Coolidge, he didn't visit a doctor and was lame the rest of his life.(5) He tried his hand at writing, but it didn't take off. Still, Coolidge remained in good spirits. His wife went to work and he was strong enough to do work around the house.

Coolidge's daughter has also said that his dog paintings were not taken seriously at home by herself or her mother. She said that she never liked them - that it was simply commercial. Furthermore, she relayed that they never had a dog, but that her dad was fond of them.(6) This is clear as seen in the widespread influence they had in his art.

Andy Warhol was influenced by Coolidge's work. Coolidge set a precedent for the weimaraner photos of William Wegman. Today, we find Coolidge's canine images on posters everywhere. If you have US$590,000 or more to spend, contact Doyle Auction House in New York to see when they will have another original Coolidge dog painting to auction.

Sources: 1. http://gaming.unlv.edu/gallery/a_friend_in_need.htm 2. Barry, Dan. "Artist's Fame Is Fleeting, but Dog Poker Is Forever" New York Times. 6/14/2002 3. http://www.tenbyten.net/luckydog.html 4. http://www.wittenburgdoor.com/archives/dogs.html 5. http://www.dogsplayingpoker.org 6. http://archives.stupidquestion.net/sq52500dogsplayingpoker.html

Copyright 2006 Melanie Light

Melanie Light is an artist and art educator. She is the site owner of Pet Lovers Art at http://www.artzpet.com and Classic Pet Art at http://www.cafepress.com/petz. You will find more pet artwork, gifts, and information on these web sites.

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Throughout the web, you will find hundreds of business opportunities. From selling coffee to selling cars, you'll find hundreds of things that you have the opportunity to get into to make money. Yet, it is sad to report to you that on average, 70% of all new home based businesses will fail within the first three years that they are out there. Now, before you get discouraged, realize that they do this because of several reasons.

1. They are poorly executed, by individuals that are looking for a get rich quick scheme and realize that, well; it takes work to make money.

2. They are scams that were un-researched, poorly designed or just plain old dumb to start with.

3. The individuals that got into them didn't have the income to put into the business to make the business work.

With that said, there are some excellent things that you can do to actually make an income from home. You will likely need to invest something in it (you don't get something for nothing!) and you'll have to invest time in making it work well.

Here are some things that you can do in brief.

Affiliate Marketing

This is an easy to understand concept. You'll design a website that is geared at selling someone else's product. You get a cut for the sales that are made because someone that came to your website makes a purchase. Often, you get a kickback even if they just visit the site. This is one of many programs that you can usually do together to make even more money. In other words, pair it up with other business opportunities and you are sure to see some profit.

Selling Readymade Products

For those that are looking to sell a product that someone else has made, check out these. Often, these are sold by the development of a website that promotes the product. Things like digitalized products or software are very hot sellers. People come to your website to learn about the product and you sell it to them or provide a link to where they can purchase it. In most cases, you get a commission like payment for doing this.

Think you can't just sell products online anymore? You can. In fact, you'll even be able to find products that are below cost and sell them with a good mark up as well.

Writing And Selling Ebooks

People come to the internet to get information. Why not sell it to them? If you have knowledge (or can get it) about a topic that others want to learn about, you can easily tap into this business market. All you need to do is to write an ebook (or have it written by a professional) and market it. This can be done through eBay or through hundreds of other methods.

Joint Venture

You can often team up your sales with others that are selling the same or similar products. By working together, you can hit a larger amount of people and pull in more sales. A joint venture usually splits the commission made as well as the cost of doing business.

Ecourse

Are you able to teach an individual something? If so, then you should write up an ecourse. This is simply a series of emails, of website information or any other medium that is used to teach or coach an individual. You simply provide information they want and they pay you to do it.

Teleseminars

If you are a good speaker and have information to sell (or that you can obtain) then teleseminars are the way to go. You simply provide a conference call where individuals can call in and listen to what you are teaching them. Of course, they paid you first.

Public Domain Products

Little did you know that you could use material that is labeled as public domain to help enhance your business. Team this up with other types of marketing and you are sure to sell your product.

Directory or Review Websites

By creating websites where individuals go to receive a product or service, you are opening the door to making profits. Team this up with things like affiliate marketing and Google Adsense and you'll see an income.

Membership Sites

Develop a membership of individuals that are looking for your products or information. They will pay you monthly to use your service.

Ezines

One of the fastest growing ways of marketing on the web, you simply put together an online form of a magazine or newspaper and sell it. You can also give it away free and fill it with ads to your products or website campaign.

EBay

Learn how to make money on eBay one of the world's largest auction websites. You can make an income, not just a few dollars if you develop a campaign to do so.

Blogs

Blogs work well on websites. By providing information there about your products or attracting individuals back to your blog, you can promote the products on your website easier.

Google Adsense

Normally individuals pair up Google Adsense with other marketing campaigns to sell their products. This is a way of getting a few extra profits when individuals visit ads that are on your website.

Podcasting

In the digital age, people are looking to stay connected all the time. With podcasting, you can sell your product or service or you can actually build a casting such as a radio show that goes out around the world.

Amazon Book Reseller

If you have books lying around your house that you would like to get rid of, you can become listed on Amazon as a reseller. Unlike eBay this is not an auction site. It's a great way to sell books that you don't need. (You can also find free or really cheap ones to sell if you don't have any!)

Opinion Panels

Why not take a few surveys and make money? There are many survey websites on the web that do actually pay you a good deal of money to take them. Once you find them, its easy sailing here.

Conclusion

Making money online can happen. You have to make the right decision about doing so though. You'll need to find the business that fits into your life and your needs. Then, you'll need to learn how to do the business, what it takes and the tricks of the trade. If you can learn this, you can buy it to learn throughout the web. From a little stream to a full time income, the internet is full of ways you can make money.

Keith Lee is a motivational speaker, a life coach and a fitness instructor for the past 10 yeras. He study and did research on the Internet Marketing Industry for years. Go to his webiste http://www.MyInternetMarketingSuccess.com for some superb tips.

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