Somebody's very proud of their new pit bull puppy.

Circa 1920s-30s.

Happy family photos that include pit bulls are commonplace - both in homes today and yesteryear. We love that new and unseen vintage photos of pit bulls continue to surface on ebay, in flea markets, and whenever people dig into their family attics and neighborhood estate sales.

Keep your eye out for these treasures the next time you spot a dusty photo album. Chances are big that you'll unearth a piece of pit bull history, too.

The stars have always known a good dog when they see one.

David Armstrong (Played by Richard Arlen) shown here in a scene where he says a final goodbye to his pit bull. From the first Oscar winning best picture - "Wings." Circa 1927.

Thanks for sending, Tony Tissot!

Members of the Colorado Air National Guard pose next to an airplane with 'Jeff,' the mascot of the 120th observation squadron of the Colorado Air National Guard. Jeff is shown here outfitted with a parachute. He made several successful jumps with his guardsmen before he was killed on August 16, 1924 when his chute failed to open.

From the Western History/Genealogy Dept., Denver Public Library.

During the golden age of illustration, celebrity artists such as Norman Rockwell worked with models to stage photographs which were used as reference for their paintings. Fishing themes were common in illustrations in the Saturday Evening Post and other publications 1920's. On the back of this photo is a message, "With much love, Aunt Celia." 

From BADRAP's personal collection.

Blissin' on the beach! What dog doesn't want to spend the day on the beach with his favorite person? 

This tradition is as true today as it was when this photo was taken at Coney Island. Some things never change.

Photo caption: "A dog that wandered through the open door of a Greyhound bus at a rest stop between Cincinnati, Ohio and Chicago, IL.

A passenger declined to share his seat with the dog and ejected him." 

Photographed by Esther Bubley. 

From the Library of Congress.

These happy kids are having a really great day. Someone has rounded them up to snap their photo with the brownie, and their dog is obviously an important part of the action.

Their big smiles, adorable clothes, shiney trikes (with the bells on the handle bars!) and very cool vintage harness on the dog makes this one of our favorite-ever photos. 

From BADRAP's personal collection.

Another photo of young Frederick Kennerley. When granddaughter Nancy dusted off the albums and pointed the dog images out to her family, her mother looked puzzled. "That's a pit bull? I always thought it was just a dog." --- Exactly!

We hope their discovery inspires others to pull out their own photo albums in search of the history of the pit bull.

All rights owned by the Groom family.

This man was only identified as the city marshall. We don't know his history, but you can make out the badge on his shirt. 

Not surprising, the marshall's four legged deputy is the same type of dog many of us have curled up at our feet right now.

Photo courtesy of Animal Farm Foundation.

Pit bull type dogs show up as sports mascots wherever vintage photos surface.

This team called themselves 'the Bulldogs' and the photo celebrated their 1907-08 season. 

Do you recognize a relative in here? If you do, we want to buy you a margarita to toast your awesome family genes!

What a handsome crew. This team was smart to sign this dog on as their mascot.

Note the dog's studded collar and fashionably high ear crop. 

Based on the date on the basketball, this shot was taken in 1908.

We have no info on this Victorian trio, but we just love her "girl in charge" attitude. Maybe she grew up to be a dog trainer? 

This gal put on her favorite hat and announced, "I want my photo taken with my best friend."

Not much has changed! Our facebook fan pages explode with thousands of contemporary photos of gals and guys who are proud to show off their dogs. 

Captured by noted Naval photographer Enrique Muller, this 1907 postcard reads: '1312 - Beauties on Board United States Warship.'

The best notation is the name "Arthur," carefully scripted by hand next to the head of the white dog. Arthur may have been called a 'Bull-and-Terrier' or even a 'Hinks Bull Terrier' by breeders in that era, but it's likely the sailor who loved him would tell you that he and his boxer-ish brindle friend were "just dogs." 

Jack Dempsey was an American boxer who held the world heavyweight title from 1919 to 1926. He was said to have been an "enthusiastic" pit bull advocate. 

Chicago Daily News negatives collection. Courtesy of Chicago History Museum.

The student is holding a pennant for Wesleyan University, located in Middleton Connecticut.

Look at the wonderful old harness on the dog. He was somebody's pride and joy.

Ladies have been sweet on poodles and pit bulls for a very long time!

So many pit bull type dogs have shown up in old WWI photos. They certainly gave comfort and companionship to the soldiers of that era.

This decorated little guy is listed as a WWI mascot with the Library of Congress. War dogs were on the front lines during the heat of battle and were used to relay messages as well as bring comfort to their human troops. Taken in 1918, we can only guess what his story was or what he meant to the man who fashioned him with a little jacket.

How many times have you seen this exact same dog waiting patiently to be somebody's hero again at our city animal shelters? 

Boston Terriers and their mixes show up regularly in old timey photos. They were bred down in size from 'pit bull' stock as well as White English Terrier stock by folks who liked sporty, spirited bulldogs, but in a smaller package. They became very popular and were standardized enough to be admitted into AKC registry as their own separate breed in 1893. 

Western History/Genealogy Department, Denver Public Library

You have to wonder how much trouble this handsome trio got into together!

Every happy childhood seems includes a favorite dog, and hopefully a dog photo or two to help share those good memories with the grandkids.

The more things change, the more they stay the same...

This family dog seems to have taken over a favorite spot, and Mom doesn't have the heart to ask him to get down so she can have the chair to do her chores.

This lady is very modern with her fancy auto.

It seems that even way back when, our dogs decided that they belong in the driver's seat!