Hey Micky, 1938

Silver gelatin print of Mona Williams posing with her dog Micky by British society photographer Cecil Beaton. A society column in the Daily News in February 1938 claims: “Mona (Mrs. Harrison) Williams intends to perpetuate the breed of Micky, the pooch she brought back from her last visit to Capri. It takes only one short glance at Micky to appreciate that he is a classic example of a genuine mutt. Mona picked up the small, beige mishap from a peasant in the public square on the Isle of Capri. The peasant wouldn’t sell the loveable mongrel but was willing to trade with Mrs. Williams for a thoroughbred Pekinese. This Winter, Mona heard that Micky’s mother had been found, and she sent for her to start breeding a race of ‘Tiberian Terriers’.” Countess Mona von Bismarck, one of the leading lights of international café society, was born in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1897 and raised in Lexington. She married five times throughout her life and each marriage propelled her upwards in society. Her status reached its pinnacle with her third marriage to Harrison Williams, who was known as the richest man in America.

Mona Bismarck Photograph Collection, The Filson Historical Society, Louisville, Kentucky

989PC9x.21