Pug In Costume

18th and 19th centuries
The popularity of the pug continued to spread in France during the eighteenth century. Before her marriage to Napoleon Bonaparte, Joséphine had her pug, Fortune, carry concealed messages to her family while she was confined at Les Carmes prison. The pet was the only recipient of visiting rights. The pug was also well known in Italy. In 1789, a Mrs. Piozzi wrote in her journal, "The little pug dog or Dutch mastiff has quitted London for Padua, I perceive. Every carriage I meet here has a pug in it."
The English painter William Hogarth owned a series of pugs, to which he was devoted. In 1745 he painted his self-portrait together with that of his pug, Trump, now in the Tate Gallery, London.