[ Bondeson / "Historical Analysis of Newfoundland Dog Fur Colour Genetics" ]
Dr. Jan Bondeson is a Senior Clinical Lecturer in the Department of Rheumatology at Cardiff University's School of Medicine in Cardiff, Wales. This article was published in Open Veterinary Journal in June of 2015.
This article is a fascinating analysis, based on historical newspaper data, of the prevalence of coat colors in Newfoundlands. Dr. Bondeson's basic argument is that the original dominant color of Newfoundlands was of the black-on-white that is now known as the Landseer Newfoundland, and that solid black Newfoundlands did not become the dominant color until the 1840s and beyond. (I happen to believe this is correct, based on the historical record as it is evident in the writings and images documented here at The Cultured Newf.)
Some of Dr. Bondeson's article (the middle, basically) is a bit technical, but most of it is readily accessible to those of us with no special knowledge of genetics. Highly recommended.
Another discussion of great interest to those of us who think about Newfoundland coat color over time is a piece in the New York Times from 1966 that discusses the popularity of the Landseer coloration, especially as it related to Landseers and dog shows.
See also Emma Mellencamp's article on the development of the all-black coat in Newfs; it's available here at The Cultured Newf.
The Cultured Newf has also collected a large number of advertisements, most of them from The Times (London), that seeks to help document the prevalence of and preference for coat color in Newfoundlands, beginning in 1760. That section of The Cultured Newf may be found here; the list of ads will open on the left side of this browser window.
On a somewhat tangential note, the amount of curl in Newfoundland coats, while not discussed as much as color, is also worth some consideration. Many early documents and images from the breed history indicate a fair amount of curl in Newfoundland coats. While nowadays it is extremely rare to see curl in Newf coats, it is not unusual to find some degree of waviness. Click here for an image, from the New York Times in 1931, that shows a group of Newfs, from a show kennel, with a lot of curl in their coats.