[ Anonymous / The Private Life of King Edward VII ]
The title page of this work identifies the author only as "A Member of the Royal Household." Such anonymity may well have been required by the codes of decorum operative in and around the royal family, though there was certainly no need for the author to protect his or her identify for any other reason: this book is an extremely flattering presentation of the life, manners, and duties of King Edward VII, primarily during his long stint as the Prince of Wales (1860 - 1901), for the book was published in 1901 (London: C. A. Pearson and New York: Appleton), the year its subject became King Edward VII. With chapters bearing such titles as "The King a Good Fellow" and "What the Prince Eats and Drinks," this is very much a puff piece.
This book was also published, also in 1901, under the title The Private Life of the Prince of Wales, presumably shortly before Queen Victoria died on January 22, 1901, thus elevating the Prince of Wales to King Edward VII.
The work's only mention of Newfoundlands comes in the chapter entitled "The Prince in the Country," where we learn of the Prince's love of hunting, horse racing, and dogs; at his estate in Sandringham, he kept over a hundred:
The Prince is not exclusive in his love of dogs, for nearly every breed finds a place in his kennels, and he has a cheery whistle and a kind pat for each canine friend. There are wolf-hounds, Borzios [sic ], terriers of all kinds, long- and short-haired Newfoundlands, St. Bernards, Scotch deerhounds, a beautiful white collie, dachshunds, a number of spitz dogs of which all the Princesses are very fond, various setters and pointers, which are taken to Scotland whenever the Prince goes there, several Esquimaux sledge dogs, and of course the famous original Chow dogs, that the Princess has bred so successfully. (43)
For The Cultured Newf's annotated list of other famous individuals who owned Newfoundlands at some point during their lives, click here.