The Disappearing Newfoundland of the Early 20th Century



The early years of the 20th Century saw a number of magazine articles and books advance the thesis or in some other way comment on the idea that the Newfoundland was, at least relative to its prior popularity, a vanishing breed. Whether this reflected an actual decline in numbers, or was simply a sense of decline created by the waning of the breed's very high cultural profile in the first half of the 19th Century, I cannot yet say. Of course during the second decade of the 20th Century the shortages and other difficulties created by World War I would likely have contributed to a reduced presence of dogs, especially giant breeds, though some of these comments pre-date that conflict.


ARTICLES

A number of pieces in dog-related magazines and other periodicals of the time make this claim:

Dog Fancier of October 1904

Dog Fancier of December 1904

Dog Fancier of January 1907

Dogdom of June 1912

An ad selling a "jumbo jet black Newfoundland" in Dogdom of August 1912 states the dog is "a real and typical newfoundland, the kind that are very scarce."

Dog Fancier of April 1913

The New York Times of February 18, 1913, carried a letter to the editor from an anonymous writer who, explaining his/her desire to get a dog suitable for a family with young children, declares that "My own preference leans toward the Newfoundland of my boyhood days. They were very common then. What has become of them? Have they gone the way of the black-and-tan and the pug? Suggestions will be appreciated." The letter is signed only "Canine, River View Manor." Apparently the editors of the NY Times did not feel themselves to be in the busiiness of providing dog advice, for "Canine"'s questions went unanswered.

Dogdom of September 1917

Dog Fancier of November 1917

The April, 1918, issue of Dogdom noted that there was only one Newfoundland entered in the 1918 Westminster dog show.

Dogdom of March 1920

A "Wanted" notice which ran in the April, 1920, issue of Dogdom also touched on this theme: "Wanted — to communicate with party having true type black Newfoundland bitch. Wish to bring back this strain. Blue ribbon winner at Syracuse and New York 1920 shows. D. C. Williams, Jordan, New York" (111).

Dogdom of May 1921

In the June, 1925, issue of The Dog Fancier, an article on ear cropping by R. C. Craven of the American Humane Association makes note of how dog breeds can go in and out of fashion: "The Pug is now seldom seen, the Mastiff has become rare and the splendid Newfoundland has almost disappeared" (70).






BOOKS

There is a remark, in Vero Shaw's popular 1881 volume The Illustrated Book of Dogs, to the effect that there are few Newfs found on the show circuit in Britain at the time, though to be clear he is not directly addressing the issue of the breed's overall diminished population.

One of the earlier books to comment in passing on the fading popularity of the Newfoundland is the 1891 The American Book of the Dog edited by G. O. Shields.

George B. James's 1894 book The Dog and How to Breed, Train and Keep Him begins its discussion of the Newfoundland by remarking on its rarity and claims the breed is "fast becoming extinct."

Mention is made of the Newf's relative rarity in James Watson's 1905 The Dog Book.

The breed's rarity is also mentioned in A. F. Hochwalt's Dogcraft from 1908.

See also the First Annual C. S. R. Blue Book of Dogdom, published in 1909.

Frank Townend Barton's 1913 book Dogs: Their Selection, Breeding, and Keeping also makes passing reference to the relative scarcity of Newfoundlands.

See also The Book of Dogs (1919) by Louis Agassiz Fuertes et al, which remarks that the Newfoundland (and the pug) are "no longer extensively bred, as their day of grace is done." This work goes on to lament that the Newfoundland "is almost never seen."

The young adult novel The Dogs of Boytown by Walter A. Dyers (1918) also has a character remark that the Newfoundland "has gone out of fashion."


The veterinarian and writer George Watson Little remarks, in Dr. Little's Dog Book (1924), on the relative lack of popularity of the Newfoundland.

Will Judy, the editor of Dog World magazine at the time, wrote his The Dog Encyclopedia in 1925 which remarks on the scarcity of the Newfoundland.







For a slightly different perspective, check out this article from 1904.




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.the disappearing newf of the early 20th century