[ London Times ]
This newspaper, most correctly known simply as The Times, began publication in 1785 and continues to this day.
The June 23, 1870 edition of The Times published an account of the "First Grand National Exhibition of Sporting and Other Dogs," held at the Crystal Palace in London, the high-end exhibition venue (featuring almost 1 million square feet of exhibition space) which opened in 1851 and was widely regarded, rightly, as a marvel of Victorian engineering. Its name derived from the fact its walls and ceilings were made almost entirely of large sheets of plate glass. The Crystal Palace burned down in 1936 and was not rebuilt.
References to subsequent years' accounts of this recurring annual show are included here on this page.
The report on the first annual show was quite brief and very matter-of-fact, limited primarily to listing the dogs (and their owners) that one each class. The Newfoundlands are mentioned only thus: "The first prize for Newfoundlands was taken by Mr. Atkinson's Cato. . . ."
(Cato was so successful in the show ring — see below for another mention of one of his wins — that he was particularly singled out for mention in Rawdon Briggs Lee's 1894 work A History and Description of the Modern Dogs of Great Britain and Ireland. (Non-sporting division), discussed here at The Cultured Newf. Cato, it turns out, was not just a show dog: he once rescued his owner and another person from drowning.)
The Times ran its account of the Second Grand National Exhibition on June 3, 1871. While the discussion of the sporting breeds was generally limited to identifying the winning dogs, and their owners, by name, the non-sporting dogs got even shorter shrift, meriting only one very brief paragraph. The Newfs were barely mentioned: "There were the usual quantity of Newfoundlands, a good class. . . ."
June 6, 1872, edition of The Times noted that the Third Grand National Exhibition featured 1,035 entries and gushed that "On the whole the exhibition is the best ever held near London." As is the norm in the reports on this show, the winning dogs in many breeds were identified by the name of the owner and the dog: "Mr. Atkinson's celebrated Newfoundlad Cato took the first prize in his class, and Mr. Weiner's Marco the second in the dog class, Mr. Shorthose's Rupert being a grand dog; while in the other sex Mr. Cunliffe Lee's Joan and Mr. Damon's Sally were first and second; the late Mr. C. B. Bernard's Grace Darling being highly commended." Note that Cato took first place in the first annual National Exhibition.
On June 20, 1873, The Times reported on the Fourth Grand National Exhibition of Sporting and Other Dogs; the only mention of Newfoundlands is, characteristically, the names of the winning dogs and their owners: "Mr. Bowman's Carlo was first, and Mr. Bagne's Theodore-Nero second, in a fair class of Newfoundland dogs; Mr. Nicholl's Gipsy taking that for the other sex."
The report on the Fifth Grand National Exhibition of Sporting and Other Dogs appeared in The Times on June 11, 1874. Noting there were 1,187 entries, and that the overall quality of dogs was high, the reporter exclaimed that "it may safely be said that this year's Crystal Palace Show is the best ever held at . Sydenham.
Newfoundlands are not mentioned in this lengthy account of breed winners, but that's only because of a mistake on the part of either the reporter, a Times editor, or a compositor in the printing room. After a full account of all the St. Bernards awarded prizes, the articles shifts gears by reporting "There was a good class of St. Bernards." Oops. You just reported on all the St. Bernard classes, pal. You meant "Newfoundlands." Just look at the names in the following list of winning dogs: "There was a good class of St. Bernards, and the first prize fell to Mr. Bowman's Carlo, a handsome dog [the same dog/owner team that won first place at the previous year's competition; see the entry just above], the second going to Mr. Cunliffe Lee's Nep, Mr. Coultbard's Brewer being highly, and Mr. Pratchett's Inon simply commended. Mr. Bowman also took the first prize in the bitch glass by aid of Gipsy, Mr. Thomas being second with Sable, Mr. Pratchett's Juno and Mr. Sims' Rose II being highly commended."
On June 3, 1875, came the report on the Sixth Grand National Exhibition of Sporting and Other Dogs held at the Crystal Palace. There were 1,358 entries in this year's show, which may have contributed to what the reporter saw as "a great want of organization and system throughout the whole proceedings. . . ." Here's the report on the Newfoundland results: "The first prize in the Newfoundland Dog Class fell to Mrs. Cunliffe Lee's Nap [surely a typo for "Nep," who got second place at the previous year's show, when his owner was "Mr." and not "Mrs." Cunliffe Lee], and the second to Mr. W. Kitchen's Brewer; and among the bitches who were pronounced to be a good class Mr. Farquharson's Sally was first and Mr. C. J. Carroll's Sable second, Mr. W. P. Sims' Rose II and Mr. C. M. Wait's Grace Darling being very highly commended."
The Times carried its report on the Seventh Grand National Exhibition of Sporting and Other Dogs on June 7, 1876. Still at the Crystal Palace, the show featured 1,140 dogs, which the author claims needs to be reduced, as there was insufficient space for that number of dogs, and as a result a large number of "quarrels" broke out during the (benched) show. The reporter also finds fault with the new judging system, in which decisions were made by a single judge rather than the several judges that was the norm prior to this year's show; the problem, according to the writer, is that while some time is saved, "there was not that salutary check on the idiosyncrasy or prejudice or a single individual which is absolutely necessary in such circumstances. The latter evil more than counterbalanced the saving of time. This being the case, it is not surprising that the judging gave rise to great dissatisfaction in several of the classes. . . ." The reporter was also unhappy with the fact that dogs were allowed to be shown by people other than their owners, which led, in the reporter's opinion, to "high class dogs endeavouring to get away from an attendant with whom they have no sympathy," and thus not being shown to advantage.
Newfoundlands are mentioned generally in the second paragraph, which notes that the "Mount St. Bernards, Newfoundlands, Retrievers, Collies, Spaniels, and Fox-terriers were perhaps as good as any that have ever been shown."
More specific mention of Newfoundlands is the typical identification by name of winning dogs and their owners:
For Newfoundlands there were open classes for the black dogs and bitches, the two prizes in the former going to Mr. Lee's Nep and Mr. Gowland's Sailor, and in the latter to Mr. Bowman's Gipsy and Mr. Huhn's Juno. In a combined class for both sexes of a colour other than black, which included some of the very best black and white specimens ever exhibited, Mr. Huhn was first with Castro and Mr. Freeman second with Landseer.