The Disappearing Newfoundland of the Late 19th and 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. (Some authors listed below remark only on the disappearance of Newfoundlands from their island of origin.) 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.

Her's a list of the articles and books that make these claims here at The Cultured Newf:


ARTICLES

The Fancier's Journal, in its issue of January 24, 1891, remarks on the absence of Newfs in Newfoundland.

Dog Fancier of October 1904 notes that the "much neglected" Newfoundland breed seemed to be making a small comeback in Maine.

Dog Fancier of December 1904 includes a note that remarks on both the extreme difficulty of finding purebred Newfoundlands and their near-total disappearance from the province of Newfoundland.

In the Dog Fancier of January 1907 one writer wonders if the Newfoundland is now "passe."

The January 1912 issue of The Outing Magazine carried an article about one man's journey to find a Newfoundland for himself, as "In the United States the Newfoundland has gone to join the snows of yesteryear."

Dogdom of June 1912 remarks on the cycles of breed popularity and notes that the Newfoundland is "almost obsolete."

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."

The Dog Fancier of April 1913 remarks that the Newfoundland is "nearly extinct."

The New York Times of February 18, 1913, carried a letter to the editor, asking for breed-selection advice, which mentions the disappearance of the Newfoundland.

Dogdom of September 1917 features an overview of the Newfoundland, which begins with a lament for its scarcity.

Dog Fancier of November 1917 has a note recounting some Newfoundland anecdotes as it notes that Newfoundlands are rarely seen, even in dog shows.

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

Dogdom of March 1920 remarks on the extreme scarcity of Newfs in England, speculating that it's due to World War I.

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 features a note celebrating the importation of 3 Newfoundlands into the USA from England, a noteworthy event owing to the fact the breed is "very scarce."

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

In his travel narrative After Icebergs with a Painter: A Summer Voyage to Labrador and around Newfoundland, published in 1861, the Rev. Louis Noble remarks on the near-complete disappearance of Newfoundlands from the country that gave them their name.

Sarah Tytler's 1877 book Landseer's Dogs and Their Stories doesn't discuss any of Landseer's Newf paintings but does include a reference to the Newfoundland passing out of fashion.

There is a remark, in Vero Shaw's popular 1881 volume The Illustrated Book of Dogs, to the effect that there are few Newfoundlands 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 in general is the 1891 The American Book of the Dog edited by G. O. Shields.

Lady Howard Vincent's 1892 travel narrative, Newfoundland to Cochin, China, makes reference the scarcity of Newfoundlands in the province from which the breed takes its name.

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."

Sir Wilfred Grenfell, a British medical missionary in Newfoundland and Labrador, also suggests that Newfoundlands are quite rare on their island of origin in his 1895 book Vikings of To-Day.

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."

Like Lady Howard Vincent's travel narrative listed above, Fullerton Waldo's With Grenfell on the Labrador, discussed here at The Cultured Newf, also references the near-disappearance of Newfoundlands from Newfoundland.

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