Bylandt (1904)

Bylandt, H.A.Graaf Van, Dogs of all Nations: their varieties, characteristics, points, etc. (London: 1904) 2 vols. 789, 798 pp.; 2300 illustrations; I: Sporting dogs; II: Terriers and non-sporting dogs; text in English, French, German & Dutch, republished in a moderately-reduced facsimile with meticulously-completed references in 1994.

Almost since commencing the Poodle History Project in the mid-1990's we've wanted to present the relevant (to Poodles) portions of Bylandt's Dogs of all Nations (1904 edition). Our reasons were:

  • This book represents a (beautifully-defined) slice in Poodle-time, a visual interpretation of a (largely retained) written breed standard. Also, Bylandt includes the Barbet, which had by then separated from the Caniche, and several cousins, the Curly-Coated Retriever, the Pudel-Pointer, the Irish Water Spaniel, and surprises us with the English Water Spaniel, which has a less obvious dose of Poodle/proto-Poodle than does Stubbs' "Water Spaniel" more than a century previous in the British Art Center at Yale. (NB: We must be wary of identifying breeds through images recently-named for the convenience of modern art historians; Oudry's various Poodles/proto-Poodles officially dubbed "spaniels" are an obvious cautionary example; in creating the Poodle History Project, we go by the "if it looks like a duck and quacks..." rule of thumb, and thus hope that we bring joy to all those interested in the various cousins, by not rejecting, and thus losing, a likely reference.)
  • 2. Omissions are conspicuous by their absence. For example, among the "cousins", here are no Portugese, Italian, or Spanish Water Dogs--in the 1890's still-working versions of the old pan-European Poodle/proto-Poodle! A rationale for leaving out those three varieties of water dog (the English version is supposed to be by then extinct) is implied by the fact that Rough and Smooth Collies are fully represented, perhaps because of their popularity with the British aristocracy, whereas their shepherds' Sheep Dogs and Border Collies are absent: this book was written as an aid to conformation judges and breeders, and conformation exhibition implies a travelling, leisured middle class; until a variety is taken up and developed as a breed in relation to the dog show movement, that variety was evidently less relevant to it. Perhaps this is the reason for the absence of the Pulik, likely the most ancient of our gang. And, no Bichon Frisé among the "shocks" despite a frequent appearance of proto-Bichons in the Poodle History Project's art history sections. Here is substantial documentation of draught dogs and their gear. This is helpful to the Poodle History Project: Poodles large and small were used as draught dogs, albeit for parodic entertainment on the one hand, and convenience on the other (see Circus dogs and Draught dogs .

    The pages presented here are taken from the facsimile printed in 1994. We have requested permission to upload these pages reproduced from the 1904 edition (out of copyright; beyond our means) facsimile (also rare, but not quite as expensive, which may in fact not be subject to copyright restrictions--which the Poodle History Project respects highly-- because it is a facsimile), and have failed to obtain a response, having followed several leads. The publisher seems no longer to exist; the volumes were published through very generous donations of a long list of individual subscribers; the editor is a distinguished librarian and scholar who appears now (September, 2006) to be retired. We regret the lack of permission. We are grateful for this brilliantly- careful republication, and hope this material will be fruitful for careful study by our readers.

    We present the following pages from Bylandt:

    Technical terms, vol. I, pp. ix-xvi

    Pudel-Pointer, vol. I, pp. 113-7

    Irish Water Spaniel, vol. I, pp. 188-195

    English Water Spaniel, vol. I, pp. 196-199

    Retriever, Curly Coat, vol. I, pp. 268-275

    Barbet, vol. I, pp. 286-290

    Poodle, vol. II, pp. 651-670

    Maltese, Bolognese, and Little Lion Dog, vol. II, pp. 722-734

    Trufflehound, vol. II, pp. 772-3

    Draught Dog, vol. II, pp. 788
    We show only the first page of this section; if you are interested in draft-dogs and their rigs, the entire section, pp. 788-95, will be of interest. Two-wheel and four-wheel carts are shown; dogs hitched singly, and in tandem.

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