Thomas Bewick’s Dogs
Inspired by the report on The Dogs of Shoreditch this week, I consulted my copy of Thomas Bewick’s General History of Quadrupeds 1824 that I found in the Spitalfields Market recently to see what breeds were familiar two hundred years ago – and perhaps the major difference I discovered is that many breeds which were working dogs then are domestic now.
The Shepherd’s Dog
The Cur Dog
The Greenland Dog
The Bulldog
The Mastiff
The Ban Dog
The Dalmatian
The Irish Greyhound
The Greyhound
The Lurcher
The Terrier
The Beagle
The Harrier
The Fox Hound
The Old English Hound
The Spanish Pointer
The English Setter
The Newfoundland Dog
The Large Rough Water Dog
The Large Water Spaniel
The Small Water Spaniel
The Springer
The Comforter
The Turnspit
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Love & Peace
ACHIM
Absolutely wonderful resource for anyone interested in how dogs used to be before the advent of modern breeding programmes and standards which have caused many types to undergo inbreeding and freakish and unhealthy changes in order to win dog shows. The difference between the bulldog of old and now is particularly remarkable.
I love these pictures of dogs! Working dogs are few and far between now, my dog mainly works at getting enough rest, 20 hours a day of sleeping seems about right to her 😉
Your readers may like to know that they can get a paperback reissue of the 1791 edition: details at http://www.cambridge.org/gb/academic/subjects/life-sciences/zoology/general-history-quadrupeds