Quote:
Originally Posted by QuickSilver  Thanks for the info, Debra. Some other questions for you if that's okay: how did the dogs that were originally registered qualify? Did someone write a letter stating, "my dog is a yorkie"? Did it have to be shown and judged? Do you happen to know how many yorkies were registered in the first few years? |
Here is a Wikipedia quote: "
In the early days of the breed, "almost anything in the shape of a Terrier having a long coat with blue on the body and fawn or silver coloured head and legs, with tail docked and ears trimmed, was received and admired as a Yorkshire terrier".[16] But in the late 1860s, a popular Paisley type Yorkshire terrier showdog named Huddersfield Ben, owned by a woman living in Yorkshire, Mary Ann Foster, was seen at dog shows throughout Great Britain, and defined the breed type for the Yorkshire terrier.[21]"
By 1890, there was a written standard much as we have today. You can read it here:
History of the Yorkshire Terrier by Joan Gordon It compares the 1890 Yorkshire Terrier standard with the Clydesdale Standard showing how close they were.
As to how many, I found this on site I mentioned before: " The early pioneer breeders registered their dogs in two classes in the 1st studbook, Class XXXII – Broken Haired Scotch and Yorkshire Terrier dogs and bitches. Seventy-six dogs were registered in this class. Of these 52 were owned or bred by known early Yorkie fanciers. The second classification was XL Toy Terriers (Rough and Broken Haired), 45 dogs were registered as such. Twenty-five of these appear in early Yorkshire pedigrees, some of these even registered their dogs as being sired by Ben. In Huddersfield Ben's registration, Mrs. Foster included all of Ben's pedigree and this was in 1874."
and "
In 1890 there were 26 exhibitors, a statistic that could now be traced due to the AKC printed records of dog shows and registrations. In 1900 there were 22 exhibitors with 11 new registrations. 1909 found 69 exhibitors and 30 registrations. By 1939 there were 69 registrations, 1940 just a year before WW11 saw 91 registrations. But by 1943 there were only 33 registrations. "
As far as how many were registered with the modern-day AKC (which took over from the National AKC in 1884) I did not find that information. I have several books but they are boxed up. Maybe someone else knows how many original yorkies were registered at that time. Seems like the number originally registered with AKC should be in the history! There were only 25 original AKC breeds so, that info should be available. If I run across it, I will come back to add it in.