BLUE BOOK TOYS
“ANOTHER OUTSTANDING TOYTOWN PEKE WAS CH. HOP-O OF HARTLEBURY...
BRUSSELS GRIFFON A wedding gift of a Brussels Griffon inspired Rosalind Layte to begin her hobby kennel in Short Hills, New Jersey. In the AKC Blue Book of Dogs, Mrs. Layte relates, “I was so excited…really, I do not know which got the more attention, the dog or the groom!” The breed’s new- est fancier reportedly “…searched England for the choicest foundation stock that could be purchased and [her] selections made history in many show rings.” The Burlingame Kennels housed both imports and home- breds, including Ch. Hitane, Ch. Idla, Ch. Gerrards Chiff Chaff, Ch. Bridesmaid, and Ch. Austral Lil Black Sambo. At 18 months of age, the kennel’s American-bred Ch. Burlingame Dubarry won the parent club specialty. Not to be outdone, Ch. Burlingame Hellzapoppin won the Toy Group at Westminster in 1940—owner-handled. PEKINGESE “The Toytown Pekingese will spend their summers on Cape Cod,” reports an AKC staff writer in the Blue Book. “An island has been pur- chased. An ideal summer kennel has been erected… They will have one entire end of the island to themselves.” This idyll life on Pine Island, Osterville, Massachusetts, was the vision of a New England mother and daughter team. “It has always been the aim of both Mrs. and Miss Con- nell to own only the best Pekingese that could be purchased or bred,” the 1938 publication advises. “They have imported 60 of the finest bitches and dogs they could find, and from these they are breeding outstanding American-breds.” One of Judith Connell’s top winners was Ch. Honey of Toytown, Best in Show at the national specialty in 1939 under Mr. Frank Downing. Another outstanding Toytown Peke was Ch. Hop-O of Hartlebury. “He was chosen by his owner as the best young dog in England, in her opinion, after visiting 23 of the leading kennels and see- ing championship shows in various parts of the country,” the Blue Book claims. This import hailed from the legendary Caversham Kennels of Miss Mary de Pledge. PUG At the 1935 Morris & Essex Kennel Club dog show, the entry of 3,175 was the show’s largest up to that time. (The 1939 event was the show’s grandest with 4,456 entries.) In his coverage of preparations for the event, New York Times writer Fred van Ness reported, “$20,000 in cash prizes and 220 trophies will be distributed.” Although Harry Hartnett handled the celebrated Irish Setter, Ch. Milson O’Boy, to Best in Show under judge G .V. Glebe that year, other winners emerged from breed entries deep in quality. Among them was Ch. Jin Rickey, a Pug owned by Mrs. Edna Hillgamyer of East St. Louis, Illinois. The entry was reportedly one of the largest the breed had ever seen in America. The win certainly gave the Midwest Toy a lot of exposure. During the 1937 show season, the fawn dog was Best of Breed on six occasions, placing in the Group each time. Mrs. Hillgamyer’s kennel also included eight “very fine” brood bitches as well as three champions at stud, as noted in the AKC Blue Book. JAPANESE (SPANIEL) CHIN When Ch. Kumochi-No-Koban appeared on the bench in America, his breed was known as the Japanese Spaniel. (In 1977, the AKC official- ly changed the misnomer “Spaniel” to the appropriately royal designa- tion, “Chin.”) The little dog’s owner, Mrs. Edward H. Berendsohn, was one of the breed’s earliest promoters in the US. In 1932, the lady judged the Toy Group at Westminster and gave the win to Keuwanna Titi, the breed’s first Group Winner at the Garden. Mrs. Berendsohn imported the Austrian-born Nagako v. Miniatur, a bitch that proceeded to win specialties in 1933, ’35 & ’37. Of particular interest to students of 20th century American dog shows, Dr. and Mrs. Berendsohn introduced Alva Rosenberg to purebred dogs. The future all-rounder worked in the ken- nel at the couple’s home in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn.
THIS IMPORT HAILED FROM THE LEGENDARY CAVERSHAM KENNELS OF MISS MARY DE PLEDGE.”
Ch. Hop-O of Hartlebury (Jo Jo of Caversham x Topsee of Caversham)
Ch. Jin Rickey (Ch. Silver King of Broadway of Georgian Court x Adile of Sigvale)
Ch. Kumochi-No-Koban (Kumochi-No-Kobe x Kumochi-No-Taiko)
106 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, OCTOBER 2020
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