HISTORY OF STANDARD SCHNAUZERS IN AMERICA
EARLY ART WITH SCHNAUZERS In Mecklenburg’s marketplace stands a statue dating back to the 14th century of a hunter with a Schnauzer crouching at his feet. The breed is featured in several paint- ings by Albrecht Durer (1471–1528). He probably owned a Schnauzer himself— several of his paintings look like the same dog at different ages. “Crown of Thorns,” a tapestry from 1501 by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472– 1553), contains a dog that looks like a Schnauzer. In Stuttgart, a Schnauzer appears at the base of a sculpture called “Nachtwaechterb- runnen,” or in English, “The Night Watch- man.” At the feet of this bronze watchman is what most Schnauzer fanciers believe is a Standard Schnauzer. Because it is dated 1620, viewers think the piece underscores the breed’s antiquity. However, this isn’t true, since the sculptor, Adolf Fremd, was born in 1853. The English painter Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792), known for “The Grand Style” of portraiture, included in some paintings dogs that are Schnauzer- like, although most are Spaniels. The most famous artwork claimed to include a Schnauzer is “The Night Watch” (1642, oil on canvas, 379.5 x 453.5 cm), arguably the best-known painting by Dutch master Rembrandt Harmanszo- on van Rijn. Originally named “Militia Company of District II under the Com- mand of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq,” it depicted a daytime assembly, but after layers of dirt and varnish had darkened the painting, it was renamed “The Night Watch.” In the painting’s lower right, to
Remastered “The Night Watch,” Rembrandt Harmanszoon van Rijn
the left of the drummer, is a scruffy gray dog looking Schnauzer-like. Years ago at a SSCA National silent auction, I bought a digitally-remastered print of “The Night Watch” in which Willy Hakonsen (herself a van Rijn) replaced the gray dog with two groomed, show-ready Park Avenue Stan- dard Schnauzers. My print hangs in our dog room; Rembrandt’s original hangs in Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum. KENNEL CLUBS & REGISTRATIONS The first German Kennel Club (est. 1878) began holding regular dog shows in 1879. Wire-haired Pinschers were shown for the first time at the Third German International Show in Hanover (1879). Schnauzer, a dog from Wurttemburg Ken- nels in Leonburg, won first prize. The American Kenne Club (est. 1884) and the Canadian Kennel Club (est. 1888) were not far behind their German breth- ren. The Sport of Purebred Dogs was off and running. Prior to World War I, a small group of wealthy fanciers introduced Schnauzers to America. Together, they imported a num- ber of top Schnauzers from Europe. Later (1922), Mrs. Nion Tucker bought Sgr. & Ch. Claus v Furstenwall for $7,000 in the currency of today. During World War I, Standard Schnauzers served as dispatch carriers for the Red Cross and as guard dogs for the German Army. Both sides valued Standard Schnauzers for their unswerving loyalty,
ability to follow orders, and intelligence to make independent decisions in the field when conditions warranted. The first Standard Schnauzer (SS) regis- tered in the United States was a dog named Norwood Victor (Schnauzer x Schnauzer), a salt-and-pepper male whelped in 1901 and listed by the AKC in 1904. From Norwood Kennels (Philadelphia), he won Open Dog First in New York and Philadel- phia. Unconfirmed reports tell of Schnau- zers shown in the Miscellaneous Class at Westminster and other shows in the late 1800s, but Victor was the first AKC-regis- tered Standard Schnauzer shown.
“Nachtwaechterbrunnen”
Ch. Sgr. Rigo v Schnauzerlust
254 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, FEBRUARY 2022
Powered by FlippingBook