1873 (continued): Shows at Dublin, Manchester, Edinburgh, Crystal Palace, Nottingham, Birmingham, and Manchester 1874: Shows at Wolverhampton and Northampton

On April 15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th, 1873, a dog show was held in the Exhibition Palace, Dublin, with Mr. John Douglas as manager, Mr. C. S. Morton as secretary, and an entry of 405.

I have not been able to ascertain who acted as judges, as it does not appear in the catalogue.

As seemed usual at that time at Irish dog shows, the list begins with Non-Sporting Dogs, of which there were small entries in Mastiffs, St. Bernards, and Newfoundlands, also in Blood-hounds and Deer-hounds.

There were very good entries in Greyhounds, Pointers, Setters, Retrievers, Fox-terriers, and Spaniels, but rather scanty in all the other varieties, some of which had very few specimens representing them.

In the same month, on April 29th and 30th and May 1st and 2nd, 1873, what was called the First Dog Show was held in the Free Trade Hall, Manchester, with Mr. S. Mendell, jun., President, Mr. T. Statter, Vice-President, and Mr. John Douglas, Manager.

The entry obtained was 742, and the following acted as judges: Pointers, Setters, and Retrievers, Messrs. S. E. Shirley, M.P., and W. Lort; Fox-terriers, Hon T. W. Fitzwilliam and Mr. S. Handley; Spaniels, Messrs. T. Burgess and W. Lort; Bull-dogs, Dalmatians, Bull-terriers, White English Terriers, and Black-and-tan Terriers, Messrs. S. E. Shirley, M.P., and S. Handley; Mastiffs, St. Bernards, Newfoundlands, and Foreign Dogs, Mr. S. Handley; Blood-hounds, Greyhounds, Harriers, Bedlingtons, Dandies, and Sheep-dogs, Messrs. W. Lort and S. Handley; Broken-haired Terriers, Messrs. S. Handley and T. Burgess; Pomeranians, Pugs, Maltese, Italian Greyhounds, Toy Spaniels, and Toy Terriers, Mr. T. Hughes.

Sporting Classes had well-filled classes in Pointers, Setters, Retrievers, Spaniels, Greyhounds, and Fox-terriers, the rest being poorly supported.

Non-Sporting were strong in Mastiffs, St. Bernards, Black-and-tan Terriers, Bull-terriers, White English and Dandie Dinmont Terriers, Broken-haired and Toy Terriers, most of the others having entries, but not very many of each variety.

The next important show I must mention is called the Third Dog Show, held in the Royal Aquarium, Edinburgh, May 20th, 21st, 22nd, and 23rd, 1873, with Mr. John Douglas as manager, and Mr. J. M. D. Brown as secretary, and a large entry.

The judges on the list were: Messrs. W. Lort, S. Handley, F. Somner, J. Nisbet, J. Steedman, and W. Ritchie.

Pointers and Fox-terriers were the largest classes in the show, Setters (no Irish shown), Spaniels, and Retrievers coming next in order, the others poorly filled.

Mastiffs, St. Bernards, and Newfoundlands were scanty in number; Bull-terriers and Black-and-tan Terriers, Skyes and Dandies, being the largest classes in Non-Sporting Division.

The next show I shall refer to was held at the Crystal Palace, Sydenham, June 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th, 1873, and is memorable as being the first I find held under the auspices of the newly established Kennel Club, with Mr. John Douglas, manager, Mr. W. Roue, secretary, and an entry of 975.

The following acted as judges: Blood-hounds, Mastiffs, and St. Bernards, Mr. S. Handley; Greyhounds and Deer-hounds, Mr. R. B. Carruthers; Pointers, Messrs. R. J. Lloyd Price and W. Lort; Setters, Rev. E. Hill and Mr. W. Lort; Retrievers, Messrs. R. B. Moore and W. Lort; Spaniels, Mr. W. Lort; Otter-hounds, Harriers, and Beagles, Hon. R. Hill and Mr. J. Walker (Wrexham); Fox-terriers and Wire-haired Terriers, Messrs. W. Lort and J. Walker (Wrexham); Sheepdogs, Messrs. R. J. Lloyd Price and W. Lort; Dalmatians and Bull-dogs, Messrs. R. J. Lloyd Price and S. Handley; Bull-terriers, Black-and-tan and English Terriers, Mr. S. Handley; Skyes and Dandie Dinmont Terriers, Mr. E. J. Dart; Maltese, Broken-haired Terriers, and others not mentioned, Mr. S. Handley.

There was a remarkably good average entry all through this show, the largest entries in the Sporting Division being in Retrievers, Pointers, Setters, Spaniels, and Fox-terriers, but most of the other varieties were fairly well represented.

In the Non-Sporting Division Mastiffs, Bull-dogs, and Bull-terriers bore the palm in numbers; but Black-and-tan and Toy Terriers were well-filled classes, and there were some entries of nearly all the other varieties.

The next important show was held in the Market Place, Nottingham, October 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 6th, 1873, under the patronage of the National Canine Society, with an entry of 736. Mr. Wakerley acted as secretary.

The judges appointed on the occasion were: for Blood-hounds, St. Bernards, Mastiffs, and Newfoundlands, Messrs. J. L. Becker, W. Harrison, and H. D. Kingdon (so well known for his enthusiasm about Mastiffs and his eccentric style of costume); Fox-hounds, Harriers, Beagles, and Smooth- and Wire-haired Fox-terriers, Lord Kesteven, P.D., Capt. Skipwith, the Hon. T. W. Fitzwilliam, and Mr. Frank Gillard; Deer-hounds and Greyhounds, Messrs. J. Brown, E. Stewart, and Tom Webber; Otter-hounds, Foreign Dogs, Dalmatians, Bull-dogs, Bull terriers, Smooth- and Broken-haired Terriers, Bedlington, Black-and-tan, Skye, and Dandie Dinmont Terriers, Pomeranians, Pugs, Maltese, French Poodles, Italian Greyhounds, Toy Spaniels, and other Toys, Messrs. J. Fisher, D. Collins, R. Gardner, and Rev. G. F. Hodson; Pointers, Colonel Welfitt, Messrs. E. Stewart, T. Webber, and E. Laverack; Setters, Retrievers, and Spaniels, Messrs. E. Laverack, T. Webber, E. Stewart, and J. Brown; Sheep-dogs (Rough and Smooth), Messrs. Laverack, Stewart, and Webber.

In the Sporting Section the best entries were in Fox-hounds (where Mr. Chaworth-Musters took all the prizes), Greyhounds, Fox-terriers (well supported and contained the well-known names of Messrs. T. Wootton, H. Gibson, F. T. Astbury, and others amongst the winners), Pointers (with Messrs. J. Shorthose and Arkwright "in the money"), Setters (which found Mr. W. F. Bayley well in front), Retrievers, and all varieties of Sporting Spaniels (containing such names as Messrs. Skidmore, P. Bullock, and other well-known breeders).