UN SAUT PERILLEAUX From a Painting by Madame Ronner
THE BOOK OF THE CAT BY FRANCIS SIMPSON
Originally published IN 1903 by CASSELL AND COMPANY, LIMITED LONDON, PARIS, NEW YORK AND MELBOURNE
CHAPTER XII SILVER OR CHINCHILLA PERSIANS Page Seven
"Before closing the chapter on silvers, I will allude to the Cat Club show, held at St Stephen's Hall, Westminster Aquarium, in January 1903. On this occasion there was quite a record entry in the male silver class, which contained twenty one cats. The list was headed by Mr. J.F. Dewar's handsome Father O Flynn II.
Many well known prize winners had to be content with a V.H.c. card in this class of quantity and quality. The females numbered eighteen and here again, a noted winner was awarded the highest honours Miss Chamberlayne's Cap and Bells, is very pale and pure in colour and carries a soft silky coat. In the silver kitten class, the sexes were not divided and Miss Ford's lovely kittens scored first and third. A sweeter face and rounder head than that possessed by Silver Button, the first prize winner would be difficult to find, and Miss Ford may be congratulated on having bred such a gem. Mr. T.B. Mason judged the silver classes at this show, and he doubtless experienced some difficulty in testing the colour of the exhibits, in the bad light of St Stephen's Hall, more especially as on the opening day of the show, a dense fog hung over the city.
Another difficulty which must present itself to our most capable judges is the awarding of specials offered for silvers and shaded silvers. Perhaps the easiest way out of this difficulty, is to give the shaded silver prizes to the darkest cats, but all are shaded, even the palest, and therefore some judges might justify themselves, if they awarded both sets of specials, to the one cat At this show. Lady Marcus Beresford offered three special prizes in each silver cat class for the palest specimens, one of these in the male class being won by her own handsome Beetle [Windsor Beetle], a son of the famous Lord Southampton. The classification for silvers at the specialist societies show at Bath, which followed close after the Westminster show, was the largest that has ever been given, consisting of classes for novices and breeders, in addition to the ordinary division and subdivision for cats and kittens. The sensible plan of a ring class for neuters only was adopted.
Members of the specialist society for encouragement of silvers, must on this, have felt proud of the liberal classification of the long list of handsome special, offered for their favourite breed of longhaired cats.
I WANT TO GO HOME Photo by E. Landor, Ealing
Francis Simpson, Editor of The Book of the Cat - 1903, was a noted cat breeder and judge in her day and resided in in England.
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