In the region between Gera, Jena and Eisenberg, the so-called Holzland, numerous dog wholesalers emerged from the 1850s.
Arthur Seyfarth was particularly prominent and successful in the region with his first German pedigree dog breeding facility and business in Bad Köstritz - also known as the "Grand établissement d'élevage des chiens de race noble" - founded in 1864.
He advertised in many newspapers throughout Europe and produced catalogs at regular intervals that contained short "breed descriptions", first drawings and later photos of the pedigree dogs and the sales prices. These were actually nothing more than sales brochures and price lists and contained the respective dogs, prices and order numbers that could be entered in an order form. [1]
The prices of the dogs were between 25 and 100 marks in Wilhelmine currency; Added to this were the freight costs (e.g. London 35 marks and New York 100 marks), because the animals were shipped. Older dogs were more expensive than young ones because they were "trained" or "housebroken" or had won awards at shows.
Males were more expensive than females, dogs could be ordered in pairs and were then slightly cheaper than individually.
The Seyfarth dogs have won awards across Europe. The clientele came from the European nobility, the military and the bourgeoisie. The dogs were offered as hunting, protection, show and room dogs. [1]
Location of the dog breeding establishment and dog trade
Arthur Seyfarth's sales catalogs show an engraving of his villa.
The villa at what is now Bahnhofstraße 51 in Bad Köstritz, built in the classical style, probably dates from around 1870. A curved staircase leads to the main entrance with a veranda. Upon entering the house, one came into a magnificent hall-like room that occupied a large part of the ground floor. A representative balcony with wrought iron decorations was installed on the upper floor. The flat roof was surrounded by an iron balustrade with large masts bearing the initials "AS" (Arthur Seyfarth). [2]
The pedigree dog kennel in Köstritz was located on a 10,000 square meter property in the
Proximity to the train, which was important because most of the dogs were shipped and exported to customers by train. Seyfarth loved ostentatious buildings in the Wilhelmine style. His kennel was considered the most modern facility in Europe at the time.
The villa still stands today without the elaborate balustrade. The front end has been changed. The property with a direct connection to the breeding facility is now separated from each other by Bahnhostraße.
A look at the institution and kennel
The price catalog of noble pedigree dogs. German edition. Arthur Seyfarth Nachf., Müller & Co. Bad Köstritz - edition between 1920-1935
From an older edition:
At times, up to 40 different dog breeds were offered: In particular, very large Molossers such as the so-called "giant mountain dogs", Newfoundland dogs, St. Bernards and the German Colossal Mastiffs. In addition, shepherd dogs, terriers, trained pointers, poodles, Maltese and also dwarf spitz, large spitz and wolf spitz were offered for sale. In the first issues of this brochure, the Großspitz was referred to as the Löwenspitz and was sold in the colors black, white, wolf grey, fox red and brown. [1]
The price for a Großspitz puppy, male approx. 2 months, was 30 marks at that time. According to the conversion table of the Deutsche Bundesbank, this would correspond to around 240 euros (rounded up) today.
An approximately 1-year-old male Großspitz could be worth up to 1,592 euros, a bitch of the same age only 796 euros. [3]
Recommendation for further literature:
Sources:
[1] Album of noble breed dogs. German edition, self-published, Arthur Seyfarth, 1905
[2] www.stadtbadkoestritz.de< /u>
www.pohlitz-bk.de
Schön, J., Breed Identification of Dogs, 1895, 2nd edition
Seyfarth, Arthur, The Hound and His Breeds, 1891, 7th Edition
Seyfarth, Arthur, Catalog of noble pedigree dogs, 49th edition
Seyfarth, Arthur, Catalog de chiens de race nobles, ca. 1906
[3] www.bundesbank.de< /u> - Purchasing power equivalents of historical amounts in German currencies