One of the first entries about bred Seidenspitz can be found in the German Dog Stud Book from 1880
The owner of Blitz*, Dr. W. Fischer also owned the Seidenspitz named Schnips, which was exhibited together with "Gyp" by Mr. A. Wernick in 1878 at the exhibition of the "Hector" association in Berlin became.
Side note on the exhibition: "There was no actual award, but the dogs were only designated No. 1 and No. 2 and then to some of them the honorary award of His Royal Highness Prince Carl of Prussia, 10 honorary awards and 7 honorary diplomas, altogether 18 honorary awards." [1]
*Lightning was immortalized on an oil painting, see article: < strong>The silk Spitz part 1
Silk Spitz at the International Exhibition of Hunting and Luxury Dogs in Frankfurt am Main 1891
Presentation of the Silk Spitz
You can clearly see how the dogs were prepared for the presentation:
With a bow tied, the area around the eyes has been shaved as well as the paws. The hair on the ears, especially the tips of the ears, may have been trimmed to reveal the typical triangular ears again.
First prize went to the Seidenspitz bitch "Rica" owned by Korthals from Biebesheim.
The Seidenspitz male "Hamlet" received the 2nd prize in Frankfurt. His owner was Mr. T. Rikoff from Munich, as well as "Bubi", who only received the honorary award.
The silky-haired Spitz
Richard Strebel devotes a large chapter to the Seidenspitz in his encyclopedia on (German) dog breeds in 1910, which should not be missing here:
This dwarf species had flourished again towards the end of the last century, having previously appeared almost extinct. Especially the efforts of some breeders like Dr. Richard Fischer, Bromberg, Dr. We owe it to Th. Künzli, St. Gallen, Korthals, Biebeshein and Mr. Rikoff, Munich, that we got to see good dogs at that time. Recently, interest in this charming breed seems to be on the wane. The cause may be the enormous difficulties with breeding and rearing.
About the origin of this breed there is darkness, it is attributed to a crossing of Maltheser with Zwerspitz, in any case Germany is the country of origin, and differs from the latter only by the magnificent, long, fine, silky coat. However, as with all other tips, the hair must stand out as straight and loosely as possible, not appear wavy, curly, rolled or shaggy. Color white with black nose and black eyes. More recently, single-colored black Silk Spitz has also appeared, which, when otherwise
correspond to the breed characteristics, are not to be rejected. Apart from the long, silky coat, all points, including size and weight, are the same as the Pomeranian, but the Pomeranian has narrower, finer paws (rabbit's feet). With regard to hair, the paws, muzzle and ears usually have to be trimmed to reproduce the outer appearance of the real Spitz as faithfully as possible. However, the less these artificial adjustments are necessary, the greater the value of the Silk Spitz. [2]
Silkspitz & St. Bernard breeders:
Dr. Theodor Künzli (1848–1903)
(Jacob) Theodor Künzli, born in Griesenberg, grew up as the stepson of Stephan Eigenmann in Fimmelsberg, studied medicine from 1868 in Zurich and Würzburg.
In 1878, after moving from Speicher to St. Gallen, he married Josefine Huber (1849–1929), who came from a family in Walenstadt, and practiced in the city of St. Gallen from then until his death in 1903.
After getting married, he first moved in with his wife in her parents' house "Zur Flaschen". After a few years, however, his practice had increased significantly in scope, and they moved into their own house. Theodor Künzli then lived and practiced at Blumenaustraße 28, behind the Tonhalle St. Gallen. Through his public work in the school system and in politics, the doctor's house on Blumenaustraße became a center of intellectually stimulated socializing over the years, but this came to an abrupt end with his sudden death in 1903.
Theodor Künzli died on September 14, 1903 in St. Gallen from a stroke. His funeral turned out to be an impressive mourning rally, which was attended by many patients, doctors and teachers from the city, as well as the entire school board of the city of St. Gallen and the district school board. Künzli had held various public offices in the field of education. Many friends also appeared from the Swiss Cynological Society, of which Künzli was a founding member and whose "Zentralblatt für Jagdund Hundefreunde" he had founded and edited for many years. Künzli was considered the real savior of the St. Bernard dog breed; at times he kept 24 copies in a shed behind the house on Blumenaustrasse and was awarded medals for them at exhibitions in Berne and Zurich in 1884, 1887, 1889 and 1894. [3]
Sources:
[1] Deutsches-Hunde-Stammbuch I, entries from I-334, Hanover 1880, publisher: Verein zur Veredelung der Hunderacen für Deutschland
[2] The German Dogs, 1910, Richard Strebel
[3] The history of homeopathy in Switzerland 1827-1971, Alexander Erlach Karl F. Haug Verlag, Stuttgart 2009
Album of award-winning luxury dogs from the International Exhibition in Frankfurt a. M. 1891