Tidbits from History ...

The Kennel Gazette (U.K.)

Mastiffs

Mastiffs are never as numerous at Birmingham as at the Kennel Club Show, and they were hardly as strong this year as usual. There should be a dog and bitch champion class in Mastiffs, as in this breed, perhaps more than any other, a bitch has a very poor chance against a dog. It was a match between the sexes this year, Miss Hesketh's Raunee alone opposing Mr. Mark Beaufoy's Beau -- and of course the latter won. Taurus being in the catalogue but he was not shown. The open dog class we thought was poor taking it right through, and Miss Hesketh's Nero, who has much improved since last year, had a very easy win. The second dog, Mr. Mark Beaufoy's Caesar, we thought got more than his deserts, as he is very odd coloured -- a mix between a brindle and a fawn -- and he is fully small. Mr. Taunton's Cardinal looked thin, but he might have been second, Vulcan was V.H.C., but the other very highly commended one, Mr. J. A. Bindley's Ameer, we thought rather small though he has the making of a fairish dog. The class altogether on paper looked stronger than it was in reality, for both Salisbury and British King were entered but they were not in the show. The bitches we thought better than the dogs. The first, Mr. John Hay's Juno, is a good bitch all through, and Miss Hesketh's Maggie who seems to be unfortunate in getting second, as she gained that honour in 1878 and 1879, is a remarkably good bitch, and was cheap at the catalogue price of fifteen pounds and the second choice of a puppy. The third, Mr. W. Aston's Judy, is somewhat narrow; and Border Queen, a nice bodied bitch is a bit narrow in the head.

(This bit of Mastiff history was provided by our friends "down-under" which they were able to dig up from the archives of their library. Hope you enjoy this and others).