THE POINTER AND HIS PREDECESSORS - W. ARKWRIGHT

"First published in 1903 in a large 'coffee table' format, his book was followed by a more handy Second Edition in 1906 which was entitled 'The Popular Edition'. It is this second edition which I published as re-prints in 1977 and 1989. The current re-print is of the same format containing all twenty-two illustrations as found in this 1906 edition.

'The Pointer and His Predecessors' contains chapters on Early History, Later History, Shows and Working Trials, Characteristics of the Pointer, Breeding and Selection, Alien Crosses, Shooting over Dogs, Breaking, Kennel Management, and a List of Books.

This is without doubt the most famous and authoritative book ever published on the pointer. This book consolidates the information on the pointer up the peak of it's development, and decline, around the turn of the century.

As he describes in the first chapters, the pointer was imported into this country around 1730. It was a slow ponderous animal which was to be transformed during the next hundred years into a fast, easily trained game-finding machine. But fashions were changing; so was farming and the countryside. The vogue was for bigger and bigger bags which could only be got by driving, the 'battu', to teams of Guns in blinds or butts. The pointer's heyday was over.

[William] Arkwright was a pointer fanatic. He spent nine years on research, and learnt another European language so he could complete his book. But this is a book which will be of interest to anyone who enjoys dogs or sport. Arkwright joined The Kennel Club in 1876 soon after its formation and two years later was elected to the Committee. He was responsible for starting field trials for spaniels and the first trial of the Sporting Spaniel Club was held on his Sutton Scarsdale estate. In 1901 he was Chairman of the International Gundog League which had the aim (as it has today) of furthering the interests of working gundogs. But soon after the publication of the 2nd Edition of this book there came a significant event. He resigned from judging dog shows because he felt that the type found on the bench had nothing to do with the breed he knew as a worker in the field. As Argus Olive commented in Country Life at the time, 'Formation in the Pointer and Setter means a great deal; but instinct means more'." [ler aqui]