The Book of Dogs by Louis Agassiz Fuertes - National Geographic Society circa 1919 Rare Book

{HISTORY}

Often compared to John James Audubon both in terms of talent and prolific output, celebrated American artist and ornithologist Louis Agassiz Fuertes (1874-1927) is most known for his bird illustrations, but in 1919, he illustrated The Book of Dogs published by the National Geographic Society.

Containing 73 full color paintings of over 70 dog breeds, this book is a bit like a field guide to common canine varities of the late 1800s and early 1900s. One of Louis' few detours from illustrating wild birds, he collaborated on this book with naturalist writer Ernest Harold Baynes (1868-1925) sharing not only a brief history of dogs in general and their relationship to mankind but also detailing specifics of each featured breed in appearance, temperament and character. 

Early 1900s photographs depicting dogs in all sorts of working environments accompany Louis' colorful illustrations and Ernest's engaging text. Dog lovers will be drawn to the wide variety of breeds featured here, from the smallest chihuahua to the biggest St. Bernard. Thoughtful descriptions of each one's unique character and outstanding traits tell of the amazing diversity amongst the canine group, and true stories of extraordinary accomplishments of real-life dogs adds significant sentimental weight to the entire book.  History lovers will especially marvel at the impact dogs have made in the roles as protectors, service dogs, guardians, companions, and champions over the course of the past two centuries. 

Drawn with the same level of execution and detail that brought so much acclaim to Louis with his wild bird portraits, this book is fascinating in presentation and content. Published in 1919, just a year after WWI ended, several dog breeds are discussed through that lens (German Sheperds, Belgian Sheperds, for example) but all the dog descriptions contain interesting fun facts from history.

Pomeranians were bred from ancestral lines of the Samoyed and Spitz breeds. The Great Dane is one of the oldest breeds used for hunting. The portrait that Louis created of the Newfoundland featured here, was drawn from a participant in the Westminster Dog Show of 1918 and represents one of only two American strains available in the United States in the early 1900s. The North Greenland Eskimo dog breed helped Admiral Robert E. Peary discover the North Pole. Samoyeds hail from Northeastern Russian and Siberia and were bred for herding reindeer. The Schipperke (pronounced skiperkee) is a Belgian canal barge dog with a name derived from the Flemish word "little skipper." And on and on it goes, breed by breed, fun fact by fun fact. 

A very rare and hard to find book in its original 1919 form, this book encapsulates all that is lovely about dogs and is something that can be returned to again and again for both its content and its art.  We could have written so more about this book including bios of the men that produced it, who were each fascinating in their own right, but the joy in this book especially is the discoveries that unfold on each and every page. So we'll leave it at that... more for you to find and fall in love with. 

Photograph of Ernest Harold Baynes sipping tea with a chickadee, 1915 courtesy of The American Museum of Natural History.  Photo of Louis Agassiz Fuertes courtesy of Cornell University.

{SPECIAL FEATURES}

• Published in 1919 by National Geographic Society 
• 96 pages 
• Illustrated throughout by Louis Agassiz Fuertes

{CONDITION}

In lovely antique condition, this book is clean and bright throughout. There is foxing on the endpapers, and the inner spine is showing through on page 48-49 but all pages are firmly attached and intact. The coverboards are clean and bright and the interior illustrations are vibrant in color.

{SIZE}

Measures 10" inches (length) x 7" inches (width) x .25" inches (thickness) and weighs 1 lb