The Invention of the Modern Dog: Breed and Blood in Victorian Britain (Animals, History, Culture)

By: and and

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Synopsis
The story of the thoroughly Victorian origins of dog breeds.For centuries, different types of dogs were bred around the world for work, sport, or companionship. But it was not until Victorian times that breeders started to produce discrete, differentiated, standardized breeds. In The Invention of the Modern Dog, Michael Worboys, Julie-Marie Strange, and Neil Pemberton explore when, where, why, and how Victorians invented the modern way of ordering and breeding dogs. Though talk of "breed" was common before this period in the context of livestock, the modern idea of a dog breed defined in terms of shape, size, coat, and color arose during the Victorian period in response to a burgeoning competitive dog show culture. The authors explain how breeders, exhibitors, and showmen borrowed ideas of inheritance and pure blood, as well as breeding practices of livestock, horse, poultry and other fancy breeders, and applied them to a species that was long thought about solely in terms of work and companionship.The new dog breeds embodied and reflected key aspects of Victorian culture, and they quickly spread across the world, as some of Britain’s top dogs were taken on stud tours or exported in a growing international trade. Connecting the emergence and development of certain dog breeds to both scientific understandings of race and blood as well as Britain’s posture in a global empire, The Invention of the Modern Dog demonstrates that studying dog breeding cultures allows historians to better understand the complex social relationships of late-nineteenth-century Britain.
Copyright:
2018

Book Details

Book Quality:
Publisher Quality
Book Size:
304 Pages
ISBN-13:
9781421426594
Related ISBNs:
9781421426587
Publisher:
Johns Hopkins University Press
Date of Addition:
Copyrighted By:
JHUP
Adult content:
No
Language:
English
Has Image Descriptions:
No
Categories:
History, Nonfiction, Science, Animals, Medicine
Submitted By:
Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:
This is a copyrighted book.

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