Welcome to our Parti Poodle History area!

 

This is actually a bit of a misnomer. The history of the Poodle and the history of the Parti Poodle are actually one in the same. In the very beginnings of the breed, in either Germany or Russia (the Poodle is not French!), the Poodle existed as only three types. Either solid black, solid white, or a black and white, known as the Parti-colored Poodle.

The term “Parti” technically refers to any poodle who’s coat is of more than one color, IE: Part one color, part another color. For the solid Poodle breeders, many think the Mismark, Phantom, and the Parti are one in the same. This is not true. A Mismarked Poodle is any Poodle in which the coat consists of one primary color and perhaps some other light “mismarkings” which are almost always white. But when this Poodle is shaved down, the skin of the Poodle is all one solid color. With a true genetic Parti, when you shave them down, the skin is very obviously two separate and completely different colors with strong break lines between the colors. Also, the primary coat color of the Parti is white, with the other color being any one of the other accepted Poodle colors. The Phantom is usually a black, brown, or blue dog with the tan point pattern but apricot and cream phantoms do also exist.

   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parti-coated Poodles in historical artwork:

    Johnson, Eastman (1824-1906). Negro Life in the South. In the foreground, a small parti-coloured Poodle in a play-bow. Recently (as of January 2000) exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum; a catalogue contains a reproduction of this painting (p. 120).

    Loraine, Nevison Arthur (fl. 1889-1903). Mouton, c. 1890. Oil on canvas, 24 x 28 inches (61 x 71 cm). The Dog Museum, St. Louis. Parti Poodle lying on rug on 17th century oak chest. Secord, p. 214, plate 180.

    Harvey, William (1796-1866). (del.) The Poodle. Copperplate (T. Williams). Shaggy, calm, parti-coloured Poodle stands in front of rushes with front feet on a walking stick. Harvey was one of Bewick's pupils. Thomas Youatt, The Dog (London: 1886), p. 48.

    Hancock, Charles (1802-1877). A Pet Dog. 1875. Oil on panel, 8.5 x 10.25 inches (21.5 x 26 cm). Maybe-Poodle (moyen-sized), parti-coloured, sitting on step. Secord, p. 212, plate 179.

    Jack, J. (English, fl. 1867) Parti-Coloured Poodle on the Beach with a Man's Hat, 1867. Oil on canvas, 18.5 x 24 inches (47 x 61 cm). Private collection. Secord, p. 213, colour plate 101

    Martens, William Johannes (1838-95). Die Drei Pudelchen. Signed--W J Martens Roma--and inscribed, oil on panel, 13 x 9 inches (33 by 23 cm). Two parti-coloured puppies held by an Italianate young woman whom we must infer is the third pudelchen. Christie's International Magazine , May 1989, p. 83

    Alophe, M. La Fin d'Une Triste Journée. 1838. Parti-coloured moyen-sized Poodle in classic (short and curly) Continental clip and holding alms dish leads blind man (and blind woman holding the man's arm) along a wall beside a river in a city (looks like Paris). Printed in: Nelson Coon, A Brief History of Dog Guides for the Blind (Morristown, NJ: Seeing Eye, 1959, Page 31.

Ferneley,John, Sr. (1782-1860). Bay Hunter with Poodle in a Stable, 1818. Prettily-marked black-and-white parti-coloured SP in very moderate working Continental stands on his hind legs to greet a horse by touching noses.

Howitt. Engraving from his Groups of Animals (1811). Parti-coloured curly-coat (moderate clip) emerges from watery-cover holding duck. Ash, plate 94.

Gainsborough. Cottage girl with dog and pitcher, 1785. Oil painting. Engraved in stipple by John Whessell, 1806, as The Young Cottager. Girl stands holding pitcher in one hand, and snuggles parti-coloured water dog puppy in her other arm. Waterhouse, plate 273 (description 803, p. 103).

Chalon, H.B. (English, 1770-1849). Dogs in a Landscape (1802). Oil on canvas, 9" x 16". Center dog is a parti-coloured Poodle in a modified and exaggerated (for the 19th century) clip intermediate between Continental and English Saddle. See: William Secord, Dog Painting: the European Breeds (Woodbridge, Suffolk: The Antique Collectors' Club, 2000), plate 329, p. 224.

Reinagle, Richard Ramsay (1775-1862). Poodle and Wildcat, 1793. Oil on canvas, 60 x 48 inches (152.5 x 122cm). Romantic, Disneyesque scene: parti-coloured Standard Poodle in moderate "show-coat" has treed, at night, a peculiar-looking wild cat. Secord, p. 211, plate.  [Note: One of 2 works by this artist that feature parti-colored Poodles.]

Reinagle. Water dog and wild duck. Collection of Sir Walter Gilbey (as of 1962). Parti-coloured SP grasps struggling "runner" (or could the flight feathers be in moult?). Hopkins, p. 41.

Morland, George Charles (1763-1804). "Diver and Shucklebach" Water Dogs. Oil painting. Private collection. Mezzotint by William Ward (1766-1826), about 1790-1800. A Newfoundland and a Standard Poodle, both parti-coloured, while walking, playfully hold onto the same stick. Francis P. Fretwell, "200-Year Old 'Poodle'...", Poodle Variety, stud dog issue, 1996, p. 16.

Stubbs, George (1724-1806). A Water Spaniel, 1769. British Art Center, Yale University. Oil on canvas. Parti-coloured SP in sporting clip with merry expression, standing side view. Robert Fountain and Alfred Gates, Stubbs' Dogs: The Hounds and Domestic Dogs of the Eighteenth Century as seen through the Paintings of George Stubbs (London: Ackerman, 1974), p. 55; fig. 29; cat. 3.

Watson, James. Mezzotint, after G. Barret, 1 November 1768. Portrait of a Dog Belonging to Lord Edward Bentinck. Parti-coloured curly-coat stands alertly in heavily wooded, marshy cover. Item 508, An Eighteenth Century Collection of British Prints (London: Sotheby's, 1997). Auction catalogue for sale #LN7681 ("Gosse"), Thursday, 13 November 1997 at 2:30 p.m.

Gainsborough, Thomas (1727-88). William Poinz (1734-1809), 1762. Oil painting, 96.5 x 60 inches. Private collection. Man stands, holding fowling piece, parti-coloured water dog lies at his feet. Ellis Waterhouse, Gainsborough (London: Edward Hutton, 1958), plate 63 (description 554, p. 85).

Oudry. Water Spaniel Pursuing a Family of Ducks at the Base of a Fountain, 1742. Strasbourg, Musee des Beaux-Arts. Clearly-depicted parti-coloured SP harassing game at worst time of year. Opperman, p. 173, fig. 94.

Oudry. Water Spaniel Attacking a Swan on its Nest, 1740. Oil on canvas. Property of the Swedish Government, deposited in the Embassy of Sweden, Paris. (NB: similar painting, 1731.) Mostly swan, effects of light and atmosphere; parti-coloured SP in the shadows; "really shows what a SP can do to get a bit of meat for the hunter's table" (GL, 20 Feb. '97). Opperman, p. 170, fig. 56 (colour plate on p. 20).

Oudry. Water Spaniel Seizing a Bittern, 1725. Oil painting. Stockholm, Nationalmuseum. Determined parti-coloured SP, in short "show-coat", grasps a "runner" which exhibits dramatic resistance. Opperman, p. 119, fig. 64. See also Hopkins, p. 22; Price, plate 2, opposite p. 5. [Note this is one of a series of 5 works by Oudry that all feature parti-colored SP’s.]

Stubbs, attributed to. (1724-1803)  Oil painting, approximately life-sized parti-coloured SP in practical working Continental-type clip (fairly short coat on rear--except for tail-pom--moderate jacket, shaven legs and feet, except for bracelets) facing right, left foreleg raised as if in play, alert, happy expression (tip of tongue showing in smile), on rocky shore, body of water in background; distant hill, in photograph captioned: "Vulcan Polka Dog standing under a painting of a particolour Poodle attributed to Stubbs", Our Poodle, August 1977, p. 18; illustrating an article by Ann Cambray Coppage (Vulcan), "Parti-Coloured Poodles" (pp. 18-25).

Wootton, John (1682-1764). The Dancing Dogs. Oil on canvas, 44 x 54 inches (111.5 x 137 cm). Collection Wallington House: The National Trust. Four Mini Poodles, two white, two parti-coloured (mostly white) performing in classical surroundings (parrot on urn at upper right). Secord, p. 211, plate 176.

Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-69). Self-Portrait in an Oriental Costume with a Dog, 1631. Panel 66.5 x 52cm. Petit Palais, Paris. Artist standing; parti-coloured (brown and white) Standard Poodle in very moderate Continental seated in foreground--a marvelous dog portrait. Stephens, p. 98. Gary Schwartz, Rembrandt, his life, his paintings (New York: Viking, 1985), p. 61, fig. 48 (colour)

Seve, Gilbert de (1615-1698). Le Grand Barbet. Engraving. Shaggy parti-coloured proto-Poodle stands sedately, facing left, on a rocky ledge; a few rushes in foreground; a distant hillside descends from upper right to lower left. Alice Lang Rogers, Poodles in Particular (NY: Howell, 1967), p. 27.

Frankfurt,Master of (1460-1520-c. 1533). Virgin and Child with St. James the Pilgrim, St. Catherine, and the Donor with St. Peter, c. 1496. Oil on oak panel, 69 x 55.2cm. Aukland City Art Gallery. (Brisbane, ; variants are in the Norton Simon Gallery,Pasadena, and the [British] Royal Collection). The Donor looks into space in contemplation after studying his prayer book while his parti-coloured Miniature Poodle (moyen) in Continental clip gazes at him in admiration. Unseen to the donor, the virgin and child with the saints are drawn by his piety to gather superbly in the background. Plate 368 (p. 121), Tomory and Gaston.

 

Parti Poodle Mentions in Books:

Thum, Hans, Mein Freund der Pudel: Aufzucht, Vererbung, Erziehung, Krankheiten, Pflege (Munich: Gersbach & Sohn, 1963). 7th edition.   Translation:  "Inheritance gives general information about deciding whether to breed one's dog, lists some serious faults to be avoided, especially in the dwarf size, and gives a simple illustration of coat color inheritance for black and white. He talks briefly about Mendel, dominant and recessive genes, and inheritance of harmful traits. Thum explains that parti-color and mismark are not at all the same thing. Parti-colored poodles have two distinct colors in large patches and mismarks have small flecks of white or brown on the chin, chest, tail, and/or feet. There are two pictures of parti-colored poodles, one of a rather heavyset dog circa 1800 and the other of Vulcan Champagne Camoflage born 1942 and registered with the English Kennel Club. He mentions the Carillon kennel and Louise Branch, talks about unfortunate results of color-mixing in the past, and discusses inheritance of breed type and advises against it.

 

Magazine articles:

Ann Cambray Coppage (Vulcan), "Particolour Poodles", Our Poodle, "Salute to Britain" edition, August 1977, pp. 18-25; in front is a piece for this article is a painting of a parti-coloured Poodle attributed to Stubbs.  (see historic paintings section to see this image.)

Price, Charles, "Poodle 'Water Dogs'", Dog World, June 1954, p. 170:   In Count de Buffon's Natural History printed in London about 1770 some thirty breeds of dogs known at that time are pictured and described.  The engravings are very well done and there is no mistaking the breeds represented altho in the years that have intervened, radical changes in size, color and conformation have appeared, especially in the bulldog, pug, King Charles, dalmatian, hound and greyhound (at that time spelled Gre-hound.)   The ancestors of the present day poodles are clearly shown as the Great Water Dog, corresponding to our standard poodle; and the Lesser Water Dog representing the miniature poodle.  The larger dog is white with dark spots of varying sizes, heavy coat, long ears, strong head.  The coat on the smaller specimen is not so long.  The ears are longer, shorter muzzle and a three-quarter length tail.  The larger dog was used as retriever as he has always been thruout his history, the smaller dog was apparently used also from some sort of hunting.  (Originally written for Dog World about 1930.) 

Hayes Blake Hoyt, "Poodles Across the Pond" (Popular Dogs, 1937): "Miss Lane has started the particolored Poodle in England and I saw a litter of particolored puppies, very evenly marked black and white, with all black leathers, and white muzzles. At present in England they have a special particolored class for these Poodles, and Miss Lane tells me that they are becoming increasingly popular. I must confess that as a conservative, I do not like them, feeling that, as we have worked so long to get the solid color, Poodles should remain solid color. But I must admit that for particolors these dogs were most evenly marked, and quite stylish in appearance."

For more information on general Poodle history see the Poodle History Project.

 

 

 

 

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