424 THE 
NEW BOOK OF 
THE DOG. 
MRS. ROBINSON (“PERDITA") WITH A POMERANIAN 
FROM THE PAINTING BY T. GAINSBOROUGH, R.A., IN THE WALLACE COLLECTION. 
so little was the breed appreciated that a 
well-known writer on dogs began an article 
on the Pomeranian with the words “ The 
Pomeranian is admittedly one of the least 
interesting dogs in existence, and conse- 
quently his supporters are few and far 
between.” 
The founders of the Kennel Club held 
their first dog show in 1870, and in that 
year only three Pomeranians were exhibited. 
For the next twenty years little or no per- 
manent increase occurred in the numbers 
of Pomeranians entered at the chief dog 
show in England. The largest entry took 
place in 1881, when there were fifteen; 
but in 1890 there was not a single 
Pomeranian shown. From this time, 
however, the numbers rapidly increased. 
Commencing in 1891 with fourteen, in- 
creasing in IgoI to sixty, it culminated in 
1905 with the record number of one hundred 
and twenty-five. Such a rapid advance 
between the years 1890 and 1905 is un- 
precedented in the history of dog shows, 
although it is right to add that this 
extraordinarily rapid rise into popularity 
has since been equalled in the case of the 
now fashionable Pekinese Spaniel. 
This tendency to advancement in public 
favour was contemporaneous with the 
