NOVEMBER 2021 Volume 2 No.5
FEATURES: LONGHAIR – LIFEGUARD SHORTHAIR – BALLOCHMYLE PERFECTION PURRSONALITY – MISS GERTRUDE JAY CFAF – ANTIQUE SHOW RIBBONS CAT ART – VARIATIONS ON A THEME … …and much more! INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE FOR CAT LOVERS, LINECHASERS & FANCIERS OF FELINE HISTORY
“Today’s achievements are part of tomorrow’s history”
The first Virtual Museum of the Cat! – online now at: www.cat-o-pedia.org
HARRISON WEIR COLLECTION © A-Cat-Emy Concepts
PUBLISHED BY A-CAT-EMY CONCEPTS for THE HARRISON WEIR COLLECTION EDITOR
John G. Smithson editor@felishistorica.com HISTORY PARTNERS The CFA Foundation COLUMNISTS/CONTRIBUTORS
Karen Lawrence (St. Catharines, Canada)
Lorraine Shelton (California, USA)
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Dr. Leslie Lyons (Missouri, USA)
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Chloe Chung (Hong Kong)
Laura Vocelle (Muscat, Oman)
Florent Fissot (Monsegur, France)
Dr. Victor Zaalov (Acre, Israel)
Valerie Sheldrake Feline Historian (Suffolk, UK)
Jamie Christian (Ohio, USA)
PHOTOGRAPHY / GRAPHICS
Helmi & Ken Flick (Florida, USA)
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Jack Terry (Florida, USA)
CONTENT All Rights Reserved © A-Cat-Emy Concepts SUBSCRIPTIONS Published Monthly Single Issue $4.00 USD ANNUAL $48.00 USD
NOVEMBER 2021
VOLUME 2 NUMBER 5
EDITORIAL The Editor outlines the contents of Felis Historica – Volume 2 No.5!
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CONTRIBUTING TEAM MEMBERS Gallery of our Team of Columnists, Contributors & Correspondents
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‘LIFEGUARD’ – by John Smithson The story of an early ‘Orange’ Long-hair, born in 1895.
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RIBBONS, ROSETTES & AWARDS - by Karen Lawrence Historic Cat Fancy treasures held in the Feline Historical Museum
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EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GENETICS YOU CAN LEARN FROM YOUR CAT! PART 17 - by Dr. Leslie Lyons The genetics of Cats eyes! …the window into their souls!
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A GALLERY OF ODD-EYED CATS
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‘CHAMPION BALLOCHMYLE PERFECTION’ – by John Smithson The story of a Red Classic Tabby English Shorthair, born in 1894.
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THE DESCENDANTS OF BASTET – by Karen Lawrence. New Book release information…
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A PERSIAN RHAPSODY IN BLUE – by John Smithson. New Book release information…
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MISS GERTRUDE JAY – Early Breeder & Judge - by John Smithson. A Review of the successes of the ‘Holmwood Persian cattery’
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THE HARRISON WEIR COLLECTION - RECENT ADDITIONS The Cat – Her Placement in Society… and Treatment
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CELEBRATING MODERN DAY LEADING CATS – Blue Tabby Bi-Colour Persian male CFA GC, NW PINKPAWPAL VAYU - by Chate Ruengruglikit
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CAT POEMS and OTHER FANCIES / & TEN CATS – by Graham Harrop
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VARIATIONS ON A THEME – by John Smithson Insights into the varied uses of the art of Harrison William Weir
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Editorial ’FELIS HISTORICA’ JOHN G. SMITHSON EDITOR EDITOR
OUR COVER PHOTO OUR COVER PHOTO ‘Our Puss’ AAlarge largeoriginal originalpencil pencildrawing, drawing of a short-haired of a domestic short-haired tabby tabbypatterned patternedcat, cat, signed and dated 1862, heightened with white, bysigned Harrison Weir. andWilliam dated 1862, (Father of the Cat Fancy) by Harrison William Weir. (Father of the Cat Fancy) Now in the Archives of in the Archives of The Now Harrison Weir Collection. The Harrison Weir Collection. Photo by John Smithson Photo by John Smithson COPYRIGHT ISSN: 2744-4430 National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa © A-CAT-EMY CONCEPTS / FELIS HISTORICA THE HARRISON WEIR COLLECTION No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, screen capture, or otherwise, without prior written permission. No responsibility is accepted for accuracy of advertisements or information. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED www.felis-historica.com www.harrisonweir.com
The newest race in these unprecedented times, has, in the last few months, been the race to vaccinate as many people as possible in almost every nation on earth, with at least two doses of one or more of the various brands of Covid-19 vaccine, that may or may not be available. Most countries have had heated debates over whether or not the vaccinations should be compulsory or not, and in the debates for or against, I have never once heard anyone compare it with the need to vaccinate your beloved pets for Calicivirus, or Rhinotracheitis, or a host of other feline maladies faced by our precious companion animals. My question therefore is - that if a new vaccine were made available for cats that would protect them from the ravages of any potentially life-threatening disease, no matter what that was, would you even hesitate to give it to them? I think not! So why then, when faced with a disease potentially capable of killing literally millions of our own species, do we then hesitate? For well over 100 years, we have not hesitated to vaccinate our children against the threats posed by Polio, Measles, Chicken Pox, Rubella, and a host of other equally debilitating diseases… so it does not seem logical to me, that anyone other than someone at risk through allergies, would not jump at the opportunity to be protected. As a person who is medically compromised myself, I did not hesitate to get the vaccination, because it was clear to me, that should I ever contract the disease, that at least my immune system would have a better chance of knowing how to fight it. And if the opportunity arises for me to get a booster dose, I will be amongst those first in line… with bells on, to receive it. Our magazine this month is full of interesting articles, among which is another by Dr. Leslie Lyons which provides the lowdown on the genetics of eye colour and the effects of mela
NOVEMBER 2021
IN CELEBRATION OF
ODD-EYED CATS
melanocytes, containing melanosomes that synthesize and store melanins (pigments) and their distribution. Then she explains how irides can be dichromatic, causing portions of the eye to be of a different colour, forming a ring or a pieslice of another colour! Examples are shown in the article, and our adjoining Gallery this month features odd-eyed cats from all over the world! Our sincerest thanks to the cat owners and photographers who shared their images. Karen Lawrence brings to life historic cat fancy ribbons and rosettes in her article on items housed in the CFA Foundation’s Feline Historical Museum. History features include one on the early English Shorthair, ‘Ballochmyle Perfection’ and the Longhair ‘Lifeguard’ born respectively in 1894, and 1895. We also take a peek into the life of a well-respected late Victorian breeder and judge of Blue Persians, Miss Gertrude Jay. Our feature cat this month is GC, NW. Pinkpawpal Vayu, a magnificent Blue Tabby Bi-Colour Persian, bred in Thailand by Pattama Weeranon and Chate Ruengruglikit, and exhibited with success in CFA both in his own Region, and Internationally. Our last feature, is ‘Variations on a Theme’ – in which we investigate the multiple uses of the artwork of Harrison William Weir, over a period in some cases, spanning as much as 39 years! The two cases we shine light upon in this issue are the cat in our cover page image and its various published variations; and then a dog, first published in 1863 and published as well as painted again, by Weir, as late as 1902, when the artist was already 78 years old! Stay safe and be kind to one another!
John EDITOR
One of our Genetics article cats is: ‘MALI’ a cat with three eye colours, shown here with her owner Tittungpak Sriprasom, and featured in the Thai street art below.