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
JUNE 2022
VOLUME 2 NUMBER 12
EDITORIAL The Editor outlines the contents of Felis Historica – Volume 2 No.12
Contents
CONTRIBUTING TEAM MEMBERS Gallery of our Team of Columnists, Contributors & Correspondents
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THE JAPANESE BOBTAIL - by Marianne Clarke An Introduction to the JBT Breed by the Breed Council Secretary
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THE SILVER LILY (1897) - by John Smithson The story of a Chinchilla female sired by Ch. Silver Lambkin.
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HARRISON WEIR’S LETTERS – notes from ‘The Poet of Nature’ Files What Harrison Weir’s letters reveal - by John Smithson
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EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GENETICS YOU CAN LEARN FROM YOUR CAT! - by Dr. Leslie Lyons The ABC’s of Cat Blood Type Genetics
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INTERNATIONAL CELEBRATION GALLERY – THE JBT LH & SH
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GARDENING WITH CATS – Cartoons by Graham Harrop A Cats Guide to the Flower Bed!
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THE AMERICAN SHORTHAIR – New Book Release information.
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ROMEO (1898) – by John Smithson An early imported Sealpoint Siamese male.
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THE CAT THAT LOOKED AT A KING – Future Book release info…
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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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FELIS HISTORICA
CELEBRATING MODERN DAY LEADING CATS – Our Feature Cats: Japanese Bobtail Longhair & The Domestic Shorthair CFA GC, BWR, NW NUDAWNZ DOBUTSU NO MORI 82 ‘TINA’ – An everyday cat for everybody! 96
Editorial Editorial ’FELIS HISTORICA’ JOHN G. SMITHSON EDITOR
OUR COVER PHOTO ‘TINA’ ACOMB Domestic Shorthair, and Rescue Kitten. Born in 2008. Beloved family pet of Linda and Jack Acomb at the Scrimshaw Cattery
Photo: Helmi Flick 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
Our June 2022 edition of Felis Historica, is in essence a celebration of the Domestic cat – a subject which was close to the heart of the founder of the Cat Fancy, Harrison William Weir – and it was his passion to acknowledge the cats place in society that drove him to push for its acknowledgement and contribution to mankind, that foresaw the establishment of cat shows. It is prudent I believe, to remind ourselves of the answer to the question, just what sis the difference between a domestic cat and a ‘pedigreed’ breed. The answer is ‘very little!’ The difference is that one has a recorded lineage, which only required mankind to name and track that lineage, and to classify cats of similar attributes into named breeds. The other is no less valuable or less important, and in fact there is a good argument that it will become more important as time goes by. Many of the ‘breeds’ we recognise today, are based on domestic populations, that have simply been recognised for their specific traits or attributes and simply with a recorded pedigree from a specific point in time. Among them to name just a few, are the British Shorthair and the American Shorthair, one which has a heritage built on the foundation of the other, but which have now been developed along very different, specific and ‘selective’ phenotypical criteria for many generations. The Japanese Bobtail is a street cat from Japan - and can still be imported as such and registered as foundation stock. The two cats in this issue, the first being a Japanese Bobtail Longhair who has earned the distinction of being named Best Championship Cat in the CFA Annual Awards for the show season only recently completed. That amazing female is CFA G
TINA ACOMB IN COVERT Photo: Courtesy of Linda Acomb
IN CELEBRATION OF
JUNE 2022
JAPANESE BRITISHBOBTAIL SHs & LHs CATS
GC, BWR, NW NUDAWNZ DOBUTSU NO MORI – superbly exhibited and lovingly presented by Lorna Dawn Friemoth. Our other feature cat is a rescue cat named ‘Tina’ owned by Linda and Jack Acomb of Scrimshaw cattery fame, who as a domestic shorthair has enriched all our lives for the last seven plus years, by Linda sharing her images on her facebook feed along with many meaningful quotes. Tina is this months ‘cover’ cat, and we include a small gallery of her images and a short resume on her adoption into the Scrimshaw family of felines. Dr Lyons provides us with an exceptionally insightful piece on the ABC’s of Cat Blood Type genetics, a must read for all breeders! Marianne Clark, who is the Breed Council Secretary for Japanese Bobtails, provides a thumbnail history of the breed in CFA – her Kurisumasu cats have been a leading brand in the breed for decades! I have personally added a piece from the Archives of the Harrison Weir Collection, on just a few sample letters written by the man who started the Cat Fancying journey, and what the letters reveal to us about the man himself. Our historical files this month cover, a very early Chinchilla and one of the best sired by the ‘father of the Chinchilla breed, Ch. Silver Lambkin. Her name is ‘The Silver Lily’, born in 1897. Our second historical piece is about the Siamese male ‘Romeo’ born in 1898, an early import to the UK. We hope that you enjoy this month’s issue, feel free to give us your feedback!
John
EDITOR
Above and below: CFA GC, BWR, NW NUDAWNZ DOBUTSU NO MORI Mike – (Black Tortoriseshell & White) Japanese Bobtail Longhair CFA CAT OF THE YEAR 2022 Photos: Samantha Kerr.