The Consulation by Edcward Douglass 1868
The Beginning
The Collie -- known through the years by various names such as the Scotch Collie, English Collie, Rough Collie, Smooth Collie, Farm Collie, Show Collie, and Colley -- is often thought of as an ancient breed of dog. But, truly, little is known about this breed prior to the 1600s.
The earliest known illustrations of Collies, or dogs resembling Collies, are those found as woodcuts in The History of Quadrupeds, dating 1792, by Thomas Bewick. The Smooth Collie at that time was referred to as the Ban Dog or Cur Dog (as in "cur-tailed," related to the docking of the tails of working dogs and herding dogs to avoid paying a dog tax), while the Rough Collie was called the Shepherd's Dog.
The Collie continued to work and evolve in the border counties of Scotland, northern England, and Ireland. They were bred with working qualities in mind, and were infamous for their intelligence, intuitiveness, and sagacity. Queen Victoria (1837-1901) fell in love with the Collie during one of her visits to Balmoral, her Scottish retreat. The Queen was a great lover of dogs, but she particularly adored her Collies. Such recogniton brought this working dog into the limelight, and the public clamored to own one. This brought a new market for the shepherds, who readily supplied their dogs and puppies to not only the Queen but to a growing number of breeders and to the public at large.
Livestock exhibitions were growing in popularity, and by the time of the Victorian era expanded considerably. Dogs, typically sporting breeds, were included in many of the early livestock exhibits. Collies were exhibited at the first all-breed dog show in 1860 at Birmingham (Britain) in the class for Sheepdogs. In 1870, at the Crystal Palace show classes were broken down further into Sheepdogs, Rough and Sheepdogs, Smooth. Entries in British Studbooks (from the mid- to late-1800s) listed Collies under different classifications ranging from Colleys or Sheepdogs, to Collies. Eventually, this was divided into Rough, Smooth, and Short-tailed (this last entry could possibly be the naturally born short-tailed or docked Collie, sometimes referred to as cur-tailed). The Studbook published in 1895 finally listed the breed as Collies (Rough) and Collies (Smooth). But, to this day they are still often referred to as the Scotch Collie.
The first British sheep were imported into the United States to Virginia in the 1600s, and the first cattle arrived in 1624 on the good ship "Charity." It is believed that Collies arrived with these early importations of livestock. It is probable that the "farm collie" or "old-fashioned collie" descends from these early importations from the British Isles. The next large influx of importations to the United States started to occur during the mid- to late-1800s, when the Collie's popularity began to soar in the UK and in Europe.
The earliest known illustrations of Collies, or dogs resembling Collies, are those found as woodcuts in The History of Quadrupeds, dating 1792, by Thomas Bewick. The Smooth Collie at that time was referred to as the Ban Dog or Cur Dog (as in "cur-tailed," related to the docking of the tails of working dogs and herding dogs to avoid paying a dog tax), while the Rough Collie was called the Shepherd's Dog.
The Collie continued to work and evolve in the border counties of Scotland, northern England, and Ireland. They were bred with working qualities in mind, and were infamous for their intelligence, intuitiveness, and sagacity. Queen Victoria (1837-1901) fell in love with the Collie during one of her visits to Balmoral, her Scottish retreat. The Queen was a great lover of dogs, but she particularly adored her Collies. Such recogniton brought this working dog into the limelight, and the public clamored to own one. This brought a new market for the shepherds, who readily supplied their dogs and puppies to not only the Queen but to a growing number of breeders and to the public at large.
Livestock exhibitions were growing in popularity, and by the time of the Victorian era expanded considerably. Dogs, typically sporting breeds, were included in many of the early livestock exhibits. Collies were exhibited at the first all-breed dog show in 1860 at Birmingham (Britain) in the class for Sheepdogs. In 1870, at the Crystal Palace show classes were broken down further into Sheepdogs, Rough and Sheepdogs, Smooth. Entries in British Studbooks (from the mid- to late-1800s) listed Collies under different classifications ranging from Colleys or Sheepdogs, to Collies. Eventually, this was divided into Rough, Smooth, and Short-tailed (this last entry could possibly be the naturally born short-tailed or docked Collie, sometimes referred to as cur-tailed). The Studbook published in 1895 finally listed the breed as Collies (Rough) and Collies (Smooth). But, to this day they are still often referred to as the Scotch Collie.
The Favor of Royalty
Queen Victoria's Favorite Collie Laddie from The Chatterbox Monthly
Laddie
Princess Alexandra with her Pug and Collie