Dawans-3 Belgian canaries-FSS Noorduyn at Utrecht show CB 1909.12.18-FSS Noorduyn (p.10) Belgian & Dutch canaries-FSS Noorduyn (p.48) Belgian & Scots canaries-FSS Bossu Belge plate-FSS Belgian yellow-DSR-FSS Map of Belgium 1839-FI

The Old Varieties, Part 6: decline and revival of the Belgian canary

Posted on by Huw Evans 4 Comments
“Er zijn geen Belgen, Sire. België is een politieke Staat, vrucht van de diplomatie. Het werd kunstmatig samengesteld, het heeft géén nationaliteit. Welk een tegenstelling tussen Vlaanderen en Wallonië! De aardbodem is verschillend, de mensen die deze streken bewonen zijn anders en hun zielen zijn zo verschillend als hun landschappen.” “There are no Belgians, sire. […]... Read More
Brent-Erect Belgium 1860-FSS Serin Hollandais-Jannin for FSS Nottm Review 1838.11.23 Toppins & Plainheads @ Royal Kids-FSS Lancs-Owen Saunders, Stockton on Tees 1908.10.18-FSS Lancs silver medal SLC&FA 1902 (Eastbourne Auctions)-FSS Royal Children-Thomas Cooper Moore 1890 (Walton House Antiques)-FSS Show report Crown & Cushion Nottm Journal 1838.11.09-FSS).jpeg Screenshot Le Serin Hollandaise Janin 1858-FSS

The Old Varieties, Part 5: the origins of the Lancashire Coppy

Posted on by Huw Evans 1 Comment
“It is not a long journey neither is it a very expensive one, so that anyone wishing to obtain high-class stock would do well to take a trip to the Continent.” R.L. Wallace, The Canary Book (1875) Thus began Wallace’s advice on how to import canaries from Belgium.  He gave details of the departures, the […]... Read More
Scots Fancies by J White 1896-FI

The Old Varieties, Part 4b: postscripts on the Scots Fancy canary

Posted on by Huw Evans 2 Comments
Due to the length of “Part 4: the origins of the Scots Fancy canary”, I divided the article into two parts.  Part 4b adds three postscripts.  The footnotes follow the same numbering sequence as Part 4a. Postscript 1:  The decline of the Scots Fancy canary The Scots Fancy declined both in popularity and quality towards […]... Read More

The Old Varieties, Part 4a: the origins of the Scots Fancy canary

Posted on by Huw Evans 3 Comments
“This in every way most remarkable canary is, as its name suggests, a creation of our neighbours across the Tweed, and is wholly and entirely an exclusive speciality, as is the ‘postuur vogel’ in Belgium, of which birds it is doubtless an offshoot, and is, in truth, the  ‘postuur vogel’ of Scotland.” W.A. Blakston in […]... Read More
Nottm Poultry show 1858 crop-FSS Wallace (1st Edn)-Belgian Crystal Palace 1874-FSS Blakston Belgian canaries colour plate-FSS Dewar 'ideal Belgian' C&CBA 1905.10.20-FSS C&CBL 1905.10.20 Dewar 2 photo-FSS Old and New type Belgian(St John)-FSS Belgian canaries at the Nottingham Poultry Show 1858-FI Morning Herald 1840.05.18 Mrs Freestone's ad for Belgian canaries-FSS.jpeg

The Old Varieties, Part 3: the Belgian canary in Britain

Posted on by Huw Evans 3 Comments
In 1853 Robert Wallace visited Joseph Greenwell, a bird dealer in the county of Durham, to purchase his first Belgian canaries (1).  He found several ‘old practical hands’ already waiting at Greenwell’s house, and a bidding war ensued as soon as he put the birds on display.  The type of bird they wanted was “so […]... Read More
Blakston Belgian canary Fig 54-FSS Blakston Belgian canary fig 55-FSS Belgian canary Belgian style (DSR)-FSS Belgian canary English style (DSR)-FSS Canarini Gantesi (Cicli-Lancashire.it)-FSS Francis Smith Belgian canaries-FSS B.P. Brent-FSS Der Bossu Belge-Muller & Feiter-FSS Serin Hollandais-Jannin-FSS Imster Vogelhandelaar-Jaap Plokker-FSS Dietzsch & Wirsing 1772-77 plate 18 yellow canary-FSS Bolton canary Harmonia Ruralis (eB prantique-it)-FSS Vander Snickt Belgian canaries 1888-FI

The Old Varieties, Part 2: the origins of the Belgian canary

Posted on by Huw Evans 3 Comments
My history of the Belgian canary in Belgium will depart from convention and look at it in reverse order, working my way back from the end of the nineteenth century to its origins in the eighteenth.  Why?  Because I think it gets more interesting. My starting point is the illustration at the head of this […]... Read More
Market Place Nottm ca 1836 (Welland Antiques)-FSS Crystal Palace dog show 1895 (ILN)-FSS Blakston Belgian fig 56-FSS Blakston Belgian figs 57 & 58-FSS Het Handelsblad De Arend show 200 birds 1858.01.30-FSS Het Zand Pinterest- Mariobrun-FSS De Roode Poort Collectie Archief Gent-FSS 22 Kleine Turkeije in 2024 (GMaps)-FSS Neuhuys Départ de la Flèche le 5 mai 1835 Wikimedia (BrightRaven0-FSS Handelsblad 1848-02-6 Brussels show-FSS Het Zand, St. Jansvliet Antwerp after 1882 (pinterest-Tony)-FI 22 Kleine Turkeije in 2024 (GMaps)-FSS (2)

The Old Varieties, Part 1: canary societies in Belgium

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The history of the canary fancy in Great Britain has been shaped by many people, mostly authors, organisers and famous breeders, yet the man who instigated the biggest advance of all is barely known. He was Mr John Varley, a Nottingham surgeon, whose innovations transformed the avian exhibition world in the mid 1800s.  He introduced […]... Read More