Old Varieties

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