The Lladró figurine “Lady with Chihuahua,” one of two pieces featuring the breed made by the well-known porcelain maker. Photo courtesy of Lladró.
Books, Art, and Collectibles
Certainly any of the books and articles listed in the reference section of this book are worthwhile reads. Recommended in particular are some old rare treasures that can still be found, with a little research, through resellers or libraries. They give the enthusiast of the breed insights about where the breed stood and what it looked like in the past. Some offer interesting profiles of the breeders who were pioneers in Chihuahuas. As you read, compare the pictures of the dogs from the earliest with the most recent periods and you will see the progression of the breed to the Chihuahua of the early twenty-first century.
BOOKS OF INTEREST
One of the first books, perhaps the first book I received on Chihuahuas, was Hilary Harmar’s The Complete Chihuahua Encyclopedia, published in 1972. I have read it through many times. A friend who owns Corgis told me that she whelped her litters by following the recommendations in Harmar’s book. What was safe for Chihuahuas was certainly going to be safe for her breed.
I am also very fond of E. Ruth Terry’s 1990 book, The New Chihuahua. Terry’s illustrations are very instructive. Due to the author’s background in education and art, the book is very informative. The Chihuahua (1988) by Anna Katherine Nicholas highlights many of the kennels making their name at the time this book was written. Some of these kennels are still forces to contend with. Jacqueline O’Neil’s Chihuahuas for Dummies, which is still in print, is a good reference, too. Perhaps I am a bit prejudiced here, as one of my dogs graces the cover.
While there is no substitute for a good veterinarian, every dog owner should keep a health reference at hand. Certainly Dog Owner’s Home Veterinary Handbook, by Debra M. Eldredge, DVM; Lisa and Delbert Carlson, DVM; and James M. Giffin, MD, will help you know if you are panicking for nothing or if a call to the vet is necessary. Remember, it is always better to be safe than sorry.
WEB SITES
Mentioned many times in this book is the Chihuahua Club of America official Web site, www.ChihuahuaClubofAmerica.com. Informational and educational, it is a must-visit site for the serious exhibitor. The regional club in your area may have its own site as well.
Many reputable breeders have Web sites that are great showcases of their dogs and accomplishments. They do not sell dogs online, but the sites do give you an opportunity to learn a bit about the breeders and help you decide which breeders you would like to contact.
If you are into dressing your Chihuahua, there are many sites to explore. The accessory chapter of this book has a list for your window shopping. Many more are popping up all the time.
For my favorite supplements, I go to www.springtimeinc.com. Most breeders have their favorites, having found what works best for them throughout the years. This can be just as important as the veterinarian we take our dogs to and the food we feed.
There is a book or site to suit just about any taste, and if you have a Chihuahua we know you have good taste in dogs! Will you agree with everything in every book? Of course not. But if something that you read or see gets you thinking, that is great. You may come across something that makes you investigate further. You will find that some things about this breed’s early history are unknown. We must draw our own conclusions based on what is known and the evidence presented. Perhaps there is something that you have always been certain is true and now you are not that certain. We learn, we grow, and we bring forth our knowledge and our open minds with us to the table as breeders and Chihuahua enthusiasts. Increase your horizons!
Want to curl up with some good fiction that includes your favorite breed of dog? I am addicted to reading, almost as much as I am to Chihuahuas. When I came across a book with a Chihuahua wearing sunglasses on the cover, I had to buy it. And the book is a fun read! Look for Laurence Shames’s Florida Straits, featuring Don Giovanni the Chihuahua, owned by Bert “the Shirt,” and for other books in this comic crime series.
The true story of a little Chi that changed someone’s life or, more accurately, gave it back, is Mary Beth Crain’s A Widow, a Chihuahua, and Harry Truman. Widowed and lonely, Mary needs a kitten fix and ends up with a Chihuahua. Crain’s account of the love and life that little Truman brought into her world when it was needed most is heartwarming.
“Wheely Willy” with owner Deborah Turner, who rescued the paralyzed Chi after he was abandoned in a cardboard box. Willy and Deborah have a busy schedule, from visiting patients in convalescent homes to appearing on television to traveling to conventions and shows around the world.
Got children? Or pretend to so you can read those delightful books in the children’s section? There are tons of books for the young and young at heart involving Chihuahuas, including Plantzilla by Jerdine Nolen, David Catrow, and Brian Keliher and How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found by Sally Wern Comport and Sara Nickerson. Also recommended is Maximilian’s World by Mary Stolz and Uri Shulevitz. Everyone should know the stories of How Willy Got His Wheels and How Willy Got His Wings, true accounts from Deborah Turner.
Being a Chihuahua is one of the best things to be. Even a cat knows that! For proof, look for the series by Judith Byron Schachner starring Skippyjon Jones, a Siamese kitten that becomes the superhero El Skippito Friskito, a Chihuahua.
Willy shows off his wheels—his K9 Cart—at a trade show in Germany.
Christmastime would not be the same without a child or two on your lap, reading some of the classic holiday tales. There are a few out there that focus on Chihuahuas. Perhaps our breed is not the star, but what a nice surprise to a child when a Chihuahua or two appear in the text and pictures! The Night Before Dog-mas by Claudine Gandoin, A Dog’s Night Before Christmas by Henry Beard, and The Twelve Dogs of Christmas by Emma Kragen are all cute. A CD with songs whose lyrics have doggie twists accompanies some versions of Kragen’s book.
Got a wee little one? ABC Dogs by Kathy Darling, with photos by her daughter Tara Darling, has beautiful photos with short descriptions of twenty-six breeds. The Chihuahua is not used for the letter “C,” but the Dog Hall of Fame in the back of the book proclaims this breed to be the shortest.
EARLY ART AND POSSIBLY THE CHIHUAHUA?
Art has been useful in the study of the history and origins of the Chihuahua. As mentioned in chapter 1, the painting that has convinced many people researching the origin of the Chihuahua that the breed was first found in Europe is located in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel. Attributed to Sandro Botticelli (circa 1482), this fresco depicts the biblical story of Moses. It includes a male figure holding a small, smooth-coated breed that resembles a Chihuahua. As this work was created before Columbus sailed the ocean blue and discovered the North American continent, can we truly claim that Mexico is the country of the Chihuahua’s origin? A few other fanciers of other toy breeds claim this painting actually depicts their breed, so we must draw our own conclusions.
In 1510, Vittore Carpaccio painted an oil on wood titled Two Venetian Ladies on a Terrace. Along with the women, there is a small white dog that does remind one of a Smooth Coat Chihuahua. To me, it also bears some resemblance to the dog in the Botticelli fresco.
Then again, before Botticelli, from about 200 BC to AD 300, ceramic dogs in western Mexico, painted with what is called red slip paint, were interred with humans in tombs. These Chihuahua-like dogs were intended as companions to the deceased; their real-life counterparts were also raised as a food source. Some find these pieces more closely resemble the Xoloitzcuintli than the Chihuahua, but the histories of both breeds are very much intertwined.
By William Secord
Images of dogs and doglike creatures have appeared in the visual arts since prehistoric times, but it was only in the nineteenth century that individual dogs came to be portrayed on canvas with any regularity. Images of pointers and setters in the field became more popular as the rising middle class in England and the United States came to have the leisure time to shoot, as well as to participate in organized field trials. The purebred dog portrait convention in painting also emerged in the late nineteenth century, when dogs of all types were exhibited in the show ring, and proud owners had them portrayed on canvas.
Given the charming nature of the diminutive Chihuahua, it would then seem only logical that there would be many depictions of the breed in art, but this is indeed not the case. While most breed experts concur that the Chihuahua was developed to more or less its present appearance in Mexico, there are very few early paintings that can be definitively identified as Chihuahuas. The breed was first registered by the American Kennel Club in 1904 and by The Kennel Club in England in 1907. A Chihuahua was owned and exhibited by a member of the Ladies’ Kennel Association in England as early as 1897, but the breed did not reach any real popularity until later in the twentieth century.
The great majority of paintings of the breed are therefore after what some have termed the “golden age of dog painting,” from about 1840 to 1940. The beautiful painting of Ch. Kay’s Feleciano-L, which graces the cover of this volume, was painted by Roy Andersen in 1986, and it is in the permanent collection of the American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog. Andersen received his training from the Chicago Academy of Art and the Art Center School for Design in Los Angeles. It was in the 1980s that he came to specialize in paintings of dogs, completing a series of paintings that were used on postage stamps commemorating the centennial of the American Kennel Club in 1984. He now specializes in western scenes.
Two paintings by Roy Andersen that capture the essence of the Long Coat Chihuahua: Ch. Ginjim’s Royal Acres
Ch. Kay’s Don Feleciano-L. Photos courtesy of the American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog.
Vittore Carpaccio’s Two Venetian Ladies on a Terrace. Notice the white dog in the foreground that resembles a Smooth Chihuahua.
CHIHUAHUA ART HISTORY
Michele “Micki” Giroux and her partner Nancy Pruyne breed high-quality Chihuahuas in Florida (www.prouxchihuahuas.com). Their Web site offers a comprehensive description and display of Chihuahuas in fine art. Pictures of many historical works are included as well as vintage Chihuahua photographs. Micki is a graphic artist in her own right and her Chi creations can be viewed at the site. Micki’s willingness to share her knowledge and show off her collection helps give the enthusiast an overview of the art that depicts Chihuahuas.
In Jean-Marc Nattier’s Madame Adelaide de France in Court Dress, an oil on canvas that features the daughter of Louis XV, what appears to be a Long Coat Chihuahua appears at the bottom right. Sir Edwin Landseer, a famous painter of animals, painted a work titled Alexander and Diogenes. This painting appears to depict a Chihuahua standing next to a King Charles Spaniel. In Lady with a Dog (1891), a painting by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864–1901), the dog of the title, held on the woman’s lap, very much resembles the Smooth Coat Chihuahua. This work can be seen at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. Another Toulouse-Lautrec work, A White Dog, appears to be of a Long Coat Chi.
Euphemie Muraton (1840–1914), a French artist, has a few paintings that feature Chihuahuas. Pampered Pets and The Master’s Favorites show a black-and-tan Smooth Coat. Charles Van den Eycken (1859–1923), a Belgian who specialized in domestic animals, painted a Long Coat Chihuahua in His Master’s Favorite. Other artists, such as Charles Dana Gibson, Louis Agassiz Fuertes, and Roy H. Andersen, have portrayed Chis in their artistic endeavors.
A beautiful red Long Coat Chihuahua rendered in a portrait.
British designer Lulu Guinness has created a line of purses, scarves, and accessories featuring a Chihuahua. If a Lulu Guinness doesn’t fit in your budget, you can accessorize your wardrobe with other fabric purses that feature Long Coat and Smooth Coat Chihuahuas wearing rhinestone collars and tiaras.
If you are looking to adorn yourself with Chihuahua jewelry, decorate your home with Chihuahua figures, or perhaps learn a bit of art history through the breed that is close to your heart, there is no lack of merchandise. From fine art to collectibles to tchotchkes, you can find representations of Chihuahuas. Items are available in all price ranges, and your collection can range from oil paintings to bobblehead dogs for the car to quirky little salt and pepper shakers. The historical art is as close as your computer. You can find something Chihuahua almost anywhere.
Whimsical pieces containing Chihuahuas are also abundant. George Rodrigue of Louisiana is best known for his series of Blue Dog paintings; although his model, Tiffany, was not a Chihuahua, his paintings often capture the mystical spirit of the Chihuahua. Tim Burton’s drawings of Chihuahuas are quite cute and a bit quirky. Do you recognize the name Xavier Cugat? Known for his musical talents, he was also quite a talented artist. His caricatures are adorable. As he owned Chihuahuas, it was not farfetched to expect that he would have included them in his works. The New Yorker cover sported Chihuahuas by famous artists throughout the twentieth century.
THE COLLECTIBLE CHIHUAHUA
By Jerome Elliott
Imagery and collectible items for the Chihuahua have been few and far between, compared with most other breeds. Representations of popular English breeds of terriers, retrievers, and spaniels have long been collectible, and a few of the Oriental dog breeds, brought to the public eye when sent to the Royal Family as diplomatic gifts, have been the leaders in sheer numbers of collectible items. More recent popular culture exposure of some very high-profile Chihuahuas has helped make up for lost time, with an ever-increasing number of items for today’s collectible market.
A celebrated Chihuahua print from the early twentieth century by Louis Agassiz Fuertes.
EARLIEST COLLECTIBLES ON CANVAS AND PAPER
Vintage Chihuahua collectibles are a rarity, but three well-known prints are images that have had enduring appeal to collectors for decades. Published in 1919, the earliest widely collected image is a portrait by Louis Agassiz Fuertes. It features a Smooth Coat Chihuahua with a Mexican Hairless and a turtle, the muted tones and fine artwork making it a timeless and prized print. Fuertes painted the majority of the illustrations used in the National Geographic Book of Dogs, now a rare and coveted hardbound volume. The next celebrated image hails from the Austria Tabakwaren, which published fifty different prints of purebred dogs in the early 1950s as premiums included with a pack of cigarettes. A display album was sold so that consumers could mount the various collectible cards. One of these full-color prints depicts an expressive little Smooth Coat Chihuahua on a comfortable chair. The bright tones and fine detail of this work of art have made this card extremely popular with collectors.
In art and in life, Chihuahuas are accustomed to being the center of attention at social gatherings.
A print of a Scholz painting that ran in the Berlin Morning News in 1960, depicting a Papillon in the foreground and a Smooth Chihuahua behind.
The Berlin Morning News also published a set of fifty prints, distributing one per week in 1960. From the paintings by Scholz, the Smooth Chihuahua is depicted with a Papillon, and although very different from the other popular prints, this beautiful and enduring image completes the trio of best-known prints of the Chihuahua. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, both Long and Smooth Coats made their debut appearances on tea trade cards. Artwork of both varieties on a Grandee Tea Card and a photograph on Horniman’s Tea were these earliest examples. Many other breeds were first pictured on cigarette and trade cards from the 1880s onward, so the Chihuahua was a late arrival.
Three examples of collectible Chihuahua cards. Cards like these could be found in cigarette packs and packages of tea.
A small sampling of the postage stamps of different countries featuring the Chihuahua.
MORE RECENT IMAGES ON PAPER
Numerous postage stamps issued from nations around the world feature the Chihuahua. The availability of both varieties, all colors, head studies, head and body studies in one, and full-body studies is plentiful enough that a collector can specialize. Artwork on the stamps is generally of high quality, although a few are more primitive, and others are photographic images. Although postage stamps vary in size and color, they can be framed and displayed together or separately, with a wide variety of lovely small frames readily available from craft or gift stores.
Alfredo Disimoni’s print of a tricolored Long Coat is readily available, and it makes an attractive covering on a tassel-fringed pillow. A quaint Jennifer Chapman commission makes a beautifully executed Long Coat print for the collector.
The Internet has made it possible for many artists to more easily promote themselves to a worldwide audience, accepting commissions and finding customers interested in their services. Web sites help artists display their work and allow easy access for those interested in having portraits of their dogs executed. Whether the artist draws, paints, or photographs, canine portraiture is one of the most rapidly expanding fields in art and is no longer only for royalty and others of means.
Chihuahuas of both coat types and every color have been honored on postage stamps issued around the world.
Playing cards from three different decks that feature the Chihuahua.
POP CULTURAL INFLUENCE ON CHIHUAHUA COLLECTIBLES
A pop culture explosion of Chihuahua items occurred following two major events. First was the release of the Wonderful World of Disney movie Pablo and the Dancing Chihuahua (1968). Over thirty years later, the film Legally Blonde (2001), followed by the Broadway musical of the same name (2007), featuring the stylishly dressed, oh-so-appealing Chihuahua named Bruiser, pumped up the popularity of Chihuahua collectibles to an all-time high. Adding to the breed’s worldwide celebrity, in 2008 Walt Disney Pictures released Beverly Hills Chihuahua, featuring a spoiled Southern Cali Chi named Chloe (actual voice provided by Drew Barrymore) who gets lost South of the Border and falls in love with Papi (voice of George Lopez). The movie’s publicity promoted the film as “50% Warrior, 50% Love, 100% Chihuahua.” Female celebrities like Paris Hilton, Paula Abdul, Britney Spears, and Pamela Anderson, touting sportily clad Chis in designer bags—on the heels of the ubiquitous “Quiero Taco Bell” ad campaign—fueled the Chihuahua craze to Hollywood heights.
The influence of the Legally Blonde movie and the long-running Taco Bell commercials boosted breed registrations, and the demand for Chihuahua collectibles exploded, thanks to the Internet and the irresistible nature of Chihuahuas in designer clothing. Bruiser’s outfits spurred a wealth of ready-made outfits of all kinds for small dogs, from tiny leather biker jackets and accessories for the boys to tutus, hats, and earrings for the diminutive bitch about town. On eBay, at any given time, nearly 3,000 items can be found instantly.
THE CHIHUAHUA IN PORCELAIN
It comes as no surprise that the famous Spanish porcelain maker Lladró has issued two finely crafted representations of the Chihuahua: the first in the form of a free-standing Long Coat, and the second called “Lady with Chihuahua,” depicting a Smooth Coat. Both pieces of these valuable porcelains are highly collectible. The Limoges company in France, whose work has endured for decades, is celebrated for handsome hand-painted hinged porcelain pill boxes that are collected worldwide. The now discontinued, now quite rare, Chihuahua box produced by this company has been a treasured favorite among collectors.
Laura Bell Bundy as Elle Woods with Chico as Bruiser in the Broadway production of the musical Legally Blonde. Photo by Joan Marcus; courtesy of Barlow Hartman.
A Danish Blue plate depicting mother and puppy Long Coat Chihuahuas.
Danish Blue Porcelain has been a major producer of collector plates for many years. No fewer than five separate designs of the Chihuahua can be readily found. These designs include three Smooth Coat Chihuahuas, one a full body and two separate head studies, and two Long Coat Chihuahuas, one head study and one study of a mother and puppy. The Florian Tile Company produces a line of hand-painted tiles featuring dog breeds, usually with a natural wood border. Among their designs is a beautiful tan-and-white Long Coat Chihuahua. The most classic porcelain of all is the Beswick (later a division of Royal Doulton) Smooth Chihuahua on a pillow. This is a small figurine with great detail, and in its day it was widely distributed. Most devoted Chihuahua fanciers have this prized little figurine in their collections.
METAL, RESIN, AND CERAMIC FIGURINES
Jay Strongwater, renowned maker of figurines, frames, and boxes that he has labeled “Jewels for the Home,” produced a wonderful metal seated Smooth Chihuahua figurine that is now retired. Strongwater figurines are known for their exceptional qualities of design, beautifully enameled in natural colors, and decorations with sparkling Swarovski crystal accents. Although this figurine is small, its beauty and attention to detail rank it among the most desirable. Following Strongwater’s lead, other companies have manufactured small hinged boxes, and both standing and sitting hinged enameled Chihuahua boxes, with crystal accents, are readily available.
For more traditional cast resin and hand-painted figurines, the highest quality achieved were created by the artists of the Bollingate Company’s Best of Breed line, from Macclesfield, United Kingdom. Owners Mike and Marilyn Bebbington hired the most talented sculptors and painters of the day and produced a full line of dogs including Smooth and Long Coated Chihuahua figurines. Attention to detail and the exceptional quality of the mold-making process, down to detail of individual hair, put these figurines in a league of their own. The dogs are depicted in show poses, with the heads slightly turned to one side. Dogs are sculpted on a base, with the base mounted on a wooden plinth with felt bottom. This line was later sold to Naturecraft, which continued the Best of Breed line. It has since been discontinued but is well worth virtually any asking price for the avid collector. The only equal to the Bollingates in exquisite quality of detail is the Dogs Galore seated Long Coat Chihuahua. This company is a division of Goebel, long associated with fine porcelain dogs. The Long Coat Chihuahua, now out of production, is expertly crafted, sitting on a base resembling a small rug. The figurine measures approximately 3’’ x 3’’ x 3’’. It may be hard to find but is well worth any effort expended. This figurine was painted only a light red/tan, with exceptionally painted eyes and fantastic expression.
A beautifully detailed crystal-encrusted metal Chihuahua figurine by Jay Strongwater.
Another well-known and much-loved Long Coat Chihuahua figurine has been produced by the Northlights Company, United Kingdom. More stylized and slightly less true to life than some others, it is nonetheless an interesting representation of the breed.
Two Chihuahua figurines from the “Breed Apart” collection produced by Country Artists in the United Kingdom.
Among figurines currently in production, two worthy of mentioning are produced by Country Artists, United Kingdom, and another from Cathexis Studios, United States. The Country Artists figurines hail from a line named “A Breed Apart.” These figurines are large and heavy, made of cast resin and hand painted. Delightful caricatures of the breeds, the two Chihuahua figurines appear to have been hand-built ceramics, with rough edges, seams showing, and very large feet. Expressions on all of the dogs in this line are delightful. The original “A Breed Apart” figurine is a sitting portrayal; the other is a walking dog wearing a sweater.
The Cathexis Studios figurine is a Smooth Coat, hand crafted by artist Sandi Rolfe from Portland, Oregon. Hand painted in a variety of colors, this figurine can also be custom painted to match your own dog. Ms. Rolfe also makes a wonderful lapel pin, in all colors, and custom work is also available. Both of these are easily found online and are deserving of a special place in every collection.
Too many other figurines have been produced in recent years to name, and many are very realistic. Typically, the colors are almost always cream or fawn, and the figurines are almost always of Smooth Coat dogs.
BRONZE CHIHUAHUAS
The cold-cast bronze is made through a process exactly the same as the cast resin figurine. A model is sculpted, then a mold is made of it. Resin is mixed with an agent, is poured into the mold, and quickly hardens. The figurine is then removed from the mold and finished by sanding the base flat. Most cast-resin figurines are then painted. The cold-cast bronze figurine is made using the same process, but the difference is that bronze powder is mixed with the resin, and this type of figurine does not require painting. Cold-cast bronze should not be confused with true bronze, which is poured in a molten form at an extremely high temperature and produces a metal figurine rather than the resin figurine produced in the cold-cast process.
The world-renowned master of the cold-cast bronze is artist Tony Acevedo of the Dannyquest Design Company. The quality of his sculpting has been unmatched in the dog collectible market. The range of figurines this company produces is huge, and for the Chihuahua alone no fewer than fifteen different designs are available. Featuring both Long and Smooth Chis, Dannyquest Designs offers standing figurines, door knockers, key chains, windchimes, pins, pendants, and other ornaments.
For the true bronze, one name comes to the fore. Gerda Van Den Bosch, from the Netherlands, has created life-size bronzes of both Smooth and Long Coat Chihuahuas. She used to exhibit every year at Crufts Dog Show in the United Kingdom, as well as other venues, but can now be found online. Her mastery of the canine form for many breeds is unparalleled, and her sculptures are truly fine art.
PERSONALIZED COLLECTIBLES AND THE INTERNET
Along with the explosion of new and different items on the market for the Chihuahua, Internet access by billions worldwide has helped create an entirely new market for artists and collectors. The technology of reproduction has also made it possible for virtually any type of item to be decorated with Chihuahua photos or artwork.
In pre-Internet days, it was difficult for individual artists to find a market for their items, with great distances between them and the collectors. But now, with wonderful items of every kind just a few mouse clicks away, these artists can do very well, and this easy access is to the great benefit of the collector. Artists now have the time to devote to their art, rather than spending so much of their time trying to find their market. You can quickly and easily build an entire collection of original and personalized artwork without ever leaving your desktop (although you will have to answer the door for deliveries)!
A delightful figurine of a pampered Chihuahua seated atop a plush ottoman with his bone and his “bling.”
A very realistic-looking handcrafted Chihuahua mask.
Bianka, a Chihuahua owned by breed pioneer Henrietta Proctor Donnell, in a painting done by Mrs. Donnell herself.
Fantastic artists worldwide offer everything from custom-designed jewelry to portraiture, from handmade dolls with movable parts to welcome signs to hang in your entryway, and from hand-painted tabletop items to individually hand-carved sculptures. Finding these artists, designers, and retailers is a click! Without a doubt, you’ll have many beautiful items and reputable providers to choose from.
The hunt will make the treasures you find even more special and memorable. It is particularly challenging to try to find items that look more like your own Chihuahua, matching color and expression. With the wealth of collectibles available in today’s market, that possibility is greater than ever. But, most important, anything you find will remind you of your own adorable, lovable, and perfect Chihuahua!
