Produced by the C. and P. Products Company, the Kennel Club Card Game debuted in 1939 Photograph by Almerry Martins, courtesy of the AKC Museum of the Dog

The American Kennel Club (AKC) Library and Archives has been collecting practically everything dog-related, with a significant focus on purebred dogs, since 1934. The library began as a resource for AKC members, explained AKC Archivist Jaimie Fritz; it holds about 15,000 volumes and the archives contains more than 1,200 linear feet of ephemera. A professional librarian was hired to manage the collection in the 1930s, starting with publications like the AKC Gazette and other non-AKC materials related to dogs.

For its 138th anniversary last fall, AKC announced the launch of its digital library, which provides access to materials including the full run of the Gazette—described as “the official journal of the sport of purebred dogs”—since its launch in 1889. People can search for specific breeders, read about the results of shows, learn about updates to breeds over time, and more.

The digitization project was begun in 2016 under Fritz’s predecessor, Brynn White, and was scheduled to launch in 2020, but was delayed because of the pandemic, It includes 100 years of catalogs from AKC clubs for dog shows and other events, as well as dog registration statistics, meeting minutes, dog show rules, and more, dating back to the 19th century. It will continue to be updated in coming years.

“ENGLISHE DOGGES” AND MORE 

The organization describes itself as a “club of clubs…over 600 independent member clubs who send delegates to AKC meetings to vote on rule changes and policy issues, and over 5,000 licensed and sanctioned clubs who conduct AKC-approved events.” These include national specialty clubs (or parent clubs) devoted to to a single breed (currently the AKC recognizes 200 breeds); local specialty clubs that focus on a breed in a geographic area; all-breed clubs, open to purebred dog owners who “hold dog shows evaluating a dog’s conformation to its particular breed standard”; and others concentrated on scent tracking, obedience, agility, and more.

Individual AKC clubs maintain their own collections, including records of activities and the history of the club’s breeds. In the 1980s, Fritz explained, “there had been a call for the AKC to have a centralized place to keep some of that history and make it available, and to keep it safe and preserve it.” But it was not until 1998 that the archives were created as a centralized repository of AKC club materials, such as the organization’s administrative paperwork, correspondence, and more.

The oldest object in the AKC Rare Book Collection, De Canibus Brittanicis (later translated as “Of Englishe Dogges”) by John Caius Photograph by Almerry Martins, courtesy of the AKC Museum of the Dog

The earliest item in the AKC collection is the 1570 De Canibus Brittanicis (later translated as “Of Englishe Dogges”) by John Caius, “considered to be the oldest monograph exclusively about dogs,” Fritz said. She described the work as “a rigorous categorization of English dog breeds at the time, albeit eccentrically broken down into categories of Caius’s own making. He begins with three main groups, namely ‘A gentle kind, serving the game,’ ‘A homely kind, apt for sundry necessary uses,’ and ‘A currishe kinde, meete for many toys.’”

Other material ranges from manuals related to dog medicine and law to more whimsical items. Fritz pointed to the Kennel Club Card Game, created by C. and P. Products Company, which debuted in 1939, advertised in the AKC Gazette as “a most enjoyable and instructive card game for all card players.” Similar in design to Go Fish, “the game involves players attempting to collect full sets of breeds, categorized by their AKC Group, by requesting them from another player’s hand,” she explained.

The bulk of the archival collection, Fritz said, is from the parent AKC clubs. While no club was required to house its materials at AKC Headquarters in New York City, many opted to, since it made the material more accessible. Those individual collections varied significantly. Some clubs had their own publications—breed-specific magazines as well as pedigree and show records. Some clubs’ records include scrapbooks and other items that they thought were “historically interesting to collect,” Fritz said.

A notable part of the archives is documentation on breed standards. Fritz explained that individual clubs drive the standards for breeds, from size and comportment to the color and consistency of a dog’s coat. The archives also include correspondence with club members and photographs of dogs exemplifying breed standards.

For example, Fritz noted, in the 1890s a disagreement arose over the ideal ear style of the French Bulldog. Were their ears supposed to be “rose ears,” known for being floppy and “rose-shaped,” or “bat ears” that stick up straight? “Some of those controversies run deep,” she noted. “There’s lots of back-and-forth in correspondence or the publications where people are advocating for one physical standard over another.” The archives offer insight on what people thought about breeds at particular points in time, what was popular, and what was considered a breed standard.

The collection has grown beyond internal reference, Fritz explained, and is now seen as a resource for the history of dogs and dog sports like mushing and hunting, plus collections from obedience trainers and groomers, and practically anything else dog-related. The archives have expanded further in recent years with the acquisition of born-digital resources. “In terms of digital media, photographs, and historic video collections, we’ve started to see ourselves much more as a resource for the history of purebred dogs and dog sports—not just an administrative, internal sort of repository,” Fritz said.

Fritz’s personal favorites in the collection include “books on dog astrology—what star sign is your dog?—and [on whether] your dog can be psychic.” The collection’s children’s books about dogs have wonderful illustrations, she added.

Dog fanciers and club historians use the archive to study the history of particular breeds, and researchers have used its books and ephemera to supplement work on dog genetics. Writer Cat Dorman has researched pet mourning in popular culture for her blog Dead Pet Girls, coauthored with former University College London classmate Steff Boulton. “Cat visited us recently to look for material for her next article and consulted modern resources like our news clippings files,” said Fritz, “as well as titles from our rare book collection, including the 1892 volume Where Is my Dog? Or, Is Man Alone Immortal? by the Rev. Charles Josiah Adams.”

The digital library has gotten great response so far, said Fritz. “It’s a huge resource for our community, because [dog] fanciers are very involved in this world,” she noted. “They want to research history; they want to know all the details. This is a way to make that accessible to them 24/7 without [their] having to worry about coming to New York.” The digital library is text searchable allowing even more access for researchers and interested parties..

The New York AKC library and archives are accessible by appointment only; anyone interested can set up a time via an online form. Some archival materials are housed off-site; making an appointment will help librarians obtain requested materials. Staff can also provide assistance virtually, based on time and availability, if a researcher cannot access the collection directly.

AKC Headquarters is also home to the Museum of the Dog, which has rotating exhibitions related to all things canine, showcasing art and other materials.