Colchicums - History of Icelandics 1

Le Chien D'Islande, (The Iceland Dog)
a print in my collection dated 1755 from -
Histoire Naturelle by Count de Buffon

Click once or twice to enlarge.


De Canibus Britanicus by John Caius, 1570,page 37-38

"- - - I mean Iceland Dogs, curled and rough all over; which by reason of the length of their hair make show, neither of face nor of body."

(From The Iceland Dog 874 - 1956, Mark Watson )

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Encyclopaedia Britannica, Dublin, 1791


"The Iceland Dog is the only one that has not his ears entirely erect; for their extremities are a little inclined; and in Iceland, of all the northern regions has been longest inhabited by half civilized men."

(From The Iceland Dog 874 - 1956, Mark Watson )

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Journal of a Tour in Iceland in the Summer of 1809, London, William Jackson Hooker


"It is rather below the middle size, well proportioned in its parts, having a short and a sharp nose, much resembling that of a fox and small erect pointed ears, of which the tips only, especially in the young animal, hang down. The hair is coarse, straight, and thick, very variable in colour, but most frequently of a greyish brown; the tail long and bushy, and always carried curled over the back."

(From The Iceland Dog 874 - 1956, Mark Watson )

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Travels in the Island of Iceland, 1811, Edinburgh/London, Sir George Steuart MacKenzie, Baronet

"Like them (the dogs of Greenland) they are usually covered with long hair, forming about their necks a kind of ruff. Their noses are sharp, their ears pointed, and their tails bushy, and curled over their backs. Their predominant colour is white; yet they vary considerably; and some are entirely brown or black. Very few of them can be induced to go into the water; and though some are of service in guarding the cottages and flocks, and preventing the horses from eating the grass intended for hay, yet the greater number appear very useless. Scarcely any family, however, is without one or two of them."

(From The Iceland Dog 874 - 1956, Mark Watson )

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Biographical Sketches and Authentic Anecdotes of Dogs, Edinburgh, 1829, Captain Thomas Brown

"This variety of dog (the Iceland Dog) bears a strong resemblance to that of Greenland, differing, however, in the hair and woolly fur not being quite so long. His head is nearly of the same shape, with pricked ears, slightly turned downwards at the tips. His general colour is white, with large patches of black over different parts of the body. In some few instances they are found altogether black."

(From The Iceland Dog 874 - 1956, Mark Watson )

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The first photo, Le Chien D'Islande, is of a print dated 1755 from Histoire Naturelle by Count de Buffon. It clearly shows a brown and white dog. The print is part of my collection as is a signed copy of Mark Watson's book, The Iceland Dog 874 - 1956.

n.b. - black, not tri or black/tan/white. BLACK. (Like the black in other Nordic Spitz breeds. I make no claims, just copy from the historical records.)

Would you like to see more about the history?