Historical Overview of
The Pekingese Club of America By Tony Rosato
The Pekingese made its first appearance outside of 19th
century China when five Sleeve Pekes between 3-6 pounds
were brought to England from Beijing (then Peking) in
1860 following the storming of the Imperial Summer
Palace in Beijing by British and French soldiers. In those
days the breed was known as Pekingese Spaniels, as well as
“Sun Dogs,” “Lion Dogs” and “Pekingese Pugs.”
Pekingese were first classified in England in 1898 together
with Japanese Chin which were called “Japanese Spaniels”
then and until 1977. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s
the two breeds were very similar in appearance with Chins
tending to breed true as opposed to the Pekingese which did
not. Since that time, Chins have remained virtually
unchanged while Pekingese have of course changed quite
radically in appearance -- but not character.
Pekingese Spaniel Japanese Spaniel
Forty-one years after the breed’s appearance in England, a
Peke was shown in Philadelphia by Mrs. George Thomas,
and the breed immediately endeared itself to prominent
exhibitors as it has ever since.
Through the years Pekingese have
been one of the Top Toys, with
three Westminster Best in Show
winners and five Pekingese that
became #1 All Breeds. One of
them, Ch. Chik T’Sun of
Caversham (on right), held the All-
breed Best in Show record for 22
years.
In 1907, AKC officially recognized Pekingese. Two years
before that, a Peke male who
would become the first AKC
Champion, Ch. Tsang of
Downshire (on left), was first
shown at Cedarhurst, Long
Island, owned by a British
immigrant, Mrs. Mabel Mandy,
a founding member and the first President of The
Pekingese Club of America (PCA).
Along with Mrs. Mandy was a group of socialites from the New
York City area who
formed PCA on May
1st 1909 in the
Manhattan law offices
of one of the club
founders, Mr. M.E.
Harby, Esq., who was
also the Club’s first
Show Chairman and
whose wife was also a
PCA Director and top
breeder of Pekingese.
Mrs. Morris Mandy PCA Founder
There were 16 founders, all from New York, except
Margaret Barron of San Francisco.
In addition, though not club founders, two of PCA’s early
patrons were Lady Algernon Gordon Lennox, a breed
pioneer and visionary in the UK, and famed financier
John Pierpont Morgan, a noted sportsman in many breeds,
who became the Honorary President of The Pekingese Club
of America and Vice Chairman of the Peking Palace Dog
Association in Britain.
The Club still offers Mr. Morgan’s
perpetual trophy at its specialty in
Manhattan, originally offered for Best
of Breed and now offered for Best of
Opposite Sex. Morgan's sterling silver
trophy is housed at AKC Headquarters
in New York. It's on permanent
display there, along with PCA’s
prestigious English-made Lasca
McClure Halley Trophy, one of the
largest in the sport, donated in 1929 by
prominent handler Mr. McClure Halley
in memory of his late wife, Lasca, J.P. Morgan
who was a judge and a PCA Director in the 1920’s. These
distinguished sterling silver PCA trophies, appraised in
2008 and said to be "worth a fortune," remain a symbol of
The Pekingese Club of America’s respected heritage.
In 1909, PCA adopted its breed first standard verbatim
from The Pekingese Club in Britain which had been
founded 5 years earlier, and has amended it four times
since then, in 1933, 1956 (adopted by Canada), 1995, and
again in 2004.
Mr. Richard Bauer, handling. Judge, Ms. Clara Alford.
Although the first Chinese imports to England weighed
between 3-9 pounds, the British and American parent clubs
established an 18-pound weight limit to accommodate the
breed’s burgeoning popularity and encourage participation
by more exhibitors. That brought opposition from the
breed purist founders who successfully forced the weight
limit back down, initially to 10 pounds (by forming a new
club - The Pekin Palace Dog Association). But the British
parent club, The Pekingese Club, eventually compromised
to14 pounds which became the limit in the AKC standard
(which added a disqualification over 14 pounds). The
British later amended their standard to read “ideal weight
not to exceed 11 pounds for dogs and 12 pounds for
bitches,” which is current.
The Inaugural PCA Specialty 1911
The Club’s inaugural specialty show was a society event
held on January 18, 1911, in the ballroom of Manhattan's
Plaza Hotel. The judge was club founder Mrs. Benjamin
(Bridget) Guinness of Washington Square in Greenwich
Village. Mrs. Guinness wore long white gloves and sat on
a chair while all the dogs were brought to her one-by-one.
Her Breed winner was Tsang of Downshire (photo above),
winner of the Open Dogs under 8
pounds class. Best of Opposite Sex
went to Ch. Broadoak Fatima, owned
by Mrs. Paul Sorg. Listed in the
show catalog that year was a back
bitch owned by Dr. Mary Cotton, as
follows: “Chaou Ching-Ue.
September 15, 1902. Breeder, the
late Dowager Empress of China.
Pedigree unknown.” The Empress is
credited with writing the original
breed standard on which the British
and American standards were based.
She offered a silver cup as trophy at
PCA’s first specialties.
The Empress Dowager
Since then, PCA has held annual specialties in Manhattan,
moving to back-to-back spring specialties in upstate New York
in 2010. The PCA also had a summer show tradition beginning
in 1917 on the estate of Elbridge Gerry Snow, Jr. in Greenwich,
Connecticut, later holding the summer specialty in conjunction
with Westchester, and Morris and Essex, then in the mid 1980s
with Ox Ridge KC.
UK imports vs. American Breds Only
Early in PCA’s history, and later through the years, Breed
wins were dominated by British imports which caused a
frenzy of anticipation in the early days, along with much
speculation and intrigue for months leading up to the New
York specialty. It got to the point where imports were taken
from arrival on NY harbor and rushed directly to the show.
This unfortunately led to a decline in entries at PCA
Specialties. The Board of Governors reacted by imposing a
restriction in 1935 to
competition of
“American Breds Only”
at the New York
specialty, leaving the
summer show open to
all. Consequently, the
1936 entry for the New
York specialty shot up to
123 under Mrs. James
Austin (Catawba) who
for many years served as Mrs. James Austin
a PCA Vice President.
From that point on, wins at the New York specialty went to
American Pekingese bred or owned by noted breeders such
as Dorothy Quigley of Lock Haven, PA, whose Orchard
Hill Pekes won Best of Breed for 19 years nearly
consecutively. Mr. John B. Royce and Kay Jeffords are
among the other notable breeder-exhibitors whose dogs
have won Best of Breed at PCA's Manhattan show before
the “American Breds Only” restriction was lifted in 1992.
A Distinguished Past
Looking back on the Club’s
distinguished history, among
the devoted individuals who
have shaped the progress of
The Pekingese Club of
America is Mrs. Michael M.
Van Beuren of New York and
Newport, Rhode Island, who
served as President for 40
years beginning in 1913.
Mrs. M. M. Van Beuren
As a point of interest, Mrs. Van Beuren often traveled to
Europe with her Pekingese in a velvet-lined box which
accompanied her personally on the journey. Architects
designed her picturesque kennel to be a replica of her main
residence at her Newport estate.
Mrs. Van Beuren left a token of her dedication to PCA with
a challenge trophy donated in 1945, a sterling silver cup for
Winners Dog, Red or Red/sable shown by the
breeder/owner, which was not retired until 2000, and a
Tiffany water pitcher for Best of Breed if under 8 pounds
which is still offered today.
Mrs. Van Beuren’s kennel – a replica of her Newport home
Mrs. Van Beuren was succeeded as President by Miss Clara
Lowther, followed by Dr. E. R. Blamey for 25 years and
Mrs. Geraldine Hess in 1977. Other early notables in the
club include Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Mapes of the successful
Whitworth kennels, whose niece, Mrs. Fortune (Mary Lou)
Roberts, became one of the respected doyens of PCA and a
Vice President through the 1970s-80s.
One of the most notable driving forces behind PCA since
1950 was Miss Iris de la Torre Bueno, a breeder-exhibitor
of Brussels Griffons, who served as PCA Secretary for 49
consecutive years until her death in Manhattan just prior to
the 1989 PCA Spring Specialty. Iris’ mother, Celia Bueno,
was also one of PCA’s Board of Governors, who together
with Iris owned the All-Celia Kennels of Griffs and Pekes.
Throughout Ms. de la Torre
Bueno’s tenure, PCA’s Specialties
were held in New York City at
various hotels including The
Roosevelt, The Hotel
Pennsylvania, The Loew’s Summit,
The Skyline on 10th Avenue as well
as a hotel in New Rochelle in the
1940’s.
Miss Iris de la Torre Bueno (left)
The Rotating Specialties
PCA’s 75-year tradition of Northeast Specialties gave way
to the annual Rotating specialty (now the National) which
began in 1991 as a 2-3 day event. In December 2009, the
club celebrated its Centennial year with the National in
Indianapolis, a 2-day event judged by Mrs. Peggy Dillard
Carr and Mrs. Martha M. Olmos-Ollivier, both longtime
Pekingese breeder-judges whose centennial assignment
marked their third time judging PCA.
At these historic shows the club re-introduced Junior
Showmanship which had been missing from PCA events for
over 50 years, thus re-establishing PCA's commitment to
development of future Pekingese handlers as well as the
breed's future.
Judge Mrs. Sue Barlow judging Juniors at PCA 2009
In addition, the club holds an annual "Sleeve Show" -- a
special attraction at the National only -- in celebration of the
breed's long-held tradition with small ones which have
always been a favorite of Pekingese fanciers for generations.
PCA Centennial (National) - 2009 Sleeve Show at the Centennial
Judge, Martha M. Olmos-Ollivier Judge, Dr. Simone V.J. Small (London, UK)