Harrison Weir

Harrison William Weir ( * 1824 in Lewes, East Sussex, † January 4, 1906 ) was an artist in Victorian England. He is considered the founder of modern cattery and organized in 1871, the first exhibition of cats in London. Weir was the Erstverfasser many breed standards of heat in the last quarter of the 19th century pedigree cats and author of books on race cats.

Life and Family

Weir was born in 1824 in the town of Lewes in East Sussex. From 1837 to 1844 he trained as an engraver. After studying art Harrison Weir worked as a freelance artist, writer and journalist. Weir lived in his house in the town Weirleigh said Matfield in Kent. He died 82 years old in England.

Weir as an artist and writer

Harrison Weir's artistic career began with a seven-year apprenticeship as an engraver. In 1844 he enrolled at the Camberwell College of Arts in London as a student. Weir quickly made a reputation as an artist and four years later attracted a document issued by his paintings at the British Institution greater attention in the London art scene. Regular exhibitions of his works at the Royal Academy of Arts followed. His artistic style allows an assignment in the later phase of the Pre-Raphaelites. An obituary in the New York Times pays tribute to his ... Close inspection of natural objects ... and ... his love of nature was deep and his artistic abilities were even greater.

Weir specialized in naturalistic animal quickly to drawings. He illustrated and designed children's books and books on natural history. Weir also dealt with the breeding. Several works on the breeds of domesticated pets such as dogs, pigs or poultry were written by him both and illustrated. It is estimated that Weir has illustrated more than 100 works. Pictures and drawings are still available in reprint.

Weir as the founder of cattery

One focus of Weir's work was the study of cats and their breeding. He is considered the founder of modern purebred cats breed and put significant rules for their exhibition and evaluation procedure. Weir initiated together with his brother John Jenner Weir 1871, the first public exhibition of pedigree cats in London's Crystal Palace, which was followed by numerous other exhibitions. In 1887 he founded the National Cat Club and was until his retirement in 1890, its President and, along with his brother judges at breed cat shows. Weir established several significant breed cats such as Siamese cats Abyssinian cats or by erstbeschrieb their breed standard. His work Our cats and all about them: their varieties, habits, and management, and for show, the standard of excellence and beauty was the standard work for the coming breeding of pedigree cats in England in the late 19th century.

Bibliography

As an author (selection):

• Our cats and all about them: their varieties, habits, and management, and for show, the standard of excellence and beauty (1892 )
• The poultry book (Volume v.1 ) ( 1903)
• The poultry book (Volume v.2 ) ( 1903)
• Aesop's Fables: A New Revised Version From Original Sources ( 1890s )

As an illustrator (selection):

• Domestic Pets: Their Habits and Management ( 1851)
• Cat and Dog, or, Memoirs of Puss and the Captain: A Story Founded on Fact (1854 )
• Horses and hounds: a practical treatise on Their Management (1855 )
• The story of the cat and the mouse ( 1855-58 )
• The History of the Robins: for the instruction of children On Their treatment of animals (1869 )
• Those Other Animals (1891 )