Masterminds by Ria Hörter Eduard Karel Korthals (1851-1896) in Beibesheim.The photo was probably taken between 1881 and 1886. P A R T 1 : Eduard Karel Korthals and the Korthals-Griffon Most dog breeds were developed after hundreds of years of evolution and lengthy selection by breeders. However, some breeds owe their existence to just one person, whose name they bear. Readers of Dogs in Canada have already met Leendert Saarloos and his Saarloos Wolfhond, and Per Schiller, who created the Schillerstövare. But there are more such handmade breeds. Ch. Passpartout, a Korthals-Griffon belonging to Baron Albert de Gingins d’Eclépens.The Baron was Korthals’successor as chairman of the Griffon-Club, founded in Germany in 1888. Griffon or barbet If we want to understand the breeding activities of Eduard Karel Korthals (1851-1896), we have to imagine that rough-haired gun dogs existed nearly everywhere in 19th-century Europe. It’s also important to realize that before 1870, there was no kennel club in Germany. At that time, there was no uniform definition of rough-haired gun dogs. The people working with these dogs distinguished only two types: those that were useful and those that were not. In France, these rough-haired gun dogs were called griffon or barbet, in the Netherlands smousbaarden or ruigbaarden, while in Germany they were known as stichelhaarige Vorstehhunden (rough-haired pointing dogs). It is still difficult for German dog fanciers to admit that it was a Dutchman who succeeded in creating a balanced type of dog out of very different types of griffons. Korthals not only created a balanced dog, but a breed that possesses all the abilities a pointing dog should have. In the book Der vollständige Deutsche Vorstehund Gebrauchshund (The Complete Working German Pointer), published in 1888, the author wrote, “We will leave the Griffons and the Water Spaniels unnoticed, otherwise we have to pay attention to the pig as well, because that animal too is trained for hunting poultry.” This was the atmosphere in which Eduard Karel Korthals began breeding his ideal type of griffon. PHOTO AND ILLUSTRATION: COURTESY RIA HÖRTER 30 DOGS IN CANADA • January 2005