The Collie, a beloved breed, has always had steadfast fans, as well as “peaks” of popularity. In England, one such peak came in the 1860’s when Queen Victoria visited the Scottish Highlands and fell in love with the breed. The favor of a monarch made it fashionable to own a Collie, but people soon realized what the Queen was about with this breed, and how wonderful these dogs actually were.

Most estimates put the Collie in American in 1879 where early dog shows were dominated by British imports. Because of these imports, the breed made big gains between 1900 to 1920, and these imported dogs were the foundation of the Collie in America today.  Just as Queen Victoria had promoted the breed in the UK, it was another world leader, President Calvin Coolidge, who brought the Collie to its first wave of popularity here. He and his wife, Gracie, were avid animal lovers and owned several rough Collies. The press couldn’t get enough of them, and it was through newspapers and magazines that Americans learned more about the breed. In fact, the first official portrait taken of the new first family after the swearing included their white rough Collie, “Rob Roy.” Mrs. Coolidge had another Collie, “Prudence Prim,” who slept beside the bed and wore a bonnet to attend tea parties.

Needless to say, the literary works of Albert Payson Terhune (“Lad of Sunnybank,”) Eric Knight (“Lassie Come Home,”) lead to an explosion of interest in the breed. The 1950s TV series “Lassie,” put Collies in a heroic light, but didn’t, in our estimation, over exaggerate the breed’s intelligence or beauty. If ever there was a breed that would understand the question, “Timmy’s in the well and he can’t get out?” it would be the Collie.

“Picking Roses” watercolor on paper by William Henry Margetson (1861-1940) is available as a print here