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BUNDLE (1891)PHOTOS | SOCIAL MEDIA | REFERENCES
**This article, written and adapted by John Smithson, for The History Project, is based on an excerpt from A Persian Rhapsody in Blue, (Volume 1), published by A-Cat-Emy Concepts, in 2021. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:CHAMPION BUNDLE is one of three early and critically important blue Champions that stand as cornerstones of the 'Blue' Persian, as a colour variety. Photographs of this cat are extremely rare, and in fact, even though we are provided with several photographs of Mrs Neate's cattery in Frances Simpson's 'The Book of The Cat', there are no photographs of either 'Glaucus' or 'Bundle' or 'Wooloomooloo' in that publication, or in later editions of her other well-known treatises, such as 'Cats for Pleasure and Profit'. It is incredibly fortunate therefore, that a couple of images of him still exist, both in and out of coat, from the earliest bound volumes of 'Our Cats', now held in 'The Harrison Weir Collection. No Persian cat looks particularly great when photographed out of coat, or after a bath! That glorious coat, which both 'frames' and 'enhances' that frames their beauty, sadly, being lacking. But from a historical perspective it helps us to be able to view these cats of the past, and to note their strengths and failings, in order to appreciate their value; and to reconcile to ourselves the amount of dedicated work done by previous generations of breeders to refine and gradually perfect the underlying structure that forms the basis of the Persian cat which so many of us admire to this day. PARENTAGE & OWNERSHIP:'Champion Glaucus' (NCC:1063) born in 1890, 'Champion Bundle' (NCC:1205) born in 1891, and 'Champion Wooloomooloo' (NCC: 1340) born in 1892; eventually formed a triumvirate of Blue Persian Champions each representing a different strain developed out of three distinct foundation lines. 'Glaucus' was a TIER 2 male, from a 'Turko' foundation, 'Bundle' a TIER 1 male from a 'Thunder and Lightning' foundation, and 'Wooloomooloo' a TIER 3 male directly descended from a 'Jumbo' foundation. 'Bundle' was bred by Miss Cary-Elwes, of Brigg, in Lincolnshire, born June 23, 1891 and owned by Mrs. Francis Neate, of Wernham, in Marlborough. As a TIER 1 male, he was sired by Mrs. Pells 'Thunder and Lightning' (Pre-Registry) and out of 'Buttons' (NCC:1206) a blue female from an unknown (or unregistered) sire, but whose dam was 'Lady Jane Grey' (Pre-Registry). Although Mrs. Neate had owned several Blues, she developed a personal passion for Red Persians, (known then as 'Orange') and in the longer term became a specialist breeder of that colour variety. Her most famous early Red Persian male was 'The King's Own' (NCC:3116), whom she had purchased as a winning kitten from a class of twenty-six kittens at the Boscombe Show of 1897.
Unknown
Thunder and Lightning
| Unknown
Bundle, June 23, 1891,
Blue Persian, M
| Unknown
Buttons, blue
Lady Jane Grey
Set as it was in a rural location well outside town boundaries, and a mile from the nearest house, Mrs. Neate's Cattery and Boarding Facility was of immense value to other breeders, who, knowing that she had a safe, well-appointed cattery, with an additional cottage dedicated for use as a quarantine facility for cats returning from shows; were more than happy to send their queens to her male 'Champion Bundle'. On the cattery itself, we have an informative description from Frances Simpson, written in 1902: - " 'Champion Bundle' and 'Betsy Jane', a lovely little blue with orange eyes are the only blues of the establishment. Latterly, Mrs. Neate has reduced her own stock of breeding queens and makes a specialty of receiving cats during the holidays. Judging by the number of cat fanciers who sent their pets to Mrs. Neate during the summer of 1902, it is certain that a great want has been most efficiently supplied. Not only does Mrs. Neate give personal supervision to her catty boarders and visitors, but they have splendid caretakers on the premises. These custodians are Mrs. Neates St. Bernard, and a Chow-Chow, who jealously guard the Wernham cattery. These dogs are on the very best terms with the feline inmates, and the strange pussies very soon appear to settle down to an amicable cat-and-dog life. The accompanying photographs, as will be seen, were taken in the depth of winter. These brick-built houses, slate-roofed and with wooden floor, are splendidly adapted for keeping the cats snug and warm during the cold weather. One of the buildings illustrated is 25 feet by 15 feet and has three windows. This house is provided with large table, shelves, and chairs, and cosy sleeping-boxes. An outside wire run of the same length and width of the building is erected for an exercise ground in summer weather." SIBLINGS & SHOWS:As his sire 'Thunder and Lightning' was from unrecorded parentage (shown as unknown), 'Champion Bundle' is a TIER 1 registered male of the Blue Persian breed and variety. From checking the records of his sire's other progeny, we find another five key siblings from the same sire, which are:
Listed show wins for Champion Bundle are found in the NCC Register (Volume 2) as follows:
BREEDING & PROGENY:A cursory list of his key progeny is taken from 'A Persian Rhapsody In Blue' includes:
Although a well-known sire of numerous Blue Persians, among his particularly famous progeny and descendants of other colours, were both Reds and a line of Silvers, from a very worthy outcross to a notable Chinchilla female. Mrs. Neate speaks about the Reds, in an article she wrote for Miss Simpson: - "Mrs. Vidal's famous orange stud,'Torrington Sunnysides' was a son of my light blue 'Champion Bundle' and a tortoiseshell dam, 'Torrington Owlet' herself of an orange strain. Mrs Walford Gosnall's 'Rufus', (whose name discloses his colour) was also the result of this union. 'Red Ensign,' the orange kitten who won first and three specials at Westminster in 1902, was bred by me from 'Champion Bundle' and 'Mimosa,' an orange queen from cream breeding. And with his litter brother 'Scarlet Lancer,' took first and silver medal for the best pair of kittens. The latter is now the property of Mrs Cartmell. Unfortunately for the fancy generally, 'Red Ensign' was claimed at the show and is now a house pet." One of his greatest outcrosses, was to Mrs. Balding's early Chinchilla female, 'Beauty of Bridgeyate,' the daughter of 'Champion Chinnie' and the dam of none other than the famous Chinchilla male, 'Silver Lambkin,' born in 1889. From the breeding to 'Champion Bundle' in 1893, came the Chinchilla female 'Duchess,' who was renamed 'Southampton Duchess' upon her sale to Mrs. Greenwood, of Kensington House, Belle Vue Road, Southampton. This queen was subsequently bred to her half-brother. 'Champion Silver Lambkin' in 1894, from which pairing came 'Champion Lord Southampton,' probably the most famous son of a great many sons of 'Champion Silver Lambkin' and certainly the most expensive when he was finally on-sold! Thus, 'Champion Bundle' not only stands proudly behind many famous Blue and Red Persians, but as the grandsire of 'Champion Lord Southampton,' is quite literally to be found on the extended pedigrees of tens of thousands of Silver Persians! Of his better known solid Blue progeny, we only have space to mention a few. His blue daughter 'Fatima,' appears in pedigrees, as the dam of Mrs. Woollatt's 'Darius,' (later Mrs. Ransome's 'Darius') and therefore 'Champion Bundle' is the maternal grandsire and contributing progenitor to the 'Darius' strain. (Please read my 'Apologetic' article, on the debate over the sire of 'Darius 1' which will be found in his own biography). Another Blue Persian daughter was 'Diamond Queenie (NCC:3040), shown in our set of photographs of some of his progeny, and counted among his many Blue sons, we also find 'Ch. Monarch' s structurally sound male with an excellent head for the era. Then there is 'Billing Diamond' (NCC:2215), out of a Blue daughter of 'Champion Glaucus' (NCC: 1063) who was another critically acclaimed Champion Blue Persian male, and similarly a cornerstone of the Blue Persian variety and a TIER 2 direct descendant of the Foundation male 'TURKO'. Yet another Blue male sired by 'Champion Bundle' was 'Moses,' (Ref/CCR), bred and owned by Mr. C.W. Witt and later by Mrs. C.J. Cuxon and then Mrs. Savory. Another Blue Persian male of note, was his son 'Kingfisher' (NCC: 2060), the sire of 'Fulmer Roy' (NCC:3038), featured in a separate article. PHOTOS
Progeny Photos
In Summary: 'Champion Bundle' is one of the key progenitors of the Blue Persian variety, and has contributed genetically, through his bloodline to other colours and varieties. He was one of the earliest Blue Persian Championship males on record, and from his rare circular portrait above we can note his depth of eye colour, his firm chin of good breadth, his roundly tipped ears, which he passed on to sons such as Champion Monarch, and we can read of his light blue coat. He was the leading TIER 1 male, sired by the Foundation male 'Thunder and Lightning'. His bloodlines worked in combination with those of 'Champion Glaucus' 'Beauty Boy' and others to provide a wider genetic base for the ongoing enlargement of the Blue Persian gene pool and therefore may be found on countless Persian pedigrees to the present day.
REFERENCES:
Registers associated with this article include The Incorporated Cat Fanciers Association of Great Britain (TICFAGB), National Cat Club (NCC), The Cat Club (CCR), Beresford Cat Club (BCC), Feline Federation Francaise (FFF), Siamese Cat Registry (SCR), US Register & Studbook for Cats (USR)including Supplement(USRS), The Studbook of the American Cat Association (ACA), and the Studbook & Register of the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA).
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