Boston Cat Club Ribbons (1907, 1908, 1912, 1916)

MUSEUM	FACTFILE
Classification	Awards
Category	Ribbon
Artifact	Boston Cat Club ribbons
Date	1907, 1908, 1912 and 1916
Connection	Boston Cat Club
Collection	The CFA Foundation's Feline Historical Museum
Description	Boston Cat Club ribbons awarded at cat shows held in Boston, MA
Brief History	Ribbons, with badges, awarded at Boston Cat Club shows in 1907, 1908, 1912 and 1916
Acquisition	1908 Ribbon purchased by Karen Lawrence. Donated to The CFA Foundation, 1999 1907, 1912 and 1916 ribbons purchased by John Smithson. Donated to the CFA Foundation, 2015

LEFT TO RIGHT: First Prize, Novice, with "Boston Show" badge, 1907 Third Prize, with "Senior Kitten" badge, Boston Cat Club, 1908 Second Prize, with "Second Premium" badge, Boston Cat Club, 1912 Ribbon, with "Third Premium" badge, Boston Cat Club, 1916 Courtesy of The CFA Foundation, Inc.

Historical artifacts and records indicate that cat shows were first held in the United States as early as 1878 in Boston, with the first one being organized at the Boston Music Hall on March 1st of that year. These shows were often held in association with the Boston Poultry Association. Articles from the various Boston newspapers detail stories about the Boston Cat Show on an annual basis thereafter.

It is reported by the Boston Post that "At the upcoming show (January 16, 1906), there will be benched more than 200 cats." and that "Entries have been received from many parts of Canada and the West and all of the New England States will be represented." The Secretary of the Boston Cat Club, Mrs. George B. Brayton, exhibited five cats at the 1906 show which was held in Talbot Hall at Boston's Mechanics Building. The January 8, 1906 Boston Post describes the cats that Mrs. Brayton would exhibit:

"Leading the five cats that Mrs. Brayton will bench is Cushka, who has the honor of having won five specials and a first at the Madison Square Garden show, four specials and a first at Rochester, N.Y.. and two specials and a first in Boston." CUSHKA, a Blue Smoke female (BCC 642; Blue Boy x Mimi) was bred by Miss Gardiner in England, imported by Mrs. Robert D. Locke of Chicago, and owned by Mrs. G.B. Brayton of Allston, MA.

        JUMBO, Blue
    BLUE BOY, Blue
    |   SILVER, Blue
CUSHKA, F, Blue Smoke, BCC 642
    |   BLUE BOY, Blue
    MIMI, Silver Tabby
        BOOTS OF BRIDGEYATE, Silver Tabby

Cigarette, a Smoke Persian, born April 7, 1906, owned by Miss A.V. Williams of Orange, NJ. Courtesy of The Harrison Weir Collection

In addition, Mrs. Brayton would exhibit a kitten of "rare promise" that already had under its belt "four specials and a first at Chicago, and four specials and two firsts at Rochester." Plus, "Syche, a female has a record of two firsts and a special at New York, a first and special in Boston, and a first and special in Rochester. Rounding out her five entries were "two baby smokes".

Unidentified Smoke Persian kittens, published in a 1908 magazine Courtesy of The Harrison Weir Collection

An advertisement was published in the June 23, 1912 edition of The Boston Sunday Post indicating that the secretary of the Boston Cat Club acted as a "selling agent" for kittens. The advert reads:

Boston Cat Show, 1917

The Fairfield Tribune reported, in its January 8, 1917 issue, that the "Boston Poultry Show, one of the premier exhibitions of its kind in the United States, opened in the Mechanic's Building (on January 7th). Both in the number and variety of exhibits the show this year eclipses all of its predecessors. Another big feature is the annual show of the Boston Cat Club, which is being held in conjunction with the poultry show."

An unidentified Smoke Persian adult, from a postcard dated 1912. Courtesy of The Harrison Weir Collection

The Boston Post, in its January 11, 1917 edition gave a detailed report on the cat show, as follows:

"While the throng of poultry lovers were admiring the birds downstairs, cat enthusiasts were having their innings in the upstairs hall, where the 12th annual show of the Boson Cat Club opened. There are about 200 of the felines, in large wire cages elaborately trimmed with silk hangings, silk pillows and tiny silk mice for the kitties to play with. Thousands of dollars are represented in the silky-haired animals that occupy the pens.

"Among the notables of catdom shown are Mrs. George Brayton's beauties, always a treat to cat lovers, "Peggy" the famous shaded silver female, a cat of perfect points owned by Mrs. Hilda M. Kelley of Weymouth, a one and one-half year old beauty that has been made famous by a pair of exquisite green eyes; 'Beauty, a Persian, owned by Miss C.A. Roby of Concord, N.H., and 'Winter Starlight', son of CH King Winter, a silver Persian, owned and shown by Miss Carroll Macy of Knox County, ME. "

LEFT:CH King Winter, born in 1906, in the arms of his mistress, Miss Carroll Macy From All Pets Magazine, January 1943 RIGHT: Miss Carroll Macy, with two silver kittens sired by CH King Winter. From The Cat Review, February, 1913 Courtesy of The CFA Foundation

Highly Collectible Badges

The 1907, 1908 and 1912 ribbons were manufactured by Whitehead & Hoag Company, which was founded in Newark, NJ in 1892 and became one of the prominent manufacturers of ribbon badges, and eventually of advertising novelties throughout the United States. The company was sold in 1959 to Bastian Brothers of Rochester, NY.

Boston Cat Club ribbons, showing manufacturer labels Courtesy of The CFA Foundation, Inc.

The 1916 ribbon was produced by the Boston Regalia Co, located in Boston. Boston Regalia produced a variety of badges, many of them associated with the Masonic Lodge. Today, badges, pins, and other memorabilia produced by both Whitehead & Hoag and Boston Regalia have become highly collectible.

References:

1. The Boston Post, January 8, 1906
2. Studbook and Register of the Beresford Cat Club, Volume III, July 1903
3. The Boston Sunday Post, June 23, 1912
4. Fairfield Tribune, January 8, 1917
5. The Boston Post, January 11, 1917