Apricot Red History Project

Copyright 2001 Dr. Martha Dull
 Used With Written Permission from the Martha Dull Estate
Materials Compiled and Edited by Kelly Lynn Smith
Not to be reproduced in any form.

APRICOT FACT: The first known apricot, probably a standard, was born
May 7, 1898 by RUFUS [brown, out of Morning star, white (?)]. Her name was SOWDEN YELLOW GAL
1st Apricot Champion
Eng Ch Phidigity Jessie--born 1929
Click on image for a largier view.
Ch Carillon Amour born 1936
1st American Apricot Standard Champion
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Thanks to all of you for the information on the Meisen Kennel. Someone suggested a review of the apricot history for those who have joined recently. Since the last was written in September and we have increase to 118 members I hope the older members won't mind seeing it again.
Eng Ch Tango of Piperscroft [Standard]
1st Apricot Obedience Champion Imported 1934
Click on image for a largier view.
came here and earned her CD and CDX. Black descendents of Rufus possibably carrying apricot genes came here from the Cheiveley and Whippendell kennels.
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Whippendell Abricotinette 1912
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Abricotinette with moustache removed and trim modernized.
As a result the first American Ch Apricot was born in 1935, Ch Carillon Amour CD, standard.
Click on image for a largier view.

Meisen's First Apricot Yum-Yum Thanks to Carol Caverley who sent this photo, the only one available. The inscription is written by Ms. Meisenzhal.

All Materials and Photographs copyright 2001 Martha Dull
The apricot gene is a recessive to all the poodle colors but white. It is the last poodle color to be recorded. I suspect apricot is a rare occuring combination of brown(?black and red), blue(?black and silver). red (?brown,red and yellow)and white in different consentrations to produce different shades.maybe you have another theory.According to Connie Crews the first recorded apricot was Sowden Yellow Gal born 1898 by Ch(?)Rufus ex white Morning Star.Rufus was called liver color by an owner who had browns so the color must have been a little different.Rufus bred to a brown French bitch, Marquise L produce 8 pups, 6 red and 2 brown. These were very nice and most were sold to good English kennels to carry this new apricot gene into the future. At the time most poodles were standards.
In 1912 when miniatures were becoming popular an unusually good one was born to the Whippendell kennel in a breathtaking apricot color.She and her black brother figure strongly in the apricot link to those of today and go back to Rufus. The 1st apricot Ch I found was Eng Ch Phigidity Jessie who had a black sire and a blue dam, was a standard and a Rufus decendent.(1929) In the 1930's some great breeders in the USA began to improve American poodles with English imports.Eng Ch Tango of Piperscroft
In minis Mrs Hoyt of Blakeen imported 3 apricots, Fifi of Swanhill, Venda's Sunkista(maybe red) and her daughter Venda's Winter Sunshine. Fifi overgrew but Sunkista and Winter Sunshine finished. Breeding Winter Sunshine to a black to try to produce apricots Mrs Hoyt failed but produced the brown multiple BIS winner,Blakeen Eldorodo. These dogs are important in our mini and toy pedigrees today. England continued to produce more apricots the the USA. Occasionally Venda would export to the USA.
In the 1940's poodle breeding slowed because of the war but in the 1950's 2 important apricot kennels worked in England to produce good apricot poodles, Greatcoat in toys and Puckshill in minis. In the USA the Apricot Standard was beginning to be studied and bred by Bel Tor and Becky Mason. A beautiful photo of Ch Bel Tor Noon Day Sun can be seen in our old poodle books. 
Martha
The 1950's will be continued.
Apricot History 1950
The Meisen influence of toys and minis of today For those who are recent to our discussion group I have been researching and writing about the history of the apricot poodle. We started with Rufus ,1891, who produced the 1st recorded apricot and last had started the 1950's with a discussion of standards.
Lets start to discuss the Meisen kennel, one of the most important kennels in America to the the development of apricot toys and minis......We are lucky to have had a breeder who spent time before breeding learning genetics, availability and quality to start apricot lines in both toys and minis. And it was partly by accident!
In 1940 Hilda Meisenzahl decided she would like to start a colored toy line. At the time most toys were white and few had even seen an apricot But she really just wanted to breed silver and black when she started. To start color in toys she had to go to a small silver mini and bought Maree Ang, small but well built. As most toys were white she bred her to a quality white toy champion. This produced 3 silvers just over 10 inches.
By accident a brother and sister from the litter mated and this produced a good black who finished his toy championship, and a white and a silver. The black did fade after a time. When she was unable to find a colored female to breed him, she bred him back to his mother though she advised others not to try this. His litter had 2 whites and 1 silver she kept(Meri-Tot).After much research she bought a small black mini from Toytown in England who had a small mini line with several colors in their pedigree (Giovanni of Toytown).. Unknown to her he had an 8 1/2 in. apricot mother, the granddaughter of Petit Morceau of Piperscroft, a black mini that we already know had an apricot gene and produced apricot. In Giovanni's 5 generation pedigree I counted 27 blacks, 4 silvers, 12 blues, 8 browns, I apricot and 1 b&w. 3 generations later in 1953 a toy, Meisen Fleck of Gold (Yum-Yum) appeared from 2 black parents. This was Meisen's 1st apricot.---Cont. See 2 photos:

If you can't find what you are looking for here, perhaps you will find something on one of our member sites .

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