The Short Faced Tumbler Club celebrates its 125th birthday this year 2011; would you believe the Club was started in 1886 in the Globe Tavern, a public house in Fleet Street, London by a group of Short Faced Tumbler fanciers.
Some great names in Short Face history include Mr Esquilant and Mr Fulton who were both Short Face Tumbler breeders.
Robert Fulton wrote a whole section on Short Faced Tumblers in his book and put in seven excellent colour plates to show all the colours, style and markings. Sadly the black mottle has become extinct which is a real wonder as the fanciers held this colour in high esteem at the time Fulton was putting his book together. A quick note, if any Short Face Tumbler breeders would like a copy of Fulton's Short Faced Tumbler section, I still have a few of the green book, which was Part 2 of the Centenary Handbook we put together in 1986.
It is indeed interesting reading, and I quote the section on the beak as it refers to a `goldfinch' beak which has come up in Short Face conversation on many occasions over the past few years as we seem to be heading for a boxed beak, miniature Long Faced Tumbler with dropped flights. Our Standard drawing in the new NPA Standards book does not do justice to the real style of our Prince Regent. No disrespect to Jean Louis Frindel of France and his attempt at a Short Face, but he has not got the eye for the finer points and it is a poor shaped English Short Faced Tumbler. It is neither fish nor fowl and frankly needs to be necked and put into a black bin liner as it does not represent the style of birds we have now nor our ideal that we should be projecting to the rest of the world. We need to put the style back for others to see that we have not abandoned the all important S shape for the more upright position that is being projected by this drawing we have now.
Loft visit to Alfons Perrick of Germany, L-R Bertus Vd Vegt, Alfons Perrick, Rob Vd Vegt, Jim Mullan and Alf Sharman
