Footnotes

• The present lot depicts Mr. A. E. Butters Black Labrador 'Peter of Faskally' by Waterdale Gamester-Birkhill Juliete, breeder Mr. Watson, born 2 February 1908, and Mrs. A. E. Butter's 'Dungavel Jet' by Flapper-Dungavel Juno, breeder the Duchess of Hamilton, born 4 April 1907.
  
  Faskally Estate, near Pitlochry, Scotland was the seat of the Butter family from it's purchase in 1778 by Mr. Henry Butter. The main house, which sits to the east side of Loch Faskally and two miles from the junction of the Garry and Tummel rivers, was designed by William Burn and built on the site of the old house (build about 100 years previously) in 1831 by Henry's only son Archibald. The family estate and newly purchased Cluniemore and Duntanlich estates were then passed to Archibald's eldest grandson (his son having predeceased him), in 1885. The then current Archibald, whose story is relevant here, eventually sold the estate in 1911 to his younger brother Colonel Charles A. J. Butter who owned it until it was sold to the Forestry Commission in the 1950s. It is now owned and run by a Christian trust.
  
  The name Faskally is thought to derive from the Gaelic 'Stance by the river' which has been assumed to refer to an old ferry crossing on the river Tummel.
  
  The Labrador retriever's featured in the present lot were the property of Mr. and Mrs. Archibald Butter, whose residence at Faskally came to an end shortly before the First World War. As well as a keen sportsman and big-game hunter who travelled all over the world, Archibald was a very successful and adept gundog trainer.¹ Mrs. Butter too was exceptionally skilled in this discipline and was one of the first woman to compete against men in Kennel Club Trials. They owned and trained a series of Labrador Retriever's whose prefix, Faskally, appeared consistently on gundog trial leader-boards in the decade running up to the First World War.
  
  Having been on the verge of near-extinction and not even a registered breed for field trails in the last decade of the 19th century, the Labrador's entry into the sporting scene in the first decade of the 20th century was as sudden as it was spectacular and in the last full season before the war, some 179 of the 247 dogs entered for the 14 field trials were Labradors. This surge can be attributed largely to the Duke of Buccleuch's Labradors who, although they never campaigned in field trials competitions, became the basis of the good blood in many Labrador field champions in the early 20th century. The Hon Arthur Holland-Hibbert's Labrador, Munden Single, who was almost pure Buccleuch and Malmesbury blood, was the first of the breed to take a card at a field trail in 1904. Major Maurice Mortal's FTCh Flapper, also of Buccleuch blood, was the first to be placed in 1906. More significantly in 1910, Peter of Faskally, who had much Buccleuch blood on both sides, became the only Retriever to win two open stakes in one season and in 1911 was the first champion to compete in an entry composed entirely of Labradors.¹ With no fewer than 32 of Peter's progeny winning or being placed in stakes in the decade to come, it is apparent that his studwork was a major force in extending an already formative influence. It is also known that he is the original blood line for all present day Chocolate Labradors.
  
  Peter's performance in field trials between 1910 and 1912 was documented by the family and from the numerous cuttings they collected, it is clear that he was an exceptional gun dog whose work was admired by all commentators. As the Dundee Courier commented of the Scottish Retriever Trials in October 1910:
  
  "Alert, silent and with a carriage graceful for a retriever, Peter goes about his work in thorough earnest, and once on the trail of either feather or fur, he locates his quarry speedily, and returns with his spoil in his mouth, scarcely showing teeth marks at all.³.
  
  While a reporter in the Kennel Gazette in 1911 said:
  
  "I have no hesitation in describing Mr. A.E Butter's Peter of Faskally as the most notable performer of the year. After carrying off first prize at the All-Aged Stakes at the Kennel Club Trails...he went on to reap a further brilliant victory by taking first prize in the Open at the Scottish Field Trails. The winning of two such capital events in one year has never been done before. Peter to my mind combines to perfection all the qualities that are claimed for Labradors, great speed, sagacity, excellent nose, and absolutely tender mouth, and while splendidly endowed with initiative, he is not above taking a hint from his master".
  
  The second Labrador in the picture, a bitch called Dungavel Jet, was bred by the Duchess of Hamilton and bought by the Butter's in 1911. From stud records Peter and Jet produced numerous litters and, like her mate, Jet was also very successful and well-admired in the field trials of 1910 and 1911. Among others, she won the Kennel Club Trial's All-Aged stake at Lord Lonsdale's Estate at Lowther, Westmoreland, after which The Field noted:
  
  Butter then put Dungavel Jet on the line, and the bitch quickly got her nose down and brought the hare smartly to hand.⁵
  
  The Butter's owned a second estate at Balmer Hall, Little Snoring, near Fakenham, West Norfolk, and the end of season Championship of 1911 was held there. Just before the event, a commentator from The Field noted the equality between Peter and Jet:
  
  "The running of Balmer Hall brace, Mrs. Archibald Butter's Dungavel Jet and Peter of Faskally, property of Mr. Butter, will be followed with interest for it is recognised that either Lab might win".⁴
  
  1. Mayfair 30 Nov 1911 - A noted explorer and big game hunter, Mr. Butter knows Abyssinia from end to end, and he acted as Elephant hunter to the late Emperor Nerevlik. He has also travelled in many other parts of the world, and shot in Alaska and the Rockies
  2. Sporting & Dramatic 28 October 1910
  3. Dundee Courier 28 October 1910
  4. The Field 25 November 1911
  5. The Field 18 Nov 1911

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Category: Fine Art / Dogs in Show and Field

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