The American Standard of Excellence records the poultry descriptions adopted under the auspices of the American Poultry Association at Buffalo in 1874. This digital copy is a later souvenir photographic facsimile, preserving the early text alongside historical introductory matter.
An early standard preserved for comparison
The souvenir introduction explicitly identifies the reproduced pages as the first edition. It places that edition beside later revisions and the illustrated standard published in 1905.
A presentation leaf names the association’s presidency of 1906–1907. The facsimile does not provide a clear separate publication date, so the year 1874 refers to the reproduced standard rather than a claim that this physical souvenir was printed then.
That distinction is essential to using the book well. The introductory material looks back on the early standard, while the main pages preserve what its readers were originally asked to apply.
Instructions to judges
The opening instructions explain how judges should examine birds, enumerate points and relate deductions to the total value allowed for a feature. They also address comparisons when scores are tied.
Some directions concern the order of observation and handling. Others deal with weight and the way a deficiency should affect the result in particular classes.
These pages reveal the practical machinery behind a poultry standard. Judging required a method of comparison, not simply an impression that one bird looked more attractive than another.
A shared vocabulary of the bird
A nomenclature illustration identifies the principal external parts of a fowl. This prepares the reader for the descriptions that follow, where a particular term must mean the same thing to different breeders and judges.
The vocabulary connects body sections, feathers and head furnishings with a common frame of reference. It is useful for readers comparing this early standard with later poultry writing.
The book is chiefly a descriptive reference. Its purpose is to define the recognized form and color of varieties, rather than provide a full course in feeding, housing or health care.
Descriptions of chickens and Bantams
The breed entries move through Brahmas, Cochins, Games, Leghorns and numerous other groups. They describe characteristics of males and females, list disqualifications and supply scales of points.
Dominiques, Plymouth Rocks, Spanish, Hamburgs, Polish and Dorkings appear among the larger fowls. Other entries include Silkies and several Bantam kinds, preserving the names and arrangements used at the time.
Comparing entries shows which features were shared across a group and which distinguished a particular variety. Color descriptions can be quite specific even where the general body form is treated more briefly.
Ducks, turkeys and geese
The standard extends beyond chickens. Ducks include Aylesbury, Rouen, Cayuga, Call and other varieties, followed by descriptions of turkeys and geese.
These sections make the volume useful for studying the scope of early organized poultry fancying. Several kinds of domestic birds were brought within the same effort to establish recognizable descriptions and comparable judging rules.
The final lists identify people involved in preparing or revising sections. They document the collective work behind a standard that might otherwise appear to have been written by a single authority.
How to use the facsimile
This free ebook suits poultry historians, heritage-breed researchers and readers following changes in breed definitions. It is particularly useful beside later breed books that criticize, explain or revise the requirements recorded here.
The PDF contains 114 digital pages, including the souvenir cover, library preliminaries, historical note, presentation leaf and reproduced standard. The introduction identifies printed pages 1–102 as the photographic reproduction. Use the printed numbering when following the contents, and keep the later introductory leaves separate when citing the early text.
The rules and classifications are historical. They provide evidence of what the association recognized at that stage, and should not be used as a substitute for the current requirements of a show or breed organization.
Book details
- Author: American Poultry Association
- Publisher: American Poultry Association
- Year: 1874
- Edition: 1874 text in an undated souvenir photographic facsimile; presentation leaf names the 1906–1907 presidency
- Digital length: 114 PDF pages
- Language: English
- File size: 2.05 MB
