Rawdon Briggs Lee (9 July 1845 – 29 February 1908) was an English dog breeder and writer on dogs.

Life

He was son of George Lee, unitarian minister at Kendal, and proprietor and editor of the ''Kendal Mercury''. Lee learned journalism under his father, whom he eventually succeeded in the editorship of the ''Mercury'', retaining it till 1883. Meanwhile, he gave much time to

field sports Field sports are outdoor sports that take place in the wilderness or sparsely populated rural areas, where there are vast areas of uninhabited greenfields. The term specifically refer to activities that mandate sufficiently large open spaces and ...

, especially fishing and otter-hunting, also to cricket, and becoming an authority on wrestling. In spite of defective eyesight he was an expert fly fisher. Lee made his chief reputation as a breeder of dogs. In 1869 he first formed a kennel, and his pack of Fellside terriers became well known to otter-hunters. He specialized in

fox terrier Fox Terriers are two different breeds of the terrier dog type: the Smooth Fox Terrier and the Wire Fox Terrier. Both of these breeds originated in the 19th century from a handful of dogs who are descended from earlier varieties of British terr ...

s: in 1871 he won the cup at the national show at Birmingham with a dog of this breed. He was also successful with

Dandie Dinmont terrier A Dandie Dinmont Terrier is a small Scottish dog breed in the terrier family. The breed has a very long body, short legs, and a distinctive topknot of hair on the head. They are friendly but tough, and are suitable for interaction with older ch ...

pointers Pointer may refer to: Places * Pointer, Kentucky * Pointers, New Jersey * Pointers Airport, Wasco County, Oregon, United States * The Pointers, a pair of rocks off Antarctica People with the name * Pointer (surname), a surname (including a lis ...

collie Collies form a distinctive type of herding dogs, including many related landraces and standardized breeds. The type originated in Scotland and Northern England. Collies are medium-sized, fairly lightly-built dogs, with pointed snouts. Man ...

bull terrier The Bull Terrier is a breed of dog in the terrier family. There is also a miniature version of this breed which is officially known as the Miniature Bull Terrier. Appearance The Bull Terrier's most recognizable feature is its head, descri ...

Skye terrier The Skye Terrier is a Scottish dog breed that is a long, low, hardy terrier and "one of the most endangered native dog breeds in the United Kingdom" according to The Kennel Club. Appearance Coat The Skye is double coated with a short, ...

s, and

Clumber spaniel The Clumber Spaniel is a breed of dog of the spaniel type, developed in the United Kingdom. It is the largest of the spaniels, and comes in predominantly white with either lemon or orange markings. The name of the breed is taken from Clumber Pa ...

s. His

English setter The English Setter is a medium-size breed of dog. It is part of the setter group, which includes the red Irish Setters, Irish Red and White Setters, and black-and-tan Gordon Setters. The mainly white body coat is of medium length with long s ...

, Richmond, after winning awards at home, went to Australia to improve the breed. Lee acted as judge at dog shows held at Bath, Darlington, and Lancaster. He finally retired from the show-ring in 1892. A powerful advocate of

field trial A field trial is a competitive event for gundogs. Field trials are conducted for pointing dogs and setters, retrievers and spaniels, with each assessing the different types various working traits. In the United States, field trials are also co ...

s for sporting dogs, he did much to extend the movement which began in 1865. Lee had for several years written in '' The Field'' on angling and dog-breeding; he came to London in 1883 and joined its staff, succeeding

John Henry Walsh John Henry Walsh FRCS (21 October 1810 – 12 February 1888) was an English sports writer born in Hackney, London who wrote under the pseudonym "Stonehenge." Walsh was educated in private schools and became a fellow of the Royal College of Surge ...

as kennel-editor, and holding that post until June 1907. He also contributed occasionally to '' Land and Water'', ''The Fishing Gazette,'' ''The Stock-keeper'', and other papers. He married in February 1907 Emily King, a widow. Lee died in a nursing home at Putney on 29 February 1908.

Publications

* ''History and Description of the Fox-terrier'' (1889; 4th edition, enlarged, 1902) * ''History and Description of the Collie or Sheep Dog in his British Varieties'', illustrated by Arthur Wardle (1890) * ''History and Description of the Modern Dogs of Great Britain and Ireland — Non-sporting Division'', illustrated by Arthur Wardle and R. H. Moore (1894, new edition 1899) * ''History and Description of the Terriers'', illustrated by Arthur Wardle and R. H. Moore (1894; 3rd edition 1903) * ''History and Description of the Modern Dogs of Great Britain and Ireland — Sporting Division'', illustrated by Arthur Wardle (2 vols. 1893; 3rd edition 1906)

References

Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Rawdon Briggs 1845 births 1908 deaths People from Kendal Dog breeders British sportswriters