The Blue Imperial rabbit was an English breed of domestic rabbit that is now extinct. It was originally bred by Miss Mabel Illingworth (1879-1955),[1] who was the first woman to create a rabbit breed.[2] It was used to create several modern breeds, including the American rabbit.[3]
Name
The proper name for the breed was the "Blue Imperial".[4][5] It was sometimes interchangeably called "Imperial Blue",[5] or even shortened to "Imperial",[6] in the United States, but this is contrary to the original name.
History
Beginning in 1896, Mabel Illingworth began the process of creating the Blue Imperial. The inspiration for the breed came from the blue-colored cats her mother raised. For many years, Miss Illingworth was secretive about the origins of her breed, but she finally divulged her method in the mid-1920s. She first bred a Blue and a Tortoiseshell English Lop, then bred the resulting litter to a White Angora. This was an old method of revealing what dominant color the rabbits had behind them. In the second generation, self-blues appeared with long, but erect ears. These were bred to a heavily marked blue-fawn Dutch buck, as well as a self-blue Dutch buck. Other breedings improved the color. Illingworth first exhibited the rabbits at a rabbit show at the Crystal Palace in London in 1903.
A doe appeared in the second year of experimentation that featured ideal type and color according to Illingworth's specifications. It was named "Blue Pussie" after Illingworth's mother's cats that had inspired the breed. This rabbit was used extensively in the breeding program to fix the desired traits. The breed was shipped to America before 1915[7] and recognized by the National Pet Stock Association (the forerunner of the National Breeders and Fanciers Association of America which itself became the American Rabbit Breeders Association). Blue Imperials were rare[8] and never popular in America; they disappeared from standards by 1934 and became extinct there and in England shortly thereafter.[4]
Appearance
The breed came in only one standard variety; Blue. The Blue Imperial was described in the 1920 Standard of Perfection for the National Breeders and Fanciers Association of America (which became the American Rabbit Breeders Association). The color is described as follows: "the color of the Blue Imperial should be an even shade of dark blue throughout, fur soft and bright, and a trifle longer than the other short haired rabbits." The breed was about seven pounds in weight.[5]
Contributions to other breeds
In 1913, Mabel Illingworth crossed her newly developed breed with Havanas to produce a Lilac rabbit she dubbed the Essex Lavenders. These become the second of the three British strains that were used to create the Lilac breed.[9] Blue Imperials are believed to have been used in the creation of the American rabbit.[3][10]
^Whitman, Bob D. (2004). Domestic rabbits & their histories: breeds of the world. Leawood, KS: Leathers Pub. ISBN978-1-58597-275-3.
^ abThe Livestock Conservancy. "American Rabbit". The Livestock Conservancy. Because of the mandolin shape of the breed called for in the ARBA Standard of Perfection, Blue Vienna, Blue Beveren, Blue Imperial and Blue Flemish Giant are likely the founding genetics for the American.
^ abWhitman, Bob D. (October 2004). Domestic Rabbits & Their Histories: Breeds of the World. Leawood, KS: Leathers Publishing. ISBN1-58597-275-4. England is the native home of the Blue Imperial, which was developed by Miss Mabel Illingworth, beginning in 1896. [...] The breed never quite caught on in America, due largely to the popular American Blue, which was a much larger animal. Blue Imperials were dropped from the standards by 1934. The breed has long become extinct in America, as well as in England.
^ abcThe National Breeders and Fanciers Association of America (1920). "Standard of Perfection for Rabbits, Cavies, Mice, Rats, Skin and Fur Bearing Animals". Library of Congress. The color of the Blue Imperial should be an even shade of dark blue throughout, fur soft and bright, and a trifle longer than the other short haired rabbits. The eyes should be large and deep blue in color. The ears should be four and one-half inches long, and rounded at the tips. They should be carried erect and well together. Size about seven pounds. They should be shorter in limbs than the Belgian hare, but should slightly resemble the Belgian in type.
^Roth, M. D., W. F.; Cornman, Charles T. (1919) [1914]. Deardorff, C. R. (ed.). "Rabbit Culture and Standard". Library of Congress. The Item Publishing Company of Sellersville, Pennsylvania. The ideal Imperial may be described as follows: Shape and size, similar to that of a Belgian buck, but shorter in limb and weighing, when full grown, from 6 pounds to 7 pounds.
^Roth M.D., W. F.; Cornman, Charles T. (1914). "Rabbit Culture and Standard". Library of Congress. The Item Publishing Company of Sellersville, Pennsylvania. The ideal Imperial may be described as follows: Shape and size, similar to that of a Belgian buck, but shorter in limb and weighing, when full grown, from 6 lbs to 7 lbs. Color dark blue, of one even shade throughout. Fur, soft and bright, and rather longer than in the short haired varieties. Head, narrow and tapering, the eyes being long, bright, and deep blue in color. The ears should be about 4 1/2 inches long, round at the tips, carried erect, and set rather closely together. The commonest faults are white hairs intermixed with the blue, rusty color, brown eyes, and bars of a lighter or darker color on feet.
^The Livestock Conservancy. "Lilac Rabbit". The Livestock Conservancy. Miss Mabel Illingworth also crossed her newly developed breed, the Blue Imperial, with the Havana to produce a Lilac in 1913. She called her new creation Essex Lavenders... All three of the British strains were eventually merged and the rabbits of the pinkish dove coloration became known as Lilacs.
^Whitman, Bob D. (2004). Domestic Rabbits & Their Histories: Breeds of the World. Leathers Publishing. ISBN1-58597-275-4. Because of the mandolin shape of the breed, and that Blue Flemish Giants, Blue Viennas, Blue Beveren, and Blue Imperials were to be found in America at this time, it is quite likely that these breeds contributed to the race we know as American.
