1953 Marko of Wolcott Doberman Show Photograph

1953
Written By The Doberman Archives
Black-and-white press photograph of Marko of Wolcott in profile, with Fred P. Kahl kneeling behind him and judge Merrill Doriot crouching beside a trophy.
Front · PHO-1953-001 View full size

The Doberman Archives · Press photograph

Marko of Wolcott

Date
April 25, 1953 (probable date of photograph); April 26, 1953 stamp on attached clipping1
Object
Black-and-white press photograph with attached newspaper caption1
Depicted
Marko of Wolcott; owner-handler Fred P. Kahl of Chicago; judge Merrill Doriot of Goshen, Indiana1
Event
Best of Breed, six-breed dog show1
Venue
“The Arena” (caption wording); city and specific venue unconfirmed1
Credit
“Journal Staff”; photographer and newspaper unidentified1
Archive ID
PHO-1953-001
Holding
The Doberman Archives

The story

The man behind Marko

On what appears to be April 25, 19531, Fred P. Kahl showed Marko of Wolcott at a six-breed specialty where the newspaper clipping attached to the back of the photograph records Marko’s Best of Breed win1.

The photograph catches one afternoon in Kahl’s life with Dobermans. Later accounts remember the same man for work that lasted much longer. Frank H. Grover—an obedience and conformation exhibitor, judge, writer, former president of both the Chicagoland Doberman Pinscher Club and the Doberman Pinscher Club of America, and founder of the American Doberman Pinscher Educational Foundation2—credited Kahl with keeping Chicago’s South Side Doberman Training Club together “year after year”3.

Bernie Brown—an obedience judge, a former leading competitor, a seminar instructor4, and writer of “The Obedience Doberman” for Joanna Walker’s The New Doberman Pinscher5 also credited Kahl with leading the group that formed the club5.

Reverse of the press photograph with an attached newspaper caption, dated marks, handwriting, and later collection labels.
Verso · PHO-1953-001 View full size

On the reverse

Attached newspaper caption

Read the complete transcription
“A handsome fellow named Marko of Wolcott won best of breed honors for Doberman pinschers in a dog show for six breeds at the Arena Saturday. Marko, owned and shown by Fred P. Kahl (left), Chicago, demonstrated a show stance for Judge Merrill Doriot of Goshen, Ind. The specialty show was a warm-up for the annual all-breed Wisconsin Kennel club show at the Arena Sunday. Judging will start at 10 a.m. for the Sunday show.”1

Documentation

References

  1. [Press photograph of Marko of Wolcott at a six-breed dog show, with newspaper caption clipping attached to verso]. (1953, April 25). The Doberman Archives (PHO-1953-001)
  2. American Doberman Pinscher Educational Foundation. (n.d.). Frank Grover. Read the biographical profile.
  3. Grover, F. H. (1968). Obedience history [Historical account]. American Doberman Pinscher Educational Foundation. Read the historical account.
  4. Stephenson, S. (2006, August). Yes Rover, you can teach an old handler new tricks. Waggin’ Tales, 15(6), 1–2. Fox Valley Dog Training Club. Read the newsletter.
  5. Brown, B. (1977). The obedience Doberman. In J. Walker, The New Doberman Pinscher (p. 196; fourth printing, 1978, consulted). Howell Book House.
The Doberman Archives

The Doberman Archives is a privately assembled cultural archive preserving and documenting the material history of the Doberman. Its holdings include books, photographs, postcards, periodicals, ephemera, documents, and other primary-source material, researched and digitized to place the breed’s history back into its original context.

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