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Pulaski's Masterpiece

Pulaski's Masterpiece

Pulaski's Masterpiece

Pulaski's Masterpiece

Pulaski's Masterpiece


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For at least a quarter of a century, Alexis Pulaski was a well-known breeder of first Doberman pinschers and then poodles in the New York City area, with kennels in Willimantic, Conn., and New Brunswick, N.J. Mid-century, he opened a business on Fifty-Second Street called Poodles, Incorporated.

His most famous dog was Masterpiece, a gray toy poodle. Masterpiece won top obedience awards and was trained to do tricks, such as walking on either his front or hind paws. And owing to his master’s political leanings, when Masterpiece was asked, “Are you a Communist?” he would emphatically shake his head No.

(In newspaper accounts from the early 20th century, Pulaski was referred to as a White Russian, a term used by the Anti-Communists who fought the Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War. Defeated, after the war many went into exile and there was a large community who immigrated to the United States.)

Masterpiece was so famous that at one point the Pakistani prince Ali Khan attempted to purchase the dog for his actress wife Rita Hayworth.

Masterpiece earned Pulaski around $11,000 a year in stud and modeling fees, and he sired puppies that sold for $500 each.

Tragically, Masterpiece was stolen in 1953 and never recovered.

And now we come to this the bowl dedicated to Masterpiece that is a true oddity. It is 9 ½” in diameter and weighs more than 3 pounds. As you can see in the photos, it was heavily gilded on the rim and also had a coin gold line near the foot. But the decal, which is definitely underglaze, was applied to quite a common piece of china – a Glo-Tan bowl with red lines, a humble design that is frequently referred to as café tan and something that we’d see in any 1950s diner.

The bowl honors Ch. Pulaski’s Masterpiece CD, CDX & UD. These are obedience titles. CD is companion dog novice; CDX is companion dog excellent; and UD is the utility dog title.

And just like Masterpiece’s disappearance, there seem to be no answers to this mystery. Was Pulaski a friend of Wheeler Bachman, or did Bachman have an interest in poodles? Or did Pulaski commission a set of these bowls as possibly gifts from Poodles, Inc.? We have no clue.

 

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