Black Persians
Blacks were the first of the British solid colors to attain popularity. A black named Satan, owned by Mrs. McLaren Morrison, won every class when shown in the 1890's in England. Another of the well known early British blacks was a cat named Dirty Dick born in 1911. Blacks were even more popular in the United States. King Max, a large black male, won First Prize at the Boston Cat Show in 1897, 1898, and 1899. Owned by Mrs. E.R. Taylor he was valued at $1000 and was said to have a beautiful, dense, shiny, black coat with no sign of white hairs. Johnnie Fawe II was one of the excellent black Persians bred in England by Dr. Roper at the turn of the century and exported to the U.S. Dr. Roper noted that his best blacks came from dominant breeding (black x black or black x tortie). Although blacks were successful at early shows, in 1903 Vidal pointed out that there was room for great improvement. Many had a brown tinge and in some lights it was possible to see tabby markings. According to Richard Gebhardt the first group of noteworthy blacks appeared in England in 1936. These included Chadhurst Barry, Chadhurst Gem, Hillingdon Jackdaw, Basildon Treasure, and Della of Downside.
Most of the best American blacks were a result of blue and black crosses. Mrs. Myrtle Shipe crossed her imports with blues to produce CH Great Lakes Charcoal. Charcoal was one of the most credited studs of all time. Charcoal produced GC Great Lakes Timothy of Rosemont, owned by Frances Kosierowski. GC Pied Piper of Barbe Bleue, 1951 Cat of the Year, has been called the Grand Daddy of all our blacks. Pied Piper was owned by Bess Morse of California. Famous in the East was GC Hermcrest Natajha (sired by Lavender Blue Blaze) owned by Frances Herms. The Longhill cattery of Anthony DeSantis produced some of the finest blacks of the time. He would exhibit as many as 25 cats in a show, inevitably winning Best Kitten and Best Cat. At the request of Dick Gebhardt, Mr. DeSantis sold a top female, CH Longhill's Black Velvet, to Robert A. Green. Black Velvet was a granddaughter of Pied Piper and when bred to Lavender Liberty Beau produced GC Vel-Vene Voo Doo of Silva-Wyte. Voo-Doo became 1959 Cat of the Year and set the standard for modern blacks. Voo-Doo's black daughter GC Silva-Wyte Trafari of JB continued the legend by becoming 1967 Cat of the Year and producing a pedigree littered with Cats of the Year! And Trafari became grandmother of Joan O'Hara's GC Fanci-Pantz Petti Girl of Araho, 1971 Cat of the Year.
