·1989: so many anniversaries that specific year: Bicentenary of the French Revolution, centenary of the EiffelTower and golden jubilee of our club.
Let's remind the words of one of the club's founder, Mrs Marguerite BOURCEY.
I'm afraid so, 50 years ago, is modestly born the FALAPA Club.
One person, Mrs BOURCEY, had the idea to fall in love with two Afghan Sight-hounds, that she met by chance as she was walking around the country. It was in the year 1930. After this meeting, a passion was born.
It has been necessary to import and create a small amateur breeding (Original Kennel). Then they had the idea to bring together all the amateurs of this breed to make it better known and to get to its growth.
What is more pleasant, when friendly meetings take place, to talk about a common passion: the Afghan- hound. The idea of creating a club was born.
But, to create a club, you need members and the Afghan-hounds owners were a few at this time, and Mrs BOURCEY had the idea to group the Asian Sight-hounds together.
In that way the club put together the Afghans and Salukis amateurs.
February the 13th of 1939, the French Asian Sight-hounds Club was officially born, and its registered office sat in Le Perreux. The first articles of association have been made out. After being registered at the police headquarters of Paris, the S.C.C. agreed the affiliation period. The first committee had 10 members and some of them have been known later in the dog environment.
Of course, the founders were in the first board:
Madame Marguerite BOURCEY, Chairwoman
Monsieur Roger BOURCEY, Financing controller,
Monsieur BROCHET, vice-financing controller
Madame WASSERZUG de MORES, co-chairwoman.
The members of the executive committee included among them Mrs MEYER and PERIER, Mr POUCHAIN who had later a highly liking and managed the S.C.C. during years and became the President of the Epagneuls Bretons Club.
Unfortunately, the declaration of war stopped during several years the club activities. It is after the resignation of Mr and Mrs BOURCEY, who could not take care of the club any more, because of so many professional activities in province, that the club has been restructured on May the 21st of 1940. The name has been modified a little bit:
It will be called from now: FRENCH CLUB of ASIAN SIGHTHOUNDS AMATEURS "PERSIANS and AFGHANS”.
They are known today under this name. The registered offices have been moved to Colombes. The affiliation with the S.C.C. has been confirmed then. The articles of the association have been changed and specified.
The new committee was made up as following:
Chairman : Mr EYKERMANN
Vice-chairman : Mr Louis FAYOLLE (kennel : Château des Roches)
Suzy SOLIDOR (singer), Mr DAVAINE (vet),
Treasurer : Mrs WALTERT (breeder)
Secretary : Mrs Magdeleine DEMARNE (kennel : Les Ailes)
Some years later the committee had 14 members.
After Mrs EYKERMANN and Mrs WALTER resignations, Mrs DEMARNE became chairwoman on June the 10th of 1951, and her husband became secretary-treasurer. So the registered office has been removed to LE BOURGET. The "reign” of Mrs DEMARNE lasted until 1976 – 25 years-.
The club had then 36 members in 1951. In March 1952 the first quarterly publication was born.
Though it was basic, this first publication contributed a lot to form the club. It's a little bit thanks to this, that a club can exist and grow up… and become as significant as it is nowadays.
The creation of the "Challenge” cup has been done some months later in June 1952.This cup is still awarded nowadays.
During the "Nationale d'Elevage” in 1953, a very important question came up: the one about the comments regarding our breeds' standard following the type of description of a breed taken up by the Monaco congress in the year 1934 and organized by the F.C.I.
The Afghan hound British association and the S.C.C. approved these comments about the standard. Another very important point has been discussed in 1956, the nomination of the judges regarding their competences. That's why, it has been decided that to become a judge, each candidate had to have an examination. That examination still exists nowadays.
In 1957, 6 years after Mrs DEMARNE nomination as chairwoman, the number of members had quite trebled and they were 100 active members. It is at this moment that they began to talk about coursing and training.
In 1970 Mrs BOURCEY, the founder of the club reinstalled the committee as vice-chairwoman. The club had then 225 members and it has been decided in 1971 that every new member had to be patronized.
During these 25 years, the FALAPA Club managed by Mrs DEMARNE, had a lot of people known for their devotion to the dog world.
I shall name some of them:
The judges Mrs SIMEON LAVALLART
MM. MONTENOT, DEROUET
The veterinary, Dr MERY
The breeders:Mrs TABAK (Tahlab)
Mr FOURNIOLS (La Goutte d'Or)
Mr GALLIBERT (Loiret)
Mrs LEPOINT (Oasis aux Sumacs)
Mr MORA (Toscane)
On the 24th of September 1976, Mrs DEMARNE resigned and a general committee election took place on November the 29th of 1976. 37 candidates put forward for these elections.
Mr BOUJASSON became the new chairman.
Vice-chairman: Mrs BOURCEY and Mrs DESMET and Mr GRIMBERG
Secretary: Mr de VESINS
Treasurer: Mrs SALLE
After being chairman during 7 months, Mr BOUJASSON resigned and Dr Alain CAMPAGNE became the new one on the 26th of June 1977. The "Spéciale d'Elevage” has been created at this time, and became "Nationale d'Elevage” as we know today. It happened on September the 25th of 1977 in Normanville and there were 138 Afghan hounds and 49 Salukis.
But there was no C.A.C. championship. It has been awarded during the 1st Nationale d'Elevage in Saint-Etienne in 1978. That year, the club published a book which has been a great success "The Afghan hound and Saluki”. Unfortunately this book had run out. In 1979 the "Nationale d'Elevage” took place in Poitiers. All the members were disappointed but accepted the Dr CAMPAGNE resignation and thanked him for his work as chairman.
On November the 3rd of 1979, Mr Henri HUYGHUES DESPOINTES became the new chairman, and the "Nationale d'Elevage” settled in Mâcon and it became the annual party for the club, gathering each year a great number of French Afghan hounds and Salukis, and foreign ones, too.
After years of dedication to the club, Mr Henri HUYGHUES DESPOINTES resigned and on November the 21st of 1987, Mr Robert GRIMBERG became chairman and resigned on November the 29th of 1992. After him, Mr Jean-Jacques DUPAS came and resigned on March the 27th of 1994 because of his bad health. Mr Henri HUYGHUES DESPOINTES came back and became chairman on the 24th of September. On July the 14th of 1997, Mr Jean-Marie IMHOFF was elected.
After a complete restructuring en 1976, the club grew up a lot thanks to the efforts done by the chairman and to the expansion of the two breeds; the apogee has been reached between 1979 and 1983 (1254 active members in 1980).
By now our sight-hounds population is falling down because of various reasons, and our breeds are not the only ones, in the group 10, which are dropping.
ONCE UPON A TIME …… ASIAN SIGHTHOUNDS
For us, occidentals, Asia begins where Europe ends: Dniepr, Istanbul, Black Sea, the Mediterranean sea-side …
For us FALAPA, Asia is the Ancient East without the Extreme. It is the "Mysterious Orient” of Racine. It is the "Tortuous Orient” of Charles de Gaulle. It is the country whose Montesquieu said "How people can be Persian?”
Birth place of Gods, of the most legendary civilisations, of the most ancient historical dogs of the world: ours. Such as is this fabulous Orient, Mountains ofNorth, Oceans of East, deserts of South and Mare Nostra of West where going to stop during centuries, the coming of Afghan hounds and Salukis to occident.
The sight-hounds came from the North plains and steppes with Celts. Some Persians went to Italy, but nothing lasting. It is only when the British colonial adventure began that they have been exposed to our dazzled eyes.
In 1895, a strange foreign dog appeared, but was it an afghan sight-hound?
In 1907 the famous "Zardin” has been widely talked about and had his portrait painted by a famous painter. At least, when the 1st World War ended a good half-dozen of Afghans hounds came to England to found a line, and some more.
It's only in 1935 that the first French Afghan hound appeared.
In 1895, the Saluki appeared too in England. We can imagine that a long time before some of them travelled till Scotland with the Celts. But prove it. It's particularly in 1921, after the 1st World War that the famous SARONA KELB imposed the Saluki type to occidental. France, always late about the sight-hound subject, had to wait 1934 to register the 1st R.I.: a beautiful bitch, 4 years old, coming from Syria.
THERE IS NEARLY 100 YEARS
So in 1895, quite 100 years ago, we knew quite nothing about the "look” of the ancestors. But in 1894 and 1897, the earl Henri de BYLANDT published at VANBUGGEN HOUDT (Brussels) two big books relating about 316 breeds, with 1392 plates showing 2064 dogs.
We took away from this illustrated bible the pages relating to our breeds with their supposed standards. At this time, the subject "Asian sight-hounds” was not very clear.
If the Saluki remained the Saluki, the Afghan hound was still hesitating about the hair and the "Asian hound” coming from nowhere, and going to nowhere, was there to try to get an agreement. We must know that in this book, 9 pages were talking about the Greyhound and 12 pages about the Barzoï.
Matter of fashion, on a beautiful cartouche, the charming head of the dog illustrating the Afghan hound looks more like a Saluki than a Kabul lord's. It must have been quite confusing for the people at this time. Asia remained a mystery.
FALAPA ? WHERE DO WE COME FROM ? 50 YEARS AGO.
We are in 1934, and dogs' world is organized. The 1st French Saluki is registered but he had no name. The following year, Mrs BOURCEY introduced the 1st Afghan hound.
Monaco worldwide dog specialists gathered the best of them and tried to discipline the dog breeder's rights and duties, and the clubs.
This same year 1934, the "Editions du Fleuve” published in Lyon a bulky volume "TOUS LES CHIENS” written by the veterinarian Hubert HEUILLET, prefaced by Professor DECHAMBRE and illustrated by André LAGARRIGUE. Inside this book we can find the image and the standard of our two companions.
1935. It is an important period for Asian sight-hounds, mainly for Afghan hounds which are registered in the French Book of Origins.
They were originally from Great Britain but are going to found a line in France. We couldn't find pictures of n° 21 but of n* 2, a bitch owned by Mrs BOURCEY, which has to be compared to the previous pictures. It is NALINI OF ENRIALIC.
1939: Europe smacks of heresy. Amateurs of Asian sight-hounds are still rare but passionate. They are passionate enough to re-group and create the Asian sight-hounds Club, later named FALAPA CLUB.
HOW LOOKED LIKE AFGHAN HOUND FIFTY YEARS AGO ?
Mrs Marguerite BOURCEY presents in Berlin a dog, with British origin, but registered at the LOF under n° 16.
This dog which has been a champion in Berlin is AZURA TALIB.
It has been, as for Olympic Games, the last spring in Berlin. A few months later it became silent because of the war, especially for the foreign breeds, Asian, British or French.
The Asian sight-hounds gave place to German shepherds, Rottweiller, Dobermann, etc, used for others purposes than dog shows.
Dogs had only one right and duty: make war and keep prisons. Hunting was forbidden.
The worldwide and French dog shows and FALAPA where stopped.
Regarding Salukis, the mystery darkens. Nowadays their existence seems to be the result of colonial French politic and of some elitist fashion.
The cleansing will be a European task.
In 1948, the livestock has been rebuilt. The amateurs came back on the rings and our companions held up their heads. At this point FALAPA became: CLUB FRANCAIS DES AMATEURS de LEVRIERS d'ASIE PERSANS et AFGHANS.
In March 1952, Publication of the 1st bulletin will knit together the club members.
1989 : PRUNOY – FALAPA'S GOLDEN JUBILEE
But, where are our long ago sight-hounds?
Of course, their original aspect remained but the human- being, the breeders and the public slowly modified and improved them, ruling their love affairs, the same way used to do their old oriental owners.
Salukis remain perhaps as they always looked like: beautiful, mysterious and hieratic. Afghan hounds are flying away with their feathering hair. Their destinies are opened up.
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