Old Shorthorn bulls that still look good

Pictures from The New Pictorial cyclopedia of Livestock  1901

Nice book!

Valentine is the perfect bull with wrong coat.
Many old bulls are better shaped than today ones!

I agree completely.

Dont forget they used to paint the pictures to make them appear how they wanted.  Long before they had photoshop people were screwing with the images the public got to see.

Joshua

Painted or not I would like a bull that looked like Valentine.

all blubber

-XBAR- said:

all blubber

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But he has a map of Gondwanaland on his side!

The photo enhancements done in the 30s to 80s were unbelievable. I can remember many major breed magazines ( not just for the Shorthorn breed, but most other breeds as well) that reserved the right to enhance any photo they received for use in an ad in their magazine. Many of them barely resembled the animal in the flesh.

There were some awesome cattle raised in days gone past, just as there are today. There are pictures from the past that were misleading just as there are today. I am not saying that these particular bulls were not good, but I do know that some editing was done to the photos so I would suggest a bit of caution be used.

I do not know whether Valentine was that good or whether the artist was, I would like to find a bull that is built like the one depicted in the picture.  There is a lot of things that are unkown like frame score and tenderness for example ut I like the way he is put together.

Not much has changed in 100 years. Valentine looks like a Bates/Both type cross, and reminds me a little of Ringmaster, about whom was said:
"Ringmaster, owned by Leslie Smith St Cloud, Minn. The Shorthorn is a breed with wide limits, it takes in a number of distinct colors and types which in other branches of animal industry would be considered distinct breeds."

photo from: WHAT IS A BREED? MEANING OF PURE BRED BASED ON ARBITRARY DECISION OF BREEDERS, SOME STRANGE CONTRADICTIONS By ORREN LLOYD JONES, Associate Professor of Animal Husbandry Iowa State College Ames Iowa , The Field Illustrated, Volume XXVI, Number 9, 1916, page 758

beebe said:

I do not know whether Valentine was that good or whether the artist was, I would like to find a bull that is built like the one depicted in the picture.  There is a lot of things that are unkown like frame score and tenderness for example ut I like the way he is put together.

Click to expand...

Agree completely.