The Time Traveller

Meet the early Great Dane breeders!

What were those guys thinking? Read "interviews" translated from the earliest German studbooks, with on the-spot descriptions and pictures of their foundation studs.

Trace authenticated and illustrated colour-marked pedigrees back to the beginning - some of them a bit strange.

See what the early German, British and American Danes looked like - or were some photos retouched?

Follow the changes leading to today's dogs.

372 packed pages with indexes of over 700 pictures and 114 pedigrees.

Book Review:

The Time Traveller is a treat for any serious Great Dane fancier and should be required reading for breeders. The author was a breeder for...decades and was very active in the fancy, being a member of (and even establishing) breed clubs and writing for various publications. She knows whereof she speaks.

The product of a quarter-century of research, The Time Traveller is a compilation of articles that Jill Evans wrote for now-defunct magazines...In essence, it's a study of Dane pedigrees with an emphasis on heredity of coat colour. But the book is so much more - a massive work at 372 pages with more than 700 illustrations and 114 pedigrees. One need only compare this with what passes for breed "history" in most breed books to appreciate the thoroughness that went into this book.

One gets two impressions when reading The Time Traveller. The first is that this is undeniably a labour of love. Nobody could have conducted that much research without a pure passion for the breed...One is also struck by how much the author seems to care about the reader and how easily he or she might be able to extract information. Names of people and dogs are bolded for quick identification, as are other important pieces of information, such as references to pedigrees. There are two separate indexes, one for pedigrees and one for photographs. She writes very well and, oftentimes, with a sly sense of humour. And (this is difficult for any writer) she seamlessly weaves world history into that of her favourite breed. Try this, for example: "On September 3, 1939, Britain and France declared war on Germany. The day before, on September 2, the second Hexengold 'F' litter appeared…."

...the author devotes her attention to the breed's history from the first days of registration...I can think of no breed book so thorough in its subject. This is a major breed work.

- Bryan Cummins, Dogs in Canada