The Barker , 1997 January/February - 1999 November/December

The collection chiefly consists of the club's bi-monthly newsletter/magazine, The Barker (1978-2007) and copies of stud book registries (1975-1993), in addition to select regional and national specialty show catalogs and a small group of club files including pamphlets, officer lists (1974-1997), and a copy of the 1991 AKC club presentation.

The Barker contains many official reports, such as: meeting minutes; treasurers’ reports; the board of directors and standing committees and contact information; president reports; present breed standards; voting updates and results; new member updates, etc. The Barker also houses less official content such as an editor’s corner, health care articles, show information, human interest articles, interviews, as well as pages upon pages of advertising.

When The Barker started (the collection starts in 1976), it was merely a newsletter typed up in small quantities for the few members that were still around since the start of the club. In the 1980’s, the newsletter took on a new, magazine-like look that updated more consistently and on a regular basis. The January/February issue of 1981 was the first bi-monthly issue that started the trend that continues to this day. In 1984, the November/December issue was the first to have a color picture on the cover, as opposed to just black and white, or just printed on. An issue of significance is the 15 September 1978 issue, which contains a detailed history of the club’s activities to that date. While it only covers the first few years, it would introduce researchers to the activities of the Chinese Shar-Pei Club of America at the time. Also noteworthy is the breed standard which is printed in each issue, documenting the evolution of the breed standard as more and more people became interested in the breed, and thus adding their opinion of what the ideal Shar-Pei is. T The stud book registry is arranged into two groups; either numerical order or alphabetical order, both covering the same years. All stud books were removed from any bindings, including staples, plastic snap-on bindings, etc.