Detailed pedigrees for one of the earliest horse breeds developed in the United States

Battell, Joseph

The Morgan Horse and Register, Containing the History and Pedigree of Justin Morgan, Founder of This Remarkable American Breed of Horses and of His Best Known Sons and Grandsons, Also Pedigree and History So Far as Known of Most of the More Prominent Stallions Foaled Before 1881 Descended in Male Line from Justin Morgan, together with the Pedigrees of About One Thousand Animals Registered in Conformity with the Rules of the Morgan Register, Vol. I [Volume 1]

Middlebury, Vermont: Register Printing Company, 1894. Facsimile. Hard Cover. Near Fine / No Jacket. Item #2351927

1980s facsimile reprint of 1894 original. Edges lightly soiled, otherwise an excellent copy. Binding tight and square, pages clean, bright, and unmarked.

xx, 996 pp. Two-panel pedigree chart precedes text, map of United States follows text, black-and-white photographs and woodcut/engraved illustrations throughout. The Morgan horse is one of the earliest horse breeds developed in the United States. Tracing back to the foundation sire Figure, later named Justin Morgan after his best-known owner, Morgans served many roles in 19th-century American history, being used as coach horses and for harness racing, as general riding animals, and as cavalry horses during the American Civil War on both sides of the conflict. Morgans have influenced other major American breeds, including the American Quarter Horse, Tennessee Walking Horse and the Standardbred. During the 19th and 20th centuries, they were exported to other countries, including England, where a Morgan stallion influenced the breeding of the Hackney horse. In 1907, the US Department of Agriculture established the US Morgan Horse Farm near Middlebury, Vermont for the purpose of perpetuating and improving the Morgan breed; the farm was later transferred to the University of Vermont. The first breed registry was established in 1909, and since then many organizations in the US, Europe and Oceania have developed. Popular children's authors, including Marguerite Henry and Ellen Feld, have portrayed the breed in their books; Henry's Justin Morgan Had a Horse was later made into a Disney movie.

Price: $225.00