Dossier No. 12 · Paris ateliers, 19th c.
French Bulldog
Manhattan lofts and design-forward owners who travel often.
- Stature
- Petite
- Coat
- Smooth — cream, fawn, pied, blue
- Temperament
- Charming, comedic, devoted shadow
- Origin
- Paris ateliers, 19th c.
I
History
Born in Nottingham among English lacemakers and carried to Paris during the Industrial Revolution, the breed was adopted by the city's bohemia — Toulouse-Lautrec sketched them, the demimondaines paraded them. The American socialites of the Gilded Age completed the apotheosis.
II
Personality
Charming, theatrical, and quietly devoted. They are the kind of dog that arranges itself attractively on a chaise. They speak in a vocabulary of snorts and sighs that an owner soon translates fluently.
III
To Live With One
Manhattan lofts, Parisian apartments, and design-forward owners who travel by car. They cannot fly in cargo, swim, or tolerate heat. They can, however, attend most restaurants and all openings.
IV
Notable Companions
Toulouse-Lautrec included them in his Montmartre portraits. In our own century they have become the signature accessory of the creative class: Lady Gaga, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Dwayne Johnson have all been devoted. It is perhaps the only breed equally at home in a Belle Époque atelier and a Malibu kitchen.