Charles Alfred Cruft (28 June 1852 – 10 September 1938) was a British showman who founded the Crufts dog show. Charles first became involved with dogs when he began to work at Spratt's, a manufacturer of dog biscuits. He rose to the position of general manager, and whilst working for Spratt's in France he was invited to run his first dog show at the 1878 Exposition Universelle. After running dog shows in London for four years, he ran his first Cruft's dog show in 1891, and continued to run a further 45 shows until his death in 1938, as well as running two cat shows in 1894 and 1895. He was involved in a range of dog breed clubs, including that for Schipperkes, Pugs and Borzois. He and his wife upheld a story that they never owned a dog, and instead owned a cat, however Cruft admitted to owning at least one Saint Bernard in his memoirs, published posthumously.

Early life and Spratts

thumb|left|An 1876 advert for Spratt's Patent Meat Fibrine Dog Cakes, featuring the cross "trademark" that Cruft introduced

Charles Cruft was born on 28 June 1852, one of four children. In his youth, Charles attended Ardingly College in Sussex, and Birkbeck College in London. Cruft first followed in his father's footsteps by becoming a manufacturing jeweller but he ultimately decided that the career was not for him and left the business in 1865.

He went on to apply for the post of office boy in the Holborn shop of James Spratt, the manufacturer of Spratt's dog biscuits. He was recruited by Spratt, who would later go on to say that Cruft had lent forward in the interview at one point whilst talking about the business and said "You know, I think this kind of business ought to do very well, I do honestly." Cruft overhauled the bookkeeping in the shop, changing it from a system using crosses to distinguish between wholesale and retail customers to a far more detailed system.

Several months after joining, Crufts convinced Spratt to hire a new boy to work in the shop to free himself up to solicit orders for the dog biscuits from gamekeepers, promoters of dog shows and the like. He saw a connection between improved feeding and purebred dogs, and so supported the foundation of canine societies. The Spratt's dog biscuits became the forerunner of the modern dry dog food, and under Cruft's work the company went from a single small shop to the British leader in these types of products.

Conformation shows

In 1878, whilst still working for Spratt's, Cruft travelled across Europe to expand the biscuit business. known as the Exposition Universelle. Further offers to run shows came in for Cruft, including an offer to become Secretary of the Dutch Kennel Club, and an offer to run the livestock section of the Brussels and Antwerp International Exhibitions. He took up job offers to run the shows for the Scottish Kennel Club, and became manager of the poultry section of the shows of the Royal Agricultural Society. He also co-founded and became club secretary of the Schipperke Club of Brussels. Collies and several breeds of toy dogs were added by 1890. He designed the logo himself, the head of a Saint Bernard surrounded by a collar with a crown on top. By 1914, the show had grown in popularity until it was recognised as the largest dog show in the world and by 1936 when the show celebrated its Golden Jubilee, over 10,000 dogs were entered at the event. The publication Fur and Feather praised the new venture and encouraged more. Crufts however wasn't so sure as the initial show had lost over a hundred pounds, and entries in some of the classes were restricted to only a handful of cats. He held a second show in March 1895, Fur and Feather announced in March 1896 that the cat show had been postponed due to Cruft's other business commitments, but he never went on to run such a show again.

Despite the fact that he gave away very few details about himself to the press, to make them concentrate more on promotion of his shows, he did not always see eye to eye with all members of the media. One newspaper refused to publish his name at all, and whenever it made reference to Cruft's dog shows, it simply referred to them as "a dog show in Islington". and comparisons with the American showman P. T. Barnum.

The funeral occurred on 21 September. The London Borough of Islington placed a plaque commemorating Charles Cruft at Ashurst Lodge, Highbury Grove, N5.

His will left £30476 9s 3d to his family and friends, with the majority going to his second wife, Emma, and £2000 going to his daughter Clara. Two grandchildren, Charles and Betty Cruft each received £500, and two nephews, Kenneth and John Hartshorn, each received the same.

At the time of his death in 1938, it was thought that his wife, Emma Cruft, would continue to run the dog shows with the help of the show's secretary, Miss Hardingham. This was disproved in Cruft's memoirs, published posthumously in Charles Cruft's Dog Book in 1952, where Cruft explained that he had lived in households which had Alsatians and Borzois. He went on to make particular reference to the fact that he and his wife Emma had owned at least one Saint Bernard; the same breed of dog he had used in his creation of the Crufts logo.

At the time of the United Kingdom Census 1901, Cruft was living at 325 Holloway Road, N7 with his wife Emma, his father Charles, a boarder named Albert Causfield and a servant named Alice Gregory. He listed his profession as "show promoter". Emma would go on to outlive Charles, she died at the age of 82 on 5 September 1950. At the time of his death, he was living at 12 Highbury Grove, London, N5. His staff included a cook, a chauffeur, two maids and a gardener. Additionally, he owned a country home called Windmill Farm, in Coulsdon, Surrey.

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