author

Walter Esplin Mason

b. 1867

Best known for a richly illustrated 1915 survey of dog breeds around the world, this early 20th-century writer brought together practical descriptions and a clear affection for working dogs. His surviving reputation rests largely on one ambitious canine reference book that still interests breed historians and dog lovers.

1 Audiobook

Dogs of all nations a complete work, profusely illustrated, bearing on the world's different varieties of the dog, grouped under their several nationalities, with descriptive matter explaining the characteristics and utility of each

Dogs of all nations a complete work, profusely illustrated, bearing on the world's different varieties of the dog, grouped under their several nationalities, with descriptive matter explaining the characteristics and utility of each

by Walter Esplin Mason

About the author

Walter Esplin Mason was born in 1867. Public library and bibliographic records consistently identify him as the author of Dogs of All Nations, a 1915 work that set out to describe dog breeds by country and explain their characteristics and uses.

That book is the main reason his name remains in circulation today. It was presented as a complete, illustrated guide to the world's different varieties of dogs, and its broad scope suggests a writer interested in classification, utility, and the everyday roles dogs played in human life.

Little biographical detail is readily confirmed beyond his birth year and authorship, so his published work tells most of the story. For modern readers, Mason stands out as a careful compiler from the great age of breed manuals, preserving a snapshot of how dogs were described and understood in the early 1900s.