History, Mythology and Truth by Dr.Rita Trainin!!!
 
I started to be interested in black and silver colour in miniature schnauzers late 50 in Switzerland.
Personally we already started with black standard schnauzers but had seen some banned puppies with so called wrong colours, which had to be put down  according the  country of origin of the breed.
I started look around in America and found that not only in Canada and USA those puppies are kept, but also registered, according to their colour but mostly not show at The American Kennel Club Shows as it was not described as a official colour in the Official AJKC recognized standard of the Miniature Schnauzer..
I published in the official dog paper of the SKG Swiss Kennel Club, some articles  about this colour variation  in Miniature Schnauzers of Canada and USA with some  excellent photos which I received from the breeders  oversees. Mrs Frieda Steiger, Schnauzis Kennel for pepper and salt Miniature Schnauzers in  the town  of  Wettingen near Zurich, got very enthusiastic and took contact with kennels of black and silvers: Sylva Sprite and Tributes. Mrs Steiger imported Sylva Sprite Frills and Jade Tributes Tuxedo Junction and many more. She started to breed there,  and the Swiss Kennel Clubs stud book agreed to register them although the colour was not accepted into A secondary stud book called Anhangsregister in German.

     

During these years  as we were living in Bern, Switzerland we realized that the colour black and silver exists in the breed from the first registrations in the German Studbook (which I have a copy of) of the Schnauzer-Pinscher Club. The first German Stud Book edition includes 1505 miniature Schnauzers registered till 1922.
There are many colours from which one can understand it was black with white or yellowish markings .
This book has some  interesting pictures of these dogs:

           

Mrs Steiger  moving to the beautiful part of Emmental in Kanton bern(Emme is a river and the cheese comes from this area) kept also the  Schnauzers of the Belgian Contesse de  Pret , v Stedeke kennels  for standard and Miniature schnauzers. In one of  v Stedeke litters a black and silver pup  Quitta v stedeke was born.
This female is the early foundation of black and silvers  in Europe. She was mated to the Canadian imports,
had good looking black and silver puppies and everybody but the country of origin seemed thrilled.
Leaving Bern for Jerusalem in 1966 we found in Israel only standard schnauzers in Pepper and salt (we brought the blacks with us) .  There was immediate interests for pepper and salt miniatures  which were imported from  Mrs Steigers Schnauzis Kennel Britta and Charlie. They had 5 litters and at least one black and silver puppy in each litter. In Israel they were registered and shown in national shows  only. Everything changed one sunny day( as it mostly is in Israel), when Isak Skedi a kibbutz member from Givat Chaym came to show me a hairball. A half a year old male pup he had received as a thank for taking care of American youngsters who stayed in his Kibbutz for studies. Isak was a Boxer person and had never even touched a small dog. I lost my head and started to measure in my mind the pretty pup.  Isak participated for the first time in his life on a dog show when his pup was 8 months,  and run to Best Puppy on the Schnauzer Club Specialty Show. Isak Skedi and his wife Ulla were caught in the net of schnauzers. Skedi imported from the Babenera Kennel a female Lara(Scnauzis Sylvan x Schnauzis Orissa),  an started breeding  under the kennel name Bar-Luz.




From  the females of this combination there were bred to beautiful black and silver Tsusik Bevar ,  after the pepper and salt miniatures Schnauzis Britta and  Charly. Year 1973 we imported from USA a 3 year old black and silver male  Goughs  Frosted Blackjack , and  year 1982 our big success Titian Anfiger (From old Anfiger kennels in Massachusets  for black Miniatures schnauzers).




Bar Luz kennels bred many excellent dogs, some of them found their way to Europe to the hands of talented breeders; Sabina Bar-Luz, Romy Bar-Luz, Viktor Bar-Luz, Chatifa Bar-Luz.

        

Each one of the  USA imports  Titian Anfiiger  and Goughs Frosted Blackjack, stayed one year in Europe to breed. Bar Luz kennel does not breed any more. Isak Skedi still has a black and silver but with his 85 years of age decided to give the leadership to young breeders  who make it with great success.



Thank you Rita for all your work with the black and silver mini in Europe!