Breed History
The Min Pin is actually quite an old breed. Though it wasn't admitted to the German stud books until the 1890s, it existed as a breed long before that time. I've read various accounts, from depictions in art as early as the 1600s to reliable breed histories going back to the early 1800s.
I'm hoping for some help in this area of the site from people with more knowledge of the breed than I have. For now I think it's safe to say that the breed is quite an old one, and has existed near its present size for much of that time. Unlike some other toy breeds, who have fairly recently been "bred down" to their current size, the Min Pin seems to have been small from very early on in its development, which makes sense from its role as a mouser and ratter.
A purely hypothetical speculation on my part is that the Min Pin, or at least a small, vermin-hunting terrier-type dog, could have gained popularity during the time in Europe where rats were plentiful but cats were considered evil and in league with the Devil. At one time many cats were killed on sight, which led to an explosion in rat and mouse populations. This in turn led to the the famous outbreaks of the bubonic plague. It sort of makes sense to me that owners would try to breed a small dog who could be a vermin killer since cats were not plentiful and no one could own a cat without being in danger of persecution themselves.
