Taken from Ludlow's painting in the later edition of Wright's Book of Poultry
(Note the clarity of the tail markings)

The Male
Select a very best quality exhibition male. He should be an even, rich, glossy, red bay, (this colour should be darker than the females but not as dark as that of a black red game) with no black in the body except perhaps a little on the wing steps or under the thighs. His tail should be full, beetle green-black with the sickles and side hangers edged with bright gold. His feather must be broad and blunt ended. If the side hangers tend to almost fall in ringlets, so much the better (this is a good indicator of high quality feather). This edging should be as clean as possible and should completely surround each feather. Get the tail markings as correct as possible, the gold edging is the one feature which stands the Hamburgh apart from other gold, black tailed breeds and is therefore of great importance.

Body, breast and back feathers from a cockerel breeding female
(Note the coarse pencilling and the mossiness on the back)

The Female
The female must be carefully selected from a cockerel breeding strain.
She will be of good size, preferably a hen (avoid breeding with pullets). If possible, find a hen with a big tail in which the top two feathers come over the top like sickles. If you can find a hen with eight feathers in the tail, so much the better. She will have a dark golden bay ground colour and fairly coarse, mossy pencilling. It is important to check her brothers for correct exhibition quality, for if her brothers are of good quality, she will breed sons which are similar in quality. Her feathering must be as broad and blunt ended as possible and of soft texture. Do not be tempted to use hens with coarse, oversized head furnishings... they will only pass these unwanted traits onto their sons.

This essay is written from my own personal experiences and from hints given me by old breeders now passed on.