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The mastiff looks and physics
The mastiff should be as big as possible. But only under the circumstance that bone structure and the solidity in body and head are balanced.
As such, a somewhat smaller, heavy dog is to prefer to a taller and lighter one. The word mastiff is related to the words massive and mighty.
The difference in size gender wise is relatively big. A small bitch can be 68 cm over the shoulder and weigh in at approximately 60 kilos without being too small. A big male can easily achieve over 85 cm's and weigh in at over 100 kilos. A mastiff is not fully grown until it is 3-4 years old.
The mastiff should have a pure black, clearly edged demarcated mask and black ears. They come in 3 colour variations: Fawn, apricot and brindle.

Standard for the mastiff

Country of origin: Great Britain.

General impression: The outline of the head - in broad - appears square seen from all angles. Broadness is very  desirable; in relations to the full length of the head as 2 to 3. The body is massive , broad, deep and long, powerfully built and placed on wide set spaciously placed legs.
The muscles are clearly outlined. Considerable size is a desirable measure, when it is combined with quality.
Height and substance are important elements, but has to be proportionally harmonized.

Characteristics: Big, massive, powerful and harmonic, with firm and tight build. A combination of majestic worthiness and courage.

Temper: Calm, dedicated to its master, but a competent watchdog.

Head: The Skull is broad between the ears and the forehead is flat, but with wrinkles when the dog is attentive. The eyebrow-arches is slightly lifted. The muscles in the temples and cheeks are well developed.
The skulls cross section has the shape of a rounded, somewhat flat arch with a crease that passes over the middle forehead from between the eyes and halfway to the occipital crest. The face/nose party is short, broad from under the eyes and all the way to the nose. It seems severed eg. stumped and abruptly ended, and creates a right-angel with the bridge of the nose.
The depth is important from the nose to the underline of the jaw. The jaw is broad all the way out. Seen from the front the nose is broad med wide-between nostrils.; seen from the side the nose is flat (not pointy or up-turned)
Where the upper lips part, they form stump angles with the nasal cartilage median and is slightly hanging to give the square profile. The length of the nose party in proportion to the full length of the head is 1to 3. The outline of the nose party (measured midst between the eyes and nose) is proportional to the outline of the head (measured in front of the ears) as 3 to 5.

Eyes: Small and placed far apart, so their distance ads up to at least the size of two eyes. The stop between the eyes is well marked but not abrupt. The eye colour is brown - the darker, the better and the nictitating membrane is not to be seen.

Ears: Small, has a thin feel and is widely put on the highest point of the skulls sides, so they continue the line across the top-part of the skull. They lie flat and close to the chins in a resting position.

Bite: The canine teeth is healthy and sturdy and are wide apart. The front teeth meet up in a bite where they match or the bottom can reach farther out than the upper teeth, but never so much that you can see them when the mouth is closed.

Neck: Slightly arched, moderately long and very muscular. The outline is approximately 2½-5 cm's smaller than the heads outline in front of the ears.

Front part: Shoulder and upper arm slightly at an slanting position, heavy and muscular. The front legs is straight, strong and widely positioned with heavy bones. The elbows are broadly set, and the middle hand is vertical.

Body: The chest is broad and deep and continues well in under the front legs. The ribs are arched and well rounded; The backmost are deep and placed well towards the hips. The chest outline measures in at 1/3 more than the shoulder height. Upper and lower back is broad and muscular. The lower back is flat and very wide on the bitch, slightly arched on the male. The flanks are very deep.

Back part: Broad, with broad muscular thighs and well developed lower thighs. The hock is angled and have a large reciprocal distance. They are positioned with a good broadness both in standing and in foot-pace.

Paws: Big and round with crinched up toes. The claws are black.

Tail: Highly placed and reaches down to the hock or a bit longer. It is broad at the root and becomes gradually thinner outwards. In the resting position it hangs down, but when the dog is excited it forms and arch with the tip pointing upwards, though not as far as over the back.

Motion: Powerful and easy flowing with a good range.

Fur: Short and close to the skin, but not too fine in structure over the shoulders, neck and back.

Colours: Apricot-fawn, Silver-fawn, fawn or dark fawn-brindle. For all colours nose and ears should be black. The piece around the eyes should also be black and the black should continue up between the eyes.

Flaws: Any deviation from the mentioned criteria is considered a flaw, which should be judged proportionally to the extent of the deviation.

Notice: Males has to have two normally developed testicles in the pouch.

THE Mastiff history:

The Mastiff is a very old race, which descends from England. They say that the Phoenicians brought the Mastiff forefather to England, when they shopped for tin there. When the Romans invaded England they found dogs of the Mastiff type, which they then sent off to battle-arenas in Rome, where they were to fight in very attuned strength relations. Four Mastiffs to a lion, 3 to a bear, 2 to a gladiator.
The Mastiff was very spread out in the middle ages. In Edwards the 3rd's time of reign (from year 1327) it was a law that any village should have a certain number of mastiffs as guard dogs. The dogs were kept indoors amongst woman and children during the day. Come evening they were let out to attack anyone closing in on the city during the night.
When the war broke out in 1939 some mastiffs were sent to USA, others where put down because it simply wasn't possible to get food for them. After world war II there were only 7 breeding dogs left in England. From these 7 and a few imported from USA and Canada, it was achieved to rebuild a stock that in 1950 was approximately 50 dogs. Since then the development have gone steady forward. In 1980 316 mastiffs was registered in England.

Kennel Milumas recommends this literature regarding the mastiff:
"The Complete Mastiff"
By David Baxter