From Country Life Illustrated (28 October 1899). The picture is entitled “At the Pump.” We also know that this dog is a “retriever proper,” because it is in the “Dog Breaking ” section. The child also gives us the relative size of this dog, which means it is definitely within the wavy-coated/flat-coated retriever size limits.
I had a golden retriever that looked exactly like this dog– except for color, of course. Strawberry, the mother of the golden boxer, had the same head shape and really coarse bone. She even had the funky ears and the tendency toward portliness. The only difference is that her coat was so full of wavy cowlicks that her coat was open. She also had a bit longer coat than this dog, but in terms of shape, she looked exactly like this dog.
She also had a vestigial topknot, which this dog also appears to possess. It is obscured a bit in this photo, but the wavy, thick hair on the back of this dog’s head is exactly the same as Strawberry’s. The only difference is that hers was quite curly, and it stood up on end, giving her a rather Krameresque appearance.
