The original image of this dog is from a painting by A. Cooper. It was entitled “Tar, a Celebrated Retriever, the Property of Charles Brett, Esq.”
I have not been able to find anything about this Mr. Charles Brett, other than he was located at West Hill House in Fareham in Hampshire. It lies in between Portsmouth and Southamptom, which are major port cities.
It is not very far from Poole, which is in the neighboring county of Dorset.
Poole, of course, was the home port of virtually every English ship that fished the Grand Banks of Newfoundland.
It was a major port of entry for St. John’s water dogs into England, and it would be expected that we would find a dog like this one in a neighboring county. Or perhaps the dog arrived in either Portsmouth or Southampton as a direct import from Newfoundland.
Most sources suggest that this dog is a flat-coated or wavy-coated retriever– and they actually wouldn’t be wrong. The division between St. John’s water dogs and wavy/flat-coated retrievers and what became Labrador retrievers was quite nebulous.
However, I think it might be reasonable to suggest that Tar was actually a lightly feathered St. John’s water dog from imported stock. His size and build are very similar to what we’d expect from a male of that breed. Judging from the mallard drake at his feet, I would estimate him to be roughly the size of a typical Labrador retriever dog, though maybe just slightly larger– in the 85 pound range. He also possesses white toes and a white chest– both traits that were commonly in the St. John’s breed. He also has a slightly roached back– a trait one sometimes sees in Chesapeake Bay retrievers and curlies. It has been selected against in golden, Labrador, and flat-coated retrievers, but it would be reasonable that the St. John’s breed would have this trait. Perhaps it gave the dogs a bit better swimming posture by allowing the back legs to go a bit deeper in the water and permitting the head to rise a bit more out of the water– thereby allowing the dog a better chance of seeing or smelling that which it was sent to retrieve.
His name is Tar. That could refer to his color, but it also could refer to “Jack Tar,” a common name for a British sailor. It is synonymous with the word “seaman,” and giving this dog this particular name might have been a reference to a seaman’s dog.
I cannot find any information on this Mr. Charles Brett, Esquire, of Fareham. My guess is he was involved in some sort of import or export business, for this region was (and still is) a major sea port. He was obviously well to do to have been able to afford a retriever, and the term “esquire” meant that he was of some rank.
I just can’t find out who he was. If you have any info, please pass it along.
But I think Tar was a St. John’s water dog, either recently imported or derived from recent imports.
Of course, he could have been called a “Newfoundland,” a “Labrador,” or a “wavy-coated retriever,” and every one of those distinctions would have been correct.
