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Canoes: A Natural History in North America

Mark Neuzil and Norman Sims 2016

This is the story of the canoe, that singular American artifact so little changed over time. Featured here are canoes old and new, from birch bark to dugout to carbon fiber; the people who made them; and the adventures they shared. With features of technology, industry, art, and survival, the canoe carries us deep into the natural and cultural history of North America.

Follow author Mark Neuzil on Twitter: @mrneuzil

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9780816681174 (hardcover)

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Citable Link

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Filtering by: Keyword Maine

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This map of Maine’s Moosehead Lake and the headwaters of the Aroostook and Penobscot Rivers was drawn in 1880 by W. R. Curtis to accompany Canoe and Camera, a book by Thomas Sedgwick Steele. It was one of the first maps prepared expressly for canoeists.

Map of Maine’s Moosehead Lake

From Introduction

Map of Maine’s Moosehead Lake and the headwaters of the Aroostook and Penobscot Rivers, drawn in 1880 by W. R. Curtis.

A black and white photograph of a group of people on the shore of a lake. A group of men relax on the sand as a woman sits in a canoe and a man points a gun across the lake.

Picnic along Shore of Lake, near Mouth of Socateau

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Joseph John Kirkbride, Picnic along Shore of Lake, near Mouth of Socateau, ca. 1884, photograph.

A page of advertising for Kennebec Canoes includes a colorful illustration of two people in a green canoe on a lake, and a drawing of a blue wooden canoe along with text describing the different dimensions and characteristic of the Kennebec Canoe.

Kennebec Boat & Canoe Co. Advertisement

From Chapter 4: All-Wood Canoes

Kennebec Canoes, “Popular Everywhere”

Wood-and-canvas canoes built by the B. N. Morris Company of Veazie, Maine, among other builders, were made to order for paddlers overseas. This highly prized Morris canoe is owned by Tim Rowe in Great Britain, where several clubs collect the Canadian style canoes built in North America.

B. N. Morris Canoe

From Chapter 5: Wood-and-Canvas Canoes

Wood-and-canvas canoes built by the B. N. Morris Company of Veazie, Maine, among other builders, were made to order for paddlers overseas. This highly prized Morris canoe is owned by Tim Rowe in Great Britain, where several clubs collect the Canadian style canoes built in North America.

A Gerrish canoe at McTrickey Cottage on Madawaska Lake, Aroostook County, Maine, ca. 1915.

Gerrish Canoe at McTrickey Cottage

From Chapter 5: Wood-and-Canvas Canoes

A Gerrish canoe at McTrickey Cottage on Madawaska Lake, Aroostook County, Maine, ca. 1915.

Ella and Bert Morris (far right) and his brother Charlie (far left) pose with their staff in front of the B. N. Morris storefront, ca. 1900.

B. N. Morris Storefront

From Chapter 5: Wood-and-Canvas Canoes

Ella and Bert Morris (far right) and his brother Charlie (far left) pose with their staff in front of the B. N. Morris storefront, ca. 1900.

The B. N. Morris canoe factory in Veazie, Maine.

B. N. Morris Canoe Factory

From Chapter 5: Wood-and-Canvas Canoes

The B. N. Morris canoe factory in Veazie, Maine.

This 17-foot B. N. Morris canoe was originally built ca. 1912 and has been carefully restored by Rollin Thurlow of the Northwoods Canoe Company in Atkinson, Maine.

Restored B. N. Morris Canoe

From Chapter 5: Wood-and-Canvas Canoes

This 17-foot B. N. Morris canoe was originally built ca. 1912 and has been carefully restored by Rollin Thurlow of the Northwoods Canoe Company in Atkinson, Maine.

Cornelia “Fly Rod” Crosby fishes from an E. M. White canoe on Moosehead Lake in Maine, ca. 1895.

Cornelia “Fly Rod” Crosby

From Chapter 5: Wood-and-Canvas Canoes

Cornelia “Fly Rod” Crosby fishes from an E. M. White canoe on Moosehead Lake in Maine, ca. 1895.

E. M. White Company catalog cover from 1915 showing a courting canoe.

E. M. White Catalog

From Chapter 5: Wood-and-Canvas Canoes

E. M. White Company catalog cover from 1915 showing a courting canoe.

An illustration depicting several of the beautiful color designs available in 1926 for Old Town canoes.

Old Town Designs

From Chapter 5: Wood-and-Canvas Canoes

Several of the beautiful color designs available in 1926 for Old Town canoes.

Shipments of Old Town canoes arrived wrapped in straw and burlap at Shenk & Tittle, a sporting goods store in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Old Town Canoe Shipment

From Chapter 5: Wood-and-Canvas Canoes

Shipments of Old Town canoes arrived wrapped in straw and burlap at Shenk & Tittle, a sporting goods store in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Dozens of newly finished canoes were stored on the roof of The Old Town Canoe Company factory.

Newly Finished Old Town Canoes

From Chapter 5: Wood-and-Canvas Canoes

Dozens of newly finished canoes were stored on the roof of The Old Town Canoe Company factory.

The George A. Gray hardware store of Old Town, Maine, in 1906. George Gray stands at the far left.

George A. Gray Hardware Store

From Chapter 5: Wood-and-Canvas Canoes

The George A. Gray hardware store of Old Town, Maine, in 1906. George Gray stands at the far left.

The labels of Abiel Bickmore’s salve and powder that cured sores on work horses. The Bickmore powder, backed in 1884 by Herbert and George Gray, gave the Gray family national distribution experience that they used in marketing canoes.

Abiel Bickmore's Salve & Powder

From Chapter 5: Wood-and-Canvas Canoes

The labels of Abiel Bickmore’s salve and powder that cured sores on work horses. The Bickmore powder, backed in 1884 by Herbert and George Gray, gave the Gray family national distribution experience that they used in marketing canoes.

A black-and-white photograph of the exterior of the Old Town Canoe factory. Wrapped canoes await shipment near the railroad.

Old Town Canoe Factory

From Chapter 5: Wood-and-Canvas Canoes

The Old Town Canoe factory. Note the wrapped canoes awaiting shipment near the railroad.

An illustrated view of the Old Town factory appeared in the company catalogs.

Illustrated Old Town Canoe Factory

From Chapter 5: Wood-and-Canvas Canoes

An illustrated view of the Old Town factory appeared in the company catalogs.

Kennebec Canoe Catalog cover.

Kennebec Canoe Catalog

From Chapter 5: Wood-and-Canvas Canoes

Kennebec Canoe Catalog cover.

A black-and-white photograph of employees at the Old Town Canoe Company constructing canoes.

Finishing Work at Old Town

From Chapter 5: Wood-and-Canvas Canoes

Finishing work was done by hand on canoes built at the Old Town factory during the 1920s and 30s.

A photograph of excess dirt being removed by vacuum from newly constructed Old Town canoes.

Old Town Construction

From Chapter 5: Wood-and-Canvas Canoes

Prior to varnishing, Old Town employees used a vacuum system to remove dirt and debris that was left over from sanding, ca. 1922.