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Canoes: A Natural History in North America

Mark Neuzil and Norman Sims

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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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Published: 2016

Publisher: University of Minnesota Press

ISBN(s)

9780816681174 (hardcover)

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Myron Nickerson, a former employee of J. Henry Rushton appears on the far right in this 1894 photograph. Nickerson’s livery on the Grasse River in Canton, New York, offered rentals of Adirondack guideboats, Rushton-style pleasure rowboats, small skiffs, and canoes. Nickerson holds a double-bladed canoe paddle in a boat that has also been fitted with non-feathering guideboat-style oars.

Myron Nickerson

From Introduction

Myron Nickerson, a former employee of J. Henry Rushton appears on the far right in this 1894 photograph.

In one of the earliest views of New York, this woodcut by Kryn Frederycks, titled T’ Fort Nieuw Amsterdam op de Manhatans, depicts native dugouts amidst European sailing vessels, ca. 1626.

T’Fort Nieuw Amsterdam op de Manhatans

From Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes

Kryn Frederycks woodcut titled T’ Fort Nieuw Amsterdam op de Manhatans, ca. 1626.

A black-and-white portrait of George Washington Sears.

George Washington Sears

From Chapter 4: All-Wood Canoes

George Washington Sears wrote under the pen name “Nessmuk” in Forest and Stream magazine about his canoe trips in the Adirondacks. It was said that he taught America how to camp.

Dr. Arpad Gerster, a prominent New York surgeon, vacationed with his family in the Adirondacks during the 1890s. Here, Gerster portages a Rushton pack canoe at Camp Oteetiwi, Big Island, Raquette Lake.

Dr. Arpad Gerster

From Chapter 4: All-Wood Canoes

Dr. Arpad Gerster, a prominent New York surgeon, vacationed with his family in the Adirondacks during the 1890s. Here, Gerster portages a Rushton pack canoe at Camp Oteetiwi, Big Island, Raquette Lake.

A black-and-white portrait of Leah and J. Henry Rushton around 1884.

Leah and J. Henry Rushton

From Chapter 4: All-Wood Canoes

Leah and J. Henry Rushton around 1884.

A painting of several figures cooking a meal next to a lean-to camp.

A Good Time Coming, 1862

From Chapter 4: All-Wood Canoes

Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait, A Good Time Coming, 1862. Oil on canvas, 50.8 x 76.2 cm.

A black-and-white photograph of the Hotel Ampersand, looming over Lower Saranac Lake in the Adirondacks ca. 1890.

Hotel Ampersand

From Chapter 4: All-Wood Canoes

Hotel Ampersand looms over Lower Saranac Lake in the Adirondacks ca. 1890.

The Sairy Gamp on display at the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake, New York.

Sairy Gamp

From Chapter 4: All-Wood Canoes

The Sairy Gamp on display at the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake, New York.

A color photograph of the Wee Lassie.

Wee Lassie

From Chapter 4: All-Wood Canoes

The Wee Lassie canoe was made in 1893 by J. H. Rushton for William West Durant of Raquette Lake, New York.

A photograph of the Grasse River sweeping by the Rushton Boat Shop, the white building at back left, during a flood in 1885.

Grasse River

From Chapter 4: All-Wood Canoes

The Grasse River sweeps by the Rushton Boat Shop, the white building at back left, during a flood in 1885.

The St. Lawrence Canoe Club tent at the ACA meeting on Grindstone Island in 1886. J. H. Rushton is the short, bearded man standing in the center; his wife Leah is seated next to him.

St. Lawrence Canoe Club

From Chapter 4: All-Wood Canoes

The St. Lawrence Canoe Club tent at the ACA meeting on Grindstone Island in 1886. J. H. Rushton is the short, bearded man standing in the center; his wife Leah is seated next to him.

An 1881 gathering of canoeists on Canoe Island in Lake George, New York.

Canoe Island

From Chapter 4: All-Wood Canoes

An 1881 gathering of canoeists on Canoe Island in Lake George, New York.

Bob Lavertue in command of the late 19th century all-wood sailing canoe Pretty Jane at the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association assembly at Paul Smith’s, New York, in 2012.

Pretty Jane

From Chapter 4: All-Wood Canoes

Bob Lavertue in command of the late 19th century all-wood sailing canoe Pretty Jane at the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association assembly at Paul Smith’s, New York, in 2012.

American Canoe Association founding member William Alden and his original canoe Shadow at the ACA gathering on Lake George in 1881.

William Alden and Shadow

From Chapter 4: All-Wood Canoes

American Canoe Association founding member William Alden and his original canoe Shadow at the ACA gathering on Lake George in 1881.

Rushton and his staff pose for a photograph outside the three-story boat shop in Canton, New York, ca. 1880s.

Rushton and Staff

From Chapter 4: All-Wood Canoes

Rushton and his staff pose for a photograph outside the three-story boat shop in Canton, New York, ca. 1880s.

Two Nomad decked sailing canoes under construction at the Rushton boat shop, ca. 1900.

Nomad Sailing Canoes

From Chapter 4: All-Wood Canoes

Two Nomad decked sailing canoes under construction at the Rushton boat shop, ca. 1900.

J. H. Rushton poses with his Stella Maris model canoe outside his new boat shop in 1882.

Stella Maris

From Chapter 4: All-Wood Canoes

J. H. Rushton poses with his Stella Maris model canoe outside his new boat shop in 1882.

A black and white photograph of a campsite of a man, Jules Fox Marshall, canoeing up to a campsite with a canvas tent supported by birch tree limbs.

Jules Fox Marshall

From Chapter 4: All-Wood Canoes

Picture of Jule Fox Marshall, ACA canoeing enthusiast, in canoe next to camp ca. 1926.

A black and white photograph of an older man, Jules Fox Marshall, in a dark suit.

Jules Fox Marshall Portrait

From Chapter 4: All-Wood Canoes

Portrait of Jule F Marshall, probably from around 1958 when he was an officer of the American Felt Company.

A close up photograph of a black image of a turtle on a white background.

Turtle Logo

From Chapter 4: All-Wood Canoes

The turtle logo that appeared on all Inwood Canoe Club canoes. Jule Fox Marshall joined the Inwood Canoe Club of New York City in the early twentieth century.