Paul:
I am attaching herewith five photos which, I hope, may help you somewhat. But, first, I should explain. These are photos of a Carleton 'salesman's sample' canoe model, 42" long, recently sent to me by a gentleman who wanted to learn a little more about it. Recent research of the Carleton build records would suggest that this model dates to the early 1920's, possibly even earlier. Its overall appearance lends credibility to that possibility.
You will see that there is a short copper band or plate the same depth as the gunwales which wraps around the end of the canoe and ties them together. The photos seem to show this at both ends. The stem bands do not appear to come above the copper plate, nor do they curl over and fasten to the deck tops (although it could be argued there is a suspicious looking little hole where the gunwale caps join). There do seem to be stem bands present, and it looks as though the ends likely terminate behind the copper band and are hidden by it. At least, that's my feeling from studying the photos.
From there, you have to employ a bit of faith, as well as accept the logic that models such as these were built by the same factory craftsmen who made the full-size canoes, and that these models were small copies meant to display to a potential buyer, in miniature form, what a 'real' one would be like. If you can accept that this sample is genuine (and I believe it is), then this may give you some guidance as to the answers you are searching for.
I have not seen this model in person, only through the photos.
I should, perhaps, add that I am aware of (and have personally inspected) a second, likely even older, Carleton salesman's sample model which has no copper tips, simply a brass stem band at each end. These two models are otherwise very similar. It would seem that both examples are authentic, and the catalog reference to copper tips confirms that some examples will likely be found so equipped. The same should hold true for full-size canoes.
Hope this helps.
Roger Y.
