Rushton Maker Badges

[Handplaned]

Greetings! I've been doing some research on Rushton through the years, and I'm interested in the different versions of maker badges/plaques that were used on the boats.
Is there any documentation someone can point me to, or any insight on how/when they changed?

I have seen a boat identified as an Ugo with a circular hole in the deck cap that was for holding a badge or emblem, but I can't seem to find reference to one.

Thank you for any help!

Jason

 

[Dan Miller]

Take a look here: https://woodencanoemuseum.org/decals?tid[]=14

 

[Michael Grace]

Dan's Wooden Canoe Museum (WCM, above) is a great resource The canoe you saw almost certainly had the one I call the "monogram" badge with "JHR" at its center, shown on the WCM page linked above. To my knowledge it is the only one inset into the deck, and it is circular. I have one of these (on a canoe) but it is far away. I believe the badge is 2" in diameter.

 

[Handplaned]

Oh, that's it! The screw holes make sense with the hole location and all. The hole is 1.5". That gives me a date range to look in catalogs too.

Thank you so much!

Now what are the chances of finding one of those badges for sale?

 

[MGC]

Now what are the chances of finding one of those badges for sale?

Pretty poor.....

 

[Dan Miller]

You might also want to have a look at my article "Poems in Cedar: Rushton Canoes of the Finest Kind" which appeared in Wooden Canoe issues 167 and 168 (October and December 2011). Back issues of Wooden Canoe are available on the WCHA website (https://www.woodencanoe.org/) in the members area.

 

[Michael Grace]

I've never seen one for sale except with a canoe attached to it... and even that is a very rare thing.

Screw holes? There should be no mounting screws with this nameplate, and shown in MGC's photo above.

 

[Dan Miller]

Screw holes? There should be no mounting screws with this nameplate, and shown in MGC's photo above.

The Folsom Arms badge is round and held with screws. Perhaps that was what was on it.

 

[Handplaned]

The screw holes I mentioned are the ones closest to the hole, with the others offset, so it looks like it was held in by pressure not screwed in.
There are side detents in the back, does the badge have ears on it to keep it in?

 

[MGC]

I have always been opposed to replica decals, badges etc. To me, authenticity, even poorly preserved is important. I guess I am influenced by my years of collecting campaign buttons. The replicas that flood the market are incredibly annoying.
That said, in this particular case, you are dealing with a very exceptional situation. You have a somewhat scarce boat that someone has probably pilfered the badge from, possibly after concluding that the badge had more interest and value than the canoe. I have seen this several times. It's unfortunate. The Inc. tags often go missing for the same reason.
In this situation, I might be tempted to make a replica badge in that you do own the canoe that requires it. If you can obtain a rubbing of the correct original one, it would not be too difficult to fabricate a new one. Anyone with some basic metal working skills and a good deal of patience should be able to make one. If I did it, I would be sure to mark it as a copy, on the back.

 

[Handplaned]

Thank you, I'll give that a thought. It was stripped for sure, missing the badge, stem bands, and seats.
Luckily the deck caps, coamings, and floorboard were still in it.

 

[Michael Grace]

It sounds like your canoe had the badge removed in preparation for a full restoration of the canoe. If at all possible, try getting back to whomever/wherever it was taken apart and see if those parts still exist. For me this has sometimes gone nowhere; other times I was thrilled to be successful. In a case like this it is certainly worth a try.

 

[Worth Gretter]

If I did it, I would be sure to mark it as a copy, on the back.

That reminds me of a day at a historic site years ago. We ducked into the blacksmith shop to escape the rain, and had a long talk with the blacksmith. He had someone asking him to make replica hinges, but without his mark on the back, so they could pass for original. He refused. Good for him, I say.

 

[Handplaned]

Unfortunately, I don't have the boat, yet. It was sold once and the person who had it originally found it and didn't respond when they were asked if any of the other pieces were around.
I'm hoping to get it and make historically accurate seats and stem bands to have it be as close to original as possible. I also need to measure it, because the info I have doesn't match Igo or Ugo from my friend's copy of the 1903 catalog.

 

[MGC]

There was an Ontario in the market off and on a few years ago. It sold at auction for a somewhat high price for a boat that had been restored for use, but not well. After it was sold, it appeared on CL and FB several times for far more than the auction price. In that the higher price drew more focus on its condition and a more familiar audience; it did not sell. I have not since seen it around for sale. The canoe had replacement seats in it that did not belong. It is possible that you may have a line on that canoe and that it was stripped of the Essex seats, Rushton identifiers, possibly for restoration, or possibly for profit. I think I have the SN of that canoe in my records. If you obtain that, PM me and I will share it. If it is the same canoe, I am quite certain that it is an Ontario.