A 17 foot long Old Town HW model in CS grade from 1908 with an unusual decal

[Benson Gray]

The pictures below show a 17 foot long Old Town HW model in CS grade that shipped to a Princeton freshman in 1908. The deck decal is unusual and has only appeared on canoes from this year.

Benson

 

[dtdcanoes]

Hi, BENSON...... Well, it pays to keep an eye on Benson as I think you have found the decal that has eluded me for several years. You and I have talked off and on beginning with your letter to me in February of 1996 , about my Ideal '08 with no. 8992 and its seemingly unseen , colorful label. I have also compared the handwriting on the invoice above to that on the copy you provided for my 8992 that was started right about the time the CS was shipped. The hand looks the same to me. I have found the family that received the canoe from Old Town , back in early August of 1908. As I am trimming the herd I have offered it to the grandson from whom I bought the canoe in August of 1995. It was in excellent condition . I was the second owner after some 87 years with it now having been enjoyed for one hundred and eleven years ! that's 111 WOW ! It would be very fine to know that the 5th generation had the opportunity to enjoy a quiet paddle in great, great Grampy's IDEAL.
I had recently refreshed the canoe and the appropriate label still had not been discovered. But , Benson, I will try to get the label you presented here done. Any assist from anyone would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Benson.....Dave

 

[paddler123]

I have a canoe that had the same decal, also a 17' CS grade HW from 1908. The decal unfortunately did not survive the stripping process.

 

[Benson Gray]

I will try to get the label you presented here done. Any assist from anyone would be greatly appreciated.

Higher resolution pictures of this decal (and canoe) are available at http://www.stroudwater.biz/1908-HW/ if that helps. Please keep us posted on your progress. Thanks,

Benson

 

[dtdcanoes]

So , Benson , my first progress report: I need to preserve this opportunity to provide what ever the best reproducer, using the latest technology, needs to do the most accurate job of duplicating this label. If I had room for another boat I would be able to pay-to-preserve the opportunity, but not now. If it is the case that the pics you have are all that is needed to do the most accurate repro....I am good. I don't know enough at the moment to determine if your pics are all that would be required to get the highest quality repro. If the boat goes away then my opportunity could become a fantasy, no ?

So, if someone really knows this label/decal repro business and can advise if I have a safe path here with the Benson pics.....PLEASE ADVISE ASAP ! If I get on firm ground with the repro challenge, I will advise the 08 Old Town Community that a correct label will be available for their proper resto. I will be in touch with Sir paddler
Dave

 

[Benson Gray]

If the boat goes away then my opportunity could become a fantasy, no ?

I have no reason to believe that the boat will be going away quickly but if it does then I will keep the contact information to get additional pictures if required.

Benson

 

[Dave Osborn]

I used Bedlam Creations to reproduce some Racine decals.
If you send him photos he can tell you what he can do..

 

[paddler123]

I applied my mediocre vector graphics skills to the problem, and this is what I came up with, by modifying the normal decal to change the background colors.

 

[dtdcanoes]

Benson, Giving myself a crash course on transfer printing etc in 1900 or so. As I look at your enlargement, it is clear that a lot of the material was hand rendered. Given the capability of some of the painters at the time ( as seen in the graphics on courting canoes ) I wonder if these " decals " were even transferred in part or in whole. Could one discern this looking firsthand for a witness at the edges etc. ? It seems as well that there may have been some gold leaf used in the piece, perhaps in the " Old Town....." Can this be ? You know how I love GOLD on a canoe. Maybe Paddla can comment on the above. As I look at the enlarged rendering, I see the kind of repro I want.....essentially an indistinguishable copy, really. ( Poor bugga )
Dave

 

[Benson Gray]

I believe that this was done with a water slide decal. The period inventories like the one at http://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?attachments/9802/ from 1915 show name plates and transfer letters for the model display canoes. These were varnished over so it is not easy to distinguish an edge. The painters were good but my guess is that they didn't hand paint or add gold leaf to a name plate decal on a few thousand canoes.

Benson