Google and other sources of scanned books for canoe research

[Benson Gray]

I have discovered that Google and others have scanned quite a number of old books and magazines which has made my periodic searches for old canoe information much easier. The free ones were usually published before 1923. There is an interesting Gerrish advertisement where they claim to have "20 years experience" on the bottom of the page at http://books.google.com/books?id=NYvNAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA593#v=onepage&q&f=false in the 1897 issue of the National Magazine. The Bangor and Aroostook Railroad published a magazine titled "In the Maine Woods" every year in the early 1900s. This was one of the first places where Old Town and many other canoe companies advertised. The Indian Old Town Canoe Company advertised at http://books.google.com/books?id=sw...&resnum=5&ved=0CGUQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false in 1901. The same advertisement is shown the next year at http://books.google.com/books?id=jmfzAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA157#v=onepage&q&f=false but the name was changed to the Robertson & Old Town Canoe Company. The ad ran again in 1904 as shown at http://books.google.com/books?id=JX...esnum=7&ved=0CGQQ6AEwBjgK#v=onepage&q&f=false for the Old Town Canoe Company. This page also has a Carleton advertisement which claims ‘We manufacture the famous “CARLETON MODEL” Canoes, which have been on the market for over twenty years.’ This would indicate that he started building canoes before 1884.

There is also an interesting letter about the sourcing and use of cedar for building canoes attached below that was related to the 1929 tarriff that was also known as the Smoot–Hawley act. The second one attached below is related to the revenue act of 1932 and offers some insight into the impact of the depression on the canoe business.

Benson