Roger Young
display sample collector
It never ceases to amaze me that there are vendors who are quite prepared to throw any piece of 'schlock' onto the market as long as they think there is a good story to 'boost' it with, and someone naive enough to bid on it. Case in point: http://www.ebay.com/itm/advertising...622?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4161589d46.
This is a 30" wooden dugout, likely mass-produced toy canoe model, to which someone has added the name "Kennebec Boat and Canoe Co."; the present owner is currently offering it on eBay as a display advertising piece used on behalf of Kennebec. He or she is careful to disclaim knowledge of its exact age, and obviously doesn't know much about Kennebec history either. Several questions should leap to the mind of any would-be bidder.
Why would a company which prided itself on making some of America's finest hand-made, carefully crafted wood/canvas canoes, with steam bent ribs, planking, decks, etc., ever want to employ a simplistic machine-made dugout of very ordinary looks as an example of its finest work? Really, now, does anyone serious about being in business actually use a piece of ordinary crap as a selling tool to persuade a potential customer about its high quality workmanship?
Kennebec disappeared from business about 60-odd years ago. Why does the dugout and the paint on its side look so new and fresh? Perhaps because some 'creative type', maybe even a scammer (Heaven forbid!), conjured up a money-making project in his/her warped little imagination just a short while ago. The style of the trade name is 'similar' to the proper thing, but on close inspection, is really quite crude and inaccurate. At least, in my opinion. And that's what I told a previous seller of this piece a year or so ago, when it was being offered in the Chicago area. Seems that it has moved on to Minnesota, now, but that doesn't change the basic fact that this thing is far from authentic. Some others may have a different opinion; however, I will not be a bidder. I'm sure others can come up with other questions about its origin and parentage.
Just thought I'd flag this for others to note. I see that there has been one bidder willing to risk his money. Ah, well, that's why they invented the phrase 'caveat emptor'.
Cheers,
Roger
This is a 30" wooden dugout, likely mass-produced toy canoe model, to which someone has added the name "Kennebec Boat and Canoe Co."; the present owner is currently offering it on eBay as a display advertising piece used on behalf of Kennebec. He or she is careful to disclaim knowledge of its exact age, and obviously doesn't know much about Kennebec history either. Several questions should leap to the mind of any would-be bidder.
Why would a company which prided itself on making some of America's finest hand-made, carefully crafted wood/canvas canoes, with steam bent ribs, planking, decks, etc., ever want to employ a simplistic machine-made dugout of very ordinary looks as an example of its finest work? Really, now, does anyone serious about being in business actually use a piece of ordinary crap as a selling tool to persuade a potential customer about its high quality workmanship?
Kennebec disappeared from business about 60-odd years ago. Why does the dugout and the paint on its side look so new and fresh? Perhaps because some 'creative type', maybe even a scammer (Heaven forbid!), conjured up a money-making project in his/her warped little imagination just a short while ago. The style of the trade name is 'similar' to the proper thing, but on close inspection, is really quite crude and inaccurate. At least, in my opinion. And that's what I told a previous seller of this piece a year or so ago, when it was being offered in the Chicago area. Seems that it has moved on to Minnesota, now, but that doesn't change the basic fact that this thing is far from authentic. Some others may have a different opinion; however, I will not be a bidder. I'm sure others can come up with other questions about its origin and parentage.
Just thought I'd flag this for others to note. I see that there has been one bidder willing to risk his money. Ah, well, that's why they invented the phrase 'caveat emptor'.
Cheers,
Roger
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