Old Town beats Rushton!

[Michael Grace]

Over the weekend a beautiful red Old Town 4' model sold at auction for $37,500; with 18% buyer's premium, the total price (before tax) came to $44,250! It is in excellent condition and is very unusual relative to all the green models. Bidding was brisk days before the auction end, but in the last few minutes Saturday night the price jumped from $24,000 to over $37,000. Its selling price beats even the spectacular 52" J.H. Rushton skiff that sold at a W. A. Smith auction for a total of $41,250 some years ago:

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/william-a-smith-sells-backofen-collection/

Full-sized canoes and similar small wooden boats may be hitting a low on prices, but good models still command high prices!

 

[Benson Gray]

I've not been able to learn if this had a serial number but the description in the build record shown below seems to match as Roger Young has pointed out.

Benson

 

[Dan Lindberg]

To me, this is way beyond incredable.

 

[cwf]

We're all using far too much wood and varnish.

Stop dreaming of 15' and 18' canoes and start building 2' and 4' ones. Don't bother too much about the finish and even distress them a bit and you'll be able to buy as many full-size canoes as you want, and a barn to store them in.

 

[Benson Gray]

start building 2' and 4' ones

I recognize the humor in your response but the problem is that it may take more than your lifetime for these small canoes to become this valuable. The first link below has more about other people's attempts to make modern display canoes look old. The other links show some new scale model canoes that are available for much less than this past auction.

Benson

Antique Model Canoes

early North American canoe factory 'display samples' 1870-1930. Exhibited @ CDOCA.

antiquemodelcanoes.com

Chris Pearson's Scale Models and Dioramas

B.N. Morris "Salesman" Models - Northwoods Canoe Co.

Specifications Half-Scale - Model A - Type III Length ..... 8 feet, 6 inches Beam ....... 16⅜ inches Depth ...... 6 inches Price ....... $5100 Quarter-Scale Model A -Type III Length ....... 4 feet, 3 inches Beam ......... 8¼ inches Depth ........ 3 inches Price ........ $4800

www.wooden-canoes.com

Island Falls Canoe - Custom Made Wood and Canvas Canoes - Old Town Wood Canoe Parts & Materials

Island Falls Canoe - Maine made custom built canoes, canoe restoration, canoe repair, and canoe building classes. We also carry Old Town Wood Canoe parts and materials and we perform repairs on wooden Old Town Canoes.

www.islandfallscanoe.com

 

[samb]

.... And there was me expecting to make my fortune

 

[Todd F]

Nice pic, love it Samb

 

[cwf]

Yes, obviously age and rarity are important elements of value too but value is such a slippery concept.

When I went looking for the books by John 'Rob Roy' Macgregor, about forty years ago, I found myself in antiquarian book fairs, where the value was in the cover or the '1st edition' or the illustrator. What was written about was almost irrelevant.

I have inherited two mahogany dining tables, about 200 years old and no one wants them. In the UK, the value is in modern furniture, excepting museum-quality pieces. I feel I should give them to a boat builder but I can't quite persuade myself to see them cut up.