Old Town, Robertson, Charles River Model Serial # 2191 - 16

[John Garner]

I am in possession of a very nice early canoe. I need confirmation of my amateur research and any additional information available. The serial number, stamped on both ends, is 2191-16. Old Town Co. does not have a record of this serial number, but their nearest record is #2194-16. This was a Charles River Model from 1905. The canoe I'm researching is green with a red stripe ending in a square design. It is 16 feet long, 32 1/2 inches wide, and 12 inches deep. It has a heart shaped 12 inch deck and tapered ribs. The condition is remarkable. The green painted canvas is nicely alligatored with no tears and very minor scratches. There are no cracked or damaged ribs. The seats have been recaned with one having a crack. About 2 inches of the top of the front band is missing. Otherwise, the condition is very good. My theory is that it was made in 1905 by Old Town when J.R. Robertson merged and joined Old Town Canoe Co. Any additional information and correction of my research and an indication of the value range would be appreciated.

 

[Michael Grace]

Hi John,

You've found the right place! Multiple manufacturers used serial numbers like this, so you may have a canoe by another builder. If you can post some photos of details like decks, thwarts, gunwales, stem and serial number, etc., these will go a long way to helping correctly ID your canoe. Plus we all love seeing photos of beautiful canoes. Photos will likely generate some quick and very helpful responses. Congratulations on finding what sounds like a lovely canoe.

Michael

 

[Benson Gray]

Welcome, some pictures would help as Michael mentioned since no serial number records are available in this case. It is most useful to see the decks, seats, thwarts, interior, serial numbers on the stems, and other details. Most canoes with low serial numbers like this turn out to have been built by other manufacturers from the Charles River area. Very few Old Town canoes have heart shaped decks. The square 'Greek end' of the stripe that you described is not usually seen on canoes built prior to the 1920s. The Old Town record for serial number 2194 is for a canoe that was returned for repairs on June 7th, 1906 as shown below. The actual construction date is not known.



Robertson's connection to Old Town was probably terminated prior to 1903 when the company name was changed as shown in the document at http://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?attachments/24763/ so if your canoe came from Old Town then it was probably made after that. The information at http://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?threads/57/ should help you value this canoe. Good luck with the sale,

Benson

 

[Tnic]

Sadly, that's an old and useless wreck you have on your hands. No one will want it. Send me your address and I'll come haul it off asap for you.

 

[John Garner]

Michael and Benson - I've attached 5 photos of the canoe. You will see that I was wrong in my description of the red stripe. It has a circular design on each end. Let me know if you need more information.

 

[MGC]

It looks like you got a couple things right...one being that it's in nice shape.
It looks Kennebec-ish to my eye but I seem to be wrong as often as not...
The heart shaped decks, rails caps are typical of Kennebec canoes... there are records for Kennebec so you may learn more about it from Benson....

 

[Benson Gray]

A similar canoe showed up in 2010 with serial number 2013 as shown at http://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?threads/6869/ and the conclusion then was that it was probably a Robertson or other Charles River area builder. This serial number font is very unusual and not like any other known builder. It is clearly not an Old Town or a Kennebec. Nice find,

Benson

 

[Michael Grace]

The gunwale caps alongside the decks is a treatment used by Kennebec and Morris, but otherwise your canoe distinct from canoes built by either one of these makers. But its a very interesting canoe. I agree that it could be from the Charles River area, but it's an unusual even if from there. The canoe Benson pointed out has some features that we've seen in a number of other Charles River-area canoes, but yours is pretty different in some small but important details. The design on the hull is nice but it doesn't identify the maker - many of these nice canoes had fancy paint jobs, and their was a lot of variation in design. One of the most interesting features of your canoe is the thwarts. That "raised panel" treatment is very nice. A few early Morris canoes have thwart like this, but this certainly isn't a Morris. I can't recall any other builders that used thwarts like this; does anyone else know?

Michael