there's a story to be had here for sure.
I understand that many canoes were exported to Europe over the ages, but this is mighty peculiar. I'm no expert (you shouldn't even listen really) about this but 'I'll give er a go' for the sake of interest and because it's fun to speculate. So please don't take this as me actually knowing something.
-I would place it as earlier construction rather than later, early means ~1900 1890's etc. No inwales, and the thin strip construction longitudinal construction point to that
- The canoe looks very similar to some of the old Canada Canoe Company canoes that I've seen in the Peterborough Canoe Museum. Even though it gives the name 'Wilkins' it may be the name of the importer, or if in the case of someone impressed with what he or she saw in North America, an manufacturer indiginous to Europe. You can visit the Peterborough Canoe Museum here: hxxp://www.canoemuseum.ca/docs/PANS/3PTBO.swf (you will need flash to see this properly)
Note that the Canada Canoes that they have hanging up are slightly different in construction, with more ribs, thinner. However you can see that the construction is quite similar. The footboards are not so close together as in yours. Rotate around. The Rice Lake Canoes however have a smaller number of those ribs, but also have very long decks. By the way, this would be a good place email I think. There would be someone there who may know (then again I wouldn't be suprised if they browsed this forum). If you do, come back and let us know. Another great site is hxxp://dragonflycanoe.com
One thing is for sure is that at the time, there were lots of little canoe companies in the same area of Peterborough, Ontario. 'Wilkins' sounds like a nice British name, which also points to Canada. Speculating rampantly enough for you yet?
-The wood 'garboard strakes' on the bottom of the hull are a unique distinguishing feature. Wonder if they were added after manufacture to stabilize the canoe. After at the time when the canoe was being used, No one was around to teach the 'Canadian Technique' har har. Omer Stringer and Bill Mason weren't born yet. So I wonder how the European reaction was in comparison to the water craft that they were used to ("man these things are tippy! I think that I'll attach a few strakes and see if there's an improvement"). Examine to see if the woodworking is different.
-It would be interesting to see if the strips on that canoe are tongue and grooved together. Maybe the actually sealed the hull with cotton and tar? The strips look like they are 1" wide, is that true? If so, tongue and groove and 1" wide strips might point to the Ontario Canoe Company "Patent Rib" canoe. hxtp://dragonflycanoe.com/id/ontario.html
So my best guess is that it is of Ontarian origin (I am biased of course), from the late 1800s early 1900s. Longitudinal strip construction with tongue and groove strips. It would be good to see a pic of the little plate that you're talking about. Either way it's quite interesting. Treat it kindly, it may be worth quite a bit!
