8' Old Town store model

Congratulations, pictures will help. Do you have a fiberglass or a wooden one? The diamond headed bolts first appeared around 1923 in the full sized canoes but these were usually not used on the models because the scale is all off. There were several different styles of paddle decals used on the decks over the years so this may also help date it. Is there a serial number on the inside stems and what is it? See http://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?threads/791/ if you are not sure where to look. Very few of these have shown up in recent years so there aren't many comparable sales available to help determine a value. They are somewhat rare which is good news. The bad news is that the eight foot size makes them much more difficult to display than the four foot ones. These two factors will probably cancel out so the value is likely to be similar to a four foot model in comparable condition. Can you tell us anything more about it?

Benson

 

The Old Town canoe with serial number 83837 is an 8 foot long, AA (or top) grade, display model with red western cedar planking, open mahogany gunwales, mahogany decks, mahogany thwarts, mahogany seats, a keel, and a floor rack. It was built between February and March, 1924. The original exterior paint color was green. The shipping destination and date have not been filled in. A scan of this build record can be found by following the link at the attached thumbnail image below.



This scan and several hundred thousand more were created with substantial grants from the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association (WCHA) and others. A description of the project to preserve these records is available at http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/old-town/records/ if you want more details. I hope that you will join or renew your membership to the WCHA so that services like this can continue. See http://www.wcha.org/about-wcha to learn more about the WCHA and http://www.wcha.org/store/membership to join.

It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description doesn't match the canoe. Fiberglass will sound very different from canvas if you tap it lightly with your fingernail. Fiberglass will be a much higher pitch like a hard plastic container while canvas will be a dull sound like a stretched canvas on a painting. Fiberglassed models are generally worth less than ones with the original canvas. Feel free to reply if you have any other questions.

Benson