Canoe i.d. help needed

[David Askett]

Recently, I found an old glass plate negative with an image of two women in a canoe. I believe the photo was taken in the 1890’s somewhere on Lake Huron’s Georgian Bay, in Ontario, Canada, but I could be wrong. Does anyone recognize the canoe? If so, I’d love to know the maker, and when it dates to. It would also be wonderful if someone could identify where the pic was taken; perhaps the lighthouse visible in the background might help with this. Thanks!

 

[pklonowski]

Interesting... The large building to the right of the lighthouse might also be a clue. How many settlements on Georgian Bay had a building that size, in 1890? Might be worth a trip to some museums in the area?

This assumes the image was made on Georgian Bay... how confident are you about that?

 

[David Askett]

Fairly sure but, as I said, I could be wrong. The glass plate negative was found in Midland, Ontario, which is on Georgian Bay, and the background looks generally right, though I don’t recognize the buildings.

 

[Dan Miller]

The maker of the canoe will probably be impossible to determine from the photo. It does appear to be a wide-board canoe, the likes of which were built by a number of Canadian manufacturers.

The flag emblem on the bow is probably the insignia of a canoe club, but could also be the mark of a canoe livery.

The photo itself, in my opinion, probably dates to the 189os. I could be off by a few years though.

 

[David Askett]

Thank you for your reply, Dan. I’m glad you agree with the 1890’s date, and I appreciate your thoughts on the pennant emblem, which I had been wondering about.

 

[Michael Grace]

Hi David,

This is a wide board canoe, as Dan said, sometimes also called a board-and-batten canoe. These were commonly produced by Canadian builders including the Peterborough Canoe Company and others. This is a standard paddling canoe as opposed to a racing design. Unfortunately the photo doesn't allow it to be narrowed down to a particular builder unless someone can see an identifying detail that I don't.

The emblem on the side of the canoe is consistent with that of the Toronto Canoe Club, founded in 1880 (still going today as the Toronto Sailing and Canoe Club). Theirs is a white flag with a red ring, of the proportions shown in the photo.

Michael

 

[David Askett]

Thank you, Michael! Your information about the Toronto Canoe Club is a big help. So, perhaps the photo was taken on Lake Ontario, rather than Lake Huron. I’ll investigate lighthouses near Toronto, to see if I can find a match.

 

[Dan Miller]

It could very well be the Gibraltar Point Lighthouse in Toronto. There was quite a bit of canoeing activity in that fine city.

And if it is Toronto, then Walter Dean was a manufacturer in the city that also built canoes in this style.

 

[pklonowski]

That lighthouse is rumored to be haunted by the murdered first lighthouse keeper! https://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=1090

Historic photos of Toronto: https://www.blogto.com/city/2011/02/toronto_in_photos_from_the_1850s_to_the_1990s/
but it seems to have a lot of towers by the 1880s, not so many in the photo?