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Description
The bark canoes of the North American Indians, particularly those of birchbark, were among the most highly developed manually propelled primitive watercraft. Built with Stone Age tools from available materials, their design, size, and appearance were varied to suit the many requirements of their users. Even today, canoes are based on these ancient designs, and this fascinating guide combines historical background with instructions for constructing one. Author Edwin Tappan Adney, born in 1868, devoted his life to studying canoes and was practically the sole scholar in his field. His papers and research have been assembled by a curator at the Smithsonian Institution.
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LibraryThing member nativewater
Howard Chapelle gathered up Adney's notes and organized them into a book on kayaks. He then appended two chapters on skin boats to make this the definitive book on portable native watercraft. I say portable because the book does not deal with dugouts which ranged from Florida all the way up to
Since this book was published, a lot more books about kayaks have come out and so this is no longer the definitive work on kayaks that it once was, but it definitely belongs in every kayak builder's library.
And then there is of course all the material on bark canoes which comprises the bulk of this book. As far as I know, Adney's research on canoes is still the definitive word on the subject.
Kayaks and canoes documented in this book are no longer being built and specimens in museums are poorly preserved so that in the end further contributions to the topic are likely to be marginal. So we thank the people who compiled the data.
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Alaska. Since this book was published, a lot more books about kayaks have come out and so this is no longer the definitive work on kayaks that it once was, but it definitely belongs in every kayak builder's library.
And then there is of course all the material on bark canoes which comprises the bulk of this book. As far as I know, Adney's research on canoes is still the definitive word on the subject.
Kayaks and canoes documented in this book are no longer being built and specimens in museums are poorly preserved so that in the end further contributions to the topic are likely to be marginal. So we thank the people who compiled the data.
Show Less