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Tappan Adney

Edwin Tappan Adney

The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America (Ophthalmology Monographs) Paperback – March 17, 1983

by Edwin Tappan Adney (Author), Howard I. Chappelle (Author)

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The bark canoes of the North American Indians, particularly those of birchbark, were among the most highly developed manually propelled primitive watercraft. They could be used to carry heavy loads in shallow streams but were light enough to be hauled long distances over land. Built with Stone Age tools from available materials, their design, size, and appearance were varied to suit the many requirements of their users. Upon arrival in North America, European settlers began using the native-made craft for traveling through the wilderness. Even today, canoes are based on these ancient designs. 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, and illustrated with black-and-white line drawings, diagrams, and photos.

Included here are measurements, detailed drawings, construction methods, and models. The book covers canoes from Newfoundland to the Pacific Ocean, as well as umiaks and kayaks from the Arctic.

Print length

256 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Smithsonian Books
Publication date

March 17, 1983
Dimensions

8.32 x 0.62 x 11.02 inches
ISBN-10

1560982969
ISBN-13

978-1560982968
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“A fascinating and richly detailed look at a nearly lost handicraft.”—Fine Woodworking

About the Author

Edwin Tappan Adney (1868-1950) was an artist, a writer, a photographer and the man credited with saving the art of birch bark canoe construction. He built more than 100 models of different types, which are now housed at the Mariners' Museum in Newport News, VA. He is the author of The Klondike Stampede, a book, illustrated with his own photographs, about his experiences in the Yukon during the Gold Rush.

Howard Irving Chapelle (1901-1975) was a curator of maritime history at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. He authored many books and articles on maritime history and marine architecture.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Smithsonian Books; Reprint edition (March 17, 1983)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1560982969
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1560982968
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.4 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.32 x 0.62 x 11.02 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,193,879 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #652 in Arctic & Antarctica History
- #1,767 in History of Engineering & Technology
- #9,326 in Native American History (Books)

Customer Reviews:
65 ratings

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Customer reviews

5 star		61%
4 star		17%
3 star		10%
2 star		6%
1 star		6%

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Top reviews from the United States

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PAmtnman

How many times have I read through this book, ...

Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2016

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How many times have I read through this book, more flipping from subject to subject than reading in a linear form forward, I cannot tell you. If you are a student of history, ethnography, boats, the settling of the Americas, Native culture and lifestyle, wilderness living, hunting, fishing, trapping, whaling, woodcraft, sustainable living, warfare, or just plain old craftsmanship, this book is for you. It should tell us something that John McPhee wrote a book about this book's author, Adney, who was a world-class curmudgeon. The next time someone tells you to fit in, to go along and get along, to stop thinking weird thoughts, think about Adney. He did not "fit in." He did things his way, for reasons that made sense only to him and a couple other people at the time, and today we have this incredible book that is a reflection of Adney's personal force. Yes, it is a book about home made boats, but it is also about the person who sought to capture that way of thinking before it sank beneath the waves of shallow modernism and mass production, Adney. Might Adney be a model to us all. UPDATE: April, 2021 I am reading other reviews that say this book has no drawings or pictures, and I don't know what happened, but my 1983 Smithsonian edition is loaded with drawings and photos, even detailed drawings of how to sew walrus hide onto an umiak frame (page 186). My edition lists 224 illustrations in the book, most of them very detailed drawings of each type of boat. If your version does not have the detailed drawings, then you were sold the wrong book. Something went wrong.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

J. Breiby

Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America

Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2010

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Bark Canoes and Skin Boats, by Edwin Tappan Adney and Howard Chapelle is THE classic on the subject. I first got a hardbound copy through the US Govt Printing Office back in 1974. The recent copy purchased through Amazon was a gift for a friend. Adney became interested in bark canoes back in the late 19th century when folks were still using them on a daily basis, so he was able to document them and subsequently make scale models of many of them. Chapelle was the curator of transportation at the Smithsonian Museum, and undoubtedly the best authority on traditional American boat types at the time of the book's publishing for both Euro-American and Native American development. If it weren't for him there is no doubt that knowledge of most of these craft would have died out. The skin boats contained in the volume have been recorded and measured from specimens in the Smithsonian and other museums, as well as from boats measured in the field. In addition to measured plans, there is excellent accompanying text on how the various boats were built and used. If you only wanted to get one book on this subject, this should be the one.

5 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Well put together

Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2019

Verified Purchase

The information in the book is wonderful. Only drawback is many of the images are too dark to see clearly, especially if you are hoping to use as source material for your own build

Helpful

Jaroca2

Human achievement at its best

Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2019

Verified Purchase

This is an amazing history of the most important tools, if you will, of transportation that allowed the settling of the continent. Where would we be without the accessibility they provided us?

I bought a second copy as a gift for a friend

Both copies were fabulous bargains and in wonderful condition that was better than described

Highly recommended

Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2021

Verified Purchase

The prime source for the history and construction of bark canoes. Extensively illustrated with historical photographs.

Helpful

Edward Sedelmeier

A good book to begin your search for information on building a birchbark canoe.

Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2020

Verified Purchase

I liked the information. Some of the pictures should have been clearer. I will use a devise to do that.
I will build my own birchbark canoe.

Helpful

Amazon Customer

Lots of knowledge, poor print quality

Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2017

Verified Purchase

The book is incredible rich i wording details. The authors have been very skilled and knowledged. Unfortunately the figures suffer from poor printing quality. Photographs, all of which given in black and white, are of poor quality, coarse-grained, low contrast, and several of them are due to this of almost no value. Even some of the many detailed technical drawings suffer from low printing quality, so details like words or measurements cannot be seen.

One person found this helpful

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John Sand

No Pictures, Drawings, Diagrams. Just text.

Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2017

Verified Purchase

I have heard of this book for years, always described with wonderful drawings. Some of the reviews of the current paperback note that the drawings and photos are not high quality. My copy, received today, has NO pictures or drawings of any kind or quality. There are numbered paragraphs that appear to describe pictures, but no pictures to be found. I bought this book because I am interested in Skin On Frame canoes, but I think it will be of little use. For $10 I don't think I'll bother to return it.

7 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

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Dr Ashley Mills

Fascinatingly detailed and comprehensive review of north american canoes

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 22, 2018

Verified Purchase

This book provides detailed descriptions of birch bark building techniques as well as kayak construction. A large number of Native American tribes building styles are surveyed in this book, with architectural line drawings and detailed descriptions of any variability in construction technique.

If you want to know how birch bark canoes are constructed, this is the book for you. First you'll get a detailed overview with images and then you'll go through a litany of real examples from each tribe. It is fascinating to see the individual styles and variations and to understand more and more in context the little differences.

Woods, pack, fast river, and sea canoes are all described.

One person found this helpful

sloopjohnb

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 28, 2016

Verified Purchase

It's difficult to find a book on this subject. This one is outstanding.

One person found this helpful

Deerdiver

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 17, 2015

Verified Purchase

An in depth book covering all aspects of bark canoe and skin boat history and construction in North America.

One person found this helpful

Anne Dudley

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 21, 2014

Verified Purchase

Bought this for my son who makes canoes. He loves it.

One person found this helpful

Aldo

The bark canoes and Skin Boats of.. di E.T.Adney ed H.Chapelle.

Reviewed in Italy on April 18, 2017

Verified Purchase

L'opera, che ricordo aver letto con piacere anni fa, in questa edizione, purtroppo manca del tutto dell'importante apparto iconografico e cosa, ancora più grave, ciò non era specificato nella scheda bibliografica di presentazione. Sono del tutto insoddisfatto...

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