The definitive reference to indigenous peoples' watercraft around the world. Tappan Adney (1868-1950) was an artist, writer, ethnographer, historian and modelmaker of unparalleled ability. He tirelessly documented the cultures and languages of vanishing native cultures. His most enduring legacy is the extraordinary 110 birchbark canoe models he handbuilt to exacting standards. The models, now held at The Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia, were built to ensure future canoe builders had exact reproductions for reference. These historically accurate, 1:5 scale models were meticulously researched, and traditionally constructed using the identical materials of the originals. Many are based on canoes that were the last example of their type. Before such a canoe disintegrated, Adney measured and recorded its dimensions, consulted with native builders and studied historical photographs and paintings. The canoe models are organized into eight distinct groups: Maritimes - Eastern Woodland - Northwest - Lower British Columbia - Fur Trade - Amur Valley - Asia - South America Each canoe model is beautifully photographed and accompanied by captions that outline the craft's origins, uses and technical details. Adney's amazing technical drawings for the models are also included. An extensive introduction covers Adney's life and provides information about native model builders, canoe decoration and fur trade heraldry. Bark Canoes is the definitive reference to indigenous -- and ingenious -- watercraft used around the world. A must have cottage book. (Liz Grogan Good Times 2004-08-01) The images show an impressive variation on the genre... spare layout, carefully angled and focused pictures and detailed provenances mark each entry. ( Publishers Weekly Annex 2004-05-17) Remarkable book documenting Adney's work... featuring detailed photographs. (Ted Behne Canoe and Kayak Magazine 2004-10-15) Chronicles the fascinating story of Adney's life, presents for the first time incredible photographs of his canoe models, and explains the cultural and historical significance of this craft. ( Appalachian Quarterly ) The pictures are almost surreal in their minimalist presentation and razor sharp quality. I could literally count each tiny gunwale lashing and felt like I could pluck the canoe off the page and put it in water! (Becky Mason Canadian Camera ) A glorious illustrated study of [Tappan Adney's] model canoes... beautifully balanced... a remarkable man and the equally remarkable legacy he has left us. (Linda Turk Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal 2004-05-23) Incredible photographs... a great service to historians and the paddling community... beautiful and informative book. ( Wilderness Journal ) Wonderful book... a marvelous and important job by making Adney's creations available to us in this beautifully produced book that is a feast for the mind and the eye... a most useful basis for further study. (Toni Harting Nastawgan (Quarterly of Wilderness Canoe Association) ) An essential addition to [Chapelle's The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America]... You have to have this one as well if you have any interest in canoe history. ( Canoeist ) A significant aspect of North American heritage... features artistically crafted photographs of Adney's intricate scale models of canoes. ( Canadian Geographic ) Flawless photos of the entire Adney collection... handsome and instructive... Bark Canoes, with Pemberton's lovely photographs, is the perfect complement to Adney's and Chapelle's earlier masterpiece. (Jerry Stelmok WoodenBoat ) Not only of interest to maritime enthusiasts but also those interested in Native Peoples, history, art and crafts. (Kay Plesca E-Streams ) This handsomely illustrated work presents a clear and succinct review of the talented, driven, and irascible [Adney]... Recommended. (P.D. Thomas Choice ) A photographic gallery of the extraordinary work of a remarkable man... Adney became obsessed with accurately recording every aspect of North American canoe building. (Diana Mumford Wave Length Magazine ) John Jennings is an associate professor at Trent University, a specialist in frontier history and editor of The Canoe: A Living Tradition . Opening introduction to the chapter on the life of Edwin Tappan Adney The canoe models of Edwin Tappan Adney, universally recognized as the foremost scholar of the North American bark canoe, represent the distillation of a lifetime of research into the Native canoeing cultures of northern North America. Adney originally intended his collection of models to illustrate a major book on the subject. Sadly, he never completed that work, and his extraordinary models have remained in storage at the Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia, for more than half a century, known only to a relative few. It is estimated that Adney constructed about 150 models of Native canoes during his lifetime. This volume presents the complete collection of