06/02/2026
A salesman’s sample canoe, 51" long, made at Old Town Canoe Company, Old Town, Maine, circa 1925, is constructed of wood throughout, Old Town Canoe banners along each side, a caned seat, two braces, and copper sheathing along the keel. It came with two paddles.
Sample canoes were used as rewards to wholesale distributors who sold various numbers of canoes. For a railway boxcar load of around 40 full-size canoes, the reward was a free 48" long sample. For two boxcar loads, the reward was two 48" long samples or one 8ʹ long canoe. Such samples, given only to distributors, were not sold to buyers. Most were distributed before the 1930s and are rare today. The canoe was estimated at $18,000/24,000 and sold for an impressive $123,000 at Copley Fine Art Auctions
https://www.maineantiquedigest.com/stories/hemingways-flag-tops-59-million-sale/10540
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