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Different Strokes

Cedarstrip canoe built by Wm. English Canoe Co'y, ca 1896. (CSTM 960360)

Although the Daniel Herald-Rice Lake collection offers special insight into the operations of early commercial canoe builders, the business founded by Daniel Herald was just one of several pioneer canoe companies. Another noteworthy firm was the Wm. English Canoe Co'y. According to company advertising, William English claimed the honour of having opened the very first canoe "factory" in Peterborough, Ontario, in 1861. English was not remembered for a signature model, such as the "Herald's Patent" or the fabled "Peterborough Cedar Rib," but he was a builder whose canoes were greatly admired for their high-quality workmanship. A very good example on display is a William English Cedar Strip canoe dating from about 1896 (960360). Today, cedarstrip construction is among the best known of the early wooden canoe types. Originally developed by J.S. Stephenson in 1883, the hull is made up of long strips of cedar running stem to stern, ship-lap joined one above the other. Near the gunwales, there is an aesthetically delightful accent strip in darker wood. The hull is strengthened internally by elegant half-round ribs fashioned from rock elm and arranged on two-inch (5-cm) centres. On the beautifully fashioned butternut foredeck, the maple-leaf logo of the Wm. English Canoe Co'y is still visible.