Bishop's Canoe - the plot thickens....
(or thins)!
What ever happened to the Maria Theresa?
We're still looking for definitive words on what ever happened to Nathaniel Bishop's paper canoe, the "Maria Theresa". Despite words in Bishop's book about it being in the care of the Smithsonian, according to them it was "returned to the donor" after its use at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876. An article in Canoeing (1904) has the executor of Bishop's estate donating it to the American Canoe Association which then placed it under the care of the Brooklyn Canoe Club at Gravesend Bay.
Articles in the Small Boat Journal ('83) and in the New York Conservationist suggest it perished in either 1920 or 1917 in a boathouse fire, perhaps at the New York Canoe Club.
However...... I received word from a web-site reader that there appears in the 1922 American Canoe Association Yearbook a picture of the canoe, apparently in fine condition (see below). It was reported to be in the care of the Atlantic Division of the ACA.
In the NY Times from 1922 there is an article about the clubhouse of the Neptune Avenue Canoe Club burning down. It was located in Gravesend Bay which at least matches the location in the first paragraph above. The clubhouse, which was actually a floating barge, was completely destroyed. On the other hand the NY Times, in an article in 1921, indicates that the NY Canoe Club had moved from Gravesend Bay to "the Sound" (I assume LI Sound), but retained membership in the Gravesend Bay Yacht Racing Association.
There is a mystery here yet to be solved.
Westinghouse & Paper Steam Boats
In my research I have found but two references to Westinghouse's interest in paper boats. Perhaps there are more? Can you help me? I quote a paragraph from the periodical Paper World of October, 1883,
"The Westinghouse Engine Company having made a special application of their engine for marine purposes, for which it seems peculiarly adapted, have built a number of boats this season which have proved to be very fast and have also made a number of heavy engines for towing and pleasure steamers, and their success in this line has induced them to try the experiment of having paper boats constructed, in which to introduce and use their steam engine which, although of comparatively recent introduction to the mechanical world, has already won for itself an established place in the front rank of the many steam motors now in successful operation. For test purposes an order was given to Messrs. Waters and Sons for the construction of the boat which we have just described. The special aim of the Westinghouse Engine Company, in this direction is, if possible, to build pleasure boats which shall attain to a greater rate of speed than any thing now known. All their boats thus far have been made of wood, and should the paper launch now in their hands prove to be a success in this respect and practical otherwise,- of which there seems to be little doubt, - a large demand will speedily be created for the construction of paper launches."
Meanwhile, the NY Times on 25 May 1883 notes that
"A Lansingburg firm has almost completed a paper steam boat for a Pittsburgh company. Its length is 20 feet. It has seating capacity for 25 persons and a carrying capacity of three tons. The sheathing is a solid body of paper, three-eights of an inch thick."
I'm still looking for information on the result of this experiment.
If you've got some comments, mail me at the address on the home page.