Edwin Tappan Adney
1868-1950
Edwin Tappan Adney (artist, writer, and consultant on Maliseet culture) is remembered for his part in the preservation of the art of birch bark canoes, a skill he learned over a lifetime of travelling and living in Woodstock, New Brunswick. Born 13 July 1868 in Athens, Ohio, Adney was schooled by his father until he left home in 1883 to study art for three years with the Art Students League of New York. Shortly after this, he and his sister went on a summer vacation to New Brunswick, travelling by boat up the Saint John River. Adney decided to stay in New Brunswick instead of returning home to the US for university. While in Woodstock, he became captivated by the life of Wolastoqey builder Peter Joe. At the turn of the twentieth century, several of his articles, including “How an Indian Birch Bark Canoe is Made” and “Some New Brunswick Traps,” were circulated in Harper’s and The London Chronicle. He also published "Milicete Indian Natural History” at this time with the Linnaean Society. Later, he was sent to Nome, Alaska, as a correspondent for Collier’s Magazine, and he soon after received a contract from Harper’s to publish his first book, The Klondike Stampede (1900). Adney's drawings of birch bark canoes and descriptions of their design were used in Howard Chappelle’s 1964 compilation, The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America. From 1901 to 1906, Adney pursued business interests in New York City, but by 1907, he was back in New Brunswick promoting the Sharp orchard business in Woodstock. In 1908, he became a Canadian citizen and moved his family to Montreal, where he worked as a painter and illustrator. During the war years, he lived in Kingston, Ontario, serving under the Canadian Engineers. He joined the Canadian Army as a lieutenant of engineers and was assigned to the Royal Military College. After his service in the First World War, Adney returned to Montreal and became an honorary consultant on Indian lore for the McCord Museum at McGill University. It was during this period (1920-1933) that he began to assemble an extensive and fully detailed catalogue of canoes. Financial hardship forced the Adneys to return to Woodstock in the 1930s. In 1937, following the death of his wife, Adney remained in Upper Woodstock to continue his research on canoes and the Maliseet language. Adney died in Woodstock on 10 October 1950 at the age of 82.
Davidson, Jessica. “Edwin Tappan Adney” New Brunswick Literary Encyclopedia, Spring 2012. Accessed 17 April 2023
Predominant New Brunswick Residences:
Woodstock
Archival Material
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Edwin Tappan Adney fonds
⌄LocationUniversity of New Brunswick Archives & Special CollectionsWebsite/Catalogue RecordRetrieval NumberMG H 22Date Range of Material1892-1965; predominant 1940-1950Extent
85 cm textual records
27 paintings
1 photographScope and Content NoteThis fonds documents the extensive involvement of E. Tappan Adney in the affairs of Indigenous peoples in New Brunswick during the 1940s. Adney's papers contain both his research and his writings on treaty rights, and include New Brunswick court cases involving Indigenous rights. Historical development of the reserves and the 1947 review of the Indian Act are also represented extensively in Adney’s writings. The correspondence, both to and from Adney, stems from the 1940s when Adney’s attention was focused on the review of the Indian Act. The artwork primarily consists of studies done in art classes in Montreal, but there are a few items depicting lumbering and camping as well. The photographs were taken largely during an adventure tour of Peru with the Explorer’s Club during the early 1900s. This fonds also contains two journals which resulted from exploratory trips Adney made in New Brunswick in the 1890s. The Harriet Irving Library holds microfilm of the E. Tappan Adney Papers which are in the Peabody Museum, Salem, Mass. Mic FC A1 no.68, Mic 572 A1 no.1. Provincial Archives of NB also hold Tappan Adney material (MC4160)
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Edwin Tappan Adney Papers
⌄LocationPhillips Library, Peabody Essex MuseumWebsite/Catalogue RecordRetrieval NumberMS0020Date Range of Material1897-1963Extent
38 boxes
Scope and Content NoteThis collection features the research material of Edwin Tappan Adney (1868-1950) on the history, use, and construction of the bark canoe. Adney is regarded as a principal authority on the origins, development, and demise of bark canoes of North America. It spans from circa 1897 through 1949 and includes Adney's manuscripts, notes, correspondence, drawings, photographs, clippings, and templates. The primary areas of focus of this collection include materials and tools used; construction and decoration techniques; forms and uses; and bark canoes' functions within and significance to Native American culture. However, it also includes information on Native American migrations and languages as well as the origins and uses of small watercraft in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Oceania. Adney's contributions to the fields of bark canoe research and Native American history are invaluable. His research is exhaustive and detail-oriented. His drawings and models are both artistic and accurate. For these reasons, Adney's work remains highly regarded and is frequently referenced by scholars and authors. Additional material by Adney is held by other institutions. His collection of more than 100 canoe models is at The Mariners' Museum. His work on heraldry and Native American ethnography and linguistics is at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. His work based on his travels to the Klondike is at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. The Edwin Tappan Adney Papers were formally processed in 2003-2004. Three primary objectives were achieved. The first objective relates to preservation. The collection was rehoused in protective archival materials and stored in a temperature- and humidity controlled environment. These measures minimize deterioration and increase life expectancy. The second objective relates to organization. The collection, once dispersed and scrambled, was arranged into logical and standardized series and sub-series. The third objective relates to access. A detailed finding aid was created and added to the Library's online catalog.
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Edwin Tappan Adney fonds (CCHS)
⌄LocationCarleton County Historical SocietyWebsite/Catalogue RecordRetrieval NumberMCC43Date Range of Material1883-1950Extent
20 cm of textual records and other material
Scope and Content NoteFonds consists of early art works of Edwin Tappan Adney including cast and life drawings completed while he was a member of the Students Art League in New York around 1885-86. Fonds also contains other drawings, sketches, and notes on historical heraldry.
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Tappan Adney fonds
⌄LocationNew Brunswick Museum ArchivesWebsite/Catalogue RecordRetrieval Number1665Date Range of Material1934-1944Extent
2.5 cm of textual records
Scope and Content NoteThis fonds consists of archaeological plans of prehistoric campsites on the Saint John River between Woodstock and the Tobique and notes on his archaeological research. There is a ornithological notebook of birdsongs heard in Woodstock in the spring migration of 1934-1937. There are also press clippings and a letter from Chief William Saulis of the Tobique reservation, concerning Adney's work on native peoples, and a biographical article from Time magazine, 1944.
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Tappan Adney fonds (Yukon)
⌄LocationYukon ArchivesWebsite/Catalogue RecordRetrieval Numberyuk-28Date Range of Material1897-1898 (copied 1981)Extent
154 photographs : b&w copy negs
Scope and Content NoteThe fonds consists of photographs taken or collected by Tappan Adney during his work in the Yukon. Many views show miners and mining activity on the Klondike creeks, including Bonanza, Eldorado, French Hill, and Hunker. Also included are views of Dawson City, Moosehide, Circle City and Skagway. Any photographs showing Adney were probably taken by J. Pelletier, correspondent to the New York Times.
E. Tappan Adney
"E. Tappan Adney." Courtesy of Archives & Special Collections, UNB Libraries. UA PC 15, item 65(2), [1900]. Accessed 6 June 2023.
See the New Brunswick Literary Encyclopedia entry.