When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
1920 Waskish MN Wanigan Boat Construction Logging RPPC Occupational ID\'d Photo 6 Tool
1920 Waskish MN Wanigan Boat Construction Logging RPPC Occupational Photo 6 Tool
Up for sale is an exceptional, highly unique 1920 Occupational Real Photo Postcard (RPPC) documenting a northern Minnesota crew constructing a river wanigan (floating logging camp houseboat).
Discovered in nearby Shevlin, Minnesota, the back of this American-made postcard features a crisp, handwritten identifier: \"1920 Waskish\". This explicitly ties the photo to the historic lumber boom era along the shores of Upper Red Lake in Beltrami County. While generic logging camp scenes are relatively common, this postcard captures a rarely documented, highly specialized piece of early American maritime and frontier engineering: the actual construction of a floating river wanigan. These massive flat-bottomed shantyboats served as mobile headquarters, cook shacks, and bunkhouses for \"river pigs\" managing the spring log drives. The crew is pictured mid-build, sitting along the heavy steering sweep deck and sloped timber ramps of the watercraft with their bunkhouses visible in the background.This card is an absolute goldmine for antique tool collectors and industrial historians, explicitly showcasing six distinct tools of the trade being utilized by the construction crew from left to right:
- A peavey / cant hook (positioned near the timber base framework for rolling and positioning heavy logs)
- A traditional hand saw (used for precision-cutting the structural shanty lumber)
- A classic claw hammer (held by the builder constructing the frame)
- A carpenter\'s square (utilized to ensure the houseboat cabins were built square and true)
- A second hand saw (held by the carpenter framing out the far right section)
- A vintage wood-handled screwdriver (held by the worker on the far right installing cabin hardware)
CONDITION DETAILS:
This authentic, original 106-year-old photograph is in very good vintage condition. It remains unposted, meaning the front photo face has escaped heavy post office ink cancellations or postal machinery indents. It shows period album residue spots on the reverse and typical age-related toning, slightly soft corners, and minor edge fraying along the right border, all consistent with its age and regional history. Please review the high-resolution scans of the front and back carefully to judge the physical condition for yourself.A marvelous cross-collectible piece for historians of northern Minnesota, logging industry aficionados, maritime shantyboat enthusiasts, and collectors of rare occupational photography.SHIPPING & HANDLING:
Will be packaged with extreme care in a protective clear archival sleeve with tracking included.
(please see pictures)
THIS IS NOT A COPY OR A REPRODUCTION.
PLEASE SEE MY 100% POSITIVE response AND BUY WITH CONFIDENCE.
