Who's got some money to blow? Maybe some folks have seen this infamous canoe pack floating around eBay for a few years - a canvas Poirier Pack (predecessor to the modern day Duluth # 3).
First heard about it in October 2009. Now the price has been reduced to a mere $60 000!
Apparently the claim is that this is a prototype pack made by Camile Poirier himself. There is an oxidized copper plate with the date of Nov 10, 1882 and Poirier apparently received his patent on Dec 12th, 1882 so the working theory is that this is a prototype before the patent was granted and somehow extra special. I did some digging however and found that all Poirier packs have the metal plate stamped with the date of Nov 10, 1882 and were made until 1911 when Poirier sold the company to Duluth Tent and Awning (i.e. Duluth Pack today). Here's another example in better condition with the same metal plate:
http://warymeyers.blogspot.ca/2011/06/1882-camille-poirier-duluth-pack-sack.html
First heard about it in October 2009. Now the price has been reduced to a mere $60 000!
Apparently the claim is that this is a prototype pack made by Camile Poirier himself. There is an oxidized copper plate with the date of Nov 10, 1882 and Poirier apparently received his patent on Dec 12th, 1882 so the working theory is that this is a prototype before the patent was granted and somehow extra special. I did some digging however and found that all Poirier packs have the metal plate stamped with the date of Nov 10, 1882 and were made until 1911 when Poirier sold the company to Duluth Tent and Awning (i.e. Duluth Pack today). Here's another example in better condition with the same metal plate:
http://warymeyers.blogspot.ca/2011/06/1882-camille-poirier-duluth-pack-sack.html