Key Object Page

Kayak

Ship’s Surgeon William Purves traded with local Inuit for this model kayak while on a seal and whaling expedition in Labrador, Canada, in 1862. It is an exact replica of the type that would have been used in the area for transport, hunting and fishing. The kayak has a seal skin hull, stretched over a wooden frame with reindeer bone toggles. Even the carved wooden figure has a little stitched hide jacket!