After I posted the articles about Max Gard, and the Sandy and Beaver maps, I was contacted by Max’s grandson who said that he had a few copies of The Sandy and Beaver Canal book in his garage, and asked if he could send them to me.
This book was written by R. Max Gard, J.C. Hassler, and William H. Vodrey, Jr., in the 1950s and is the best work on the canal. The trio hiked and studied the canal and carefully drafted a large map that they included with the book. The original map was in two halves, each about 24 by 36 inches, and was printed on a lightweight paper that could be folded and placed in a pocket in the back of the book. Luckily, I have one of these books in the ACS archives as part of the Barber Collection and it had the maps. I had the maps scanned and have them up on the map page.
The book is available as a free download on hathi trust if you like your books as digital files.
The 18 books that came in the mail are softcover reprints of the original with the pocket in the rear, but no maps. So I had them reprinted on 11 by 17 paper, and they are very readable. So if you wish to add this book to your library, you can purchase a copy for $23.00 (20.00 plus 3 for S&H). Just send us an email at americancanals@gmail.com, and we will get one out to you.
