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The fishing camps on the Restigouche offer a
rare picture of lifestyles of both the servers and the served.
 his diorama is based on
observations made in Stanford White's two New Brunswick camps on
the Restigouche River, Camp Harmony and Kedgwick Lodge. The time
period depicted ranges from 1890 to as late as 1930, a sort of
"Golden Age" for the camps on the river - and a rustic
parallel to the exclusive clubs in Manhattan which members
frequented in the winter months.
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Diorama - Interior
Photo: Steven Darby
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Diorama - Exterior
Photo: Steven Darby
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The original camps feature octagonal central lodge rooms where
dining and living quarters are located with attached bedroom/bath
and service wings. This diorama emphasizes the central lodge
concept. When not on the water, members and guests would read by
the hearth, dine, entertain and write letters and postcards home.
This life of luxury is interrupted only briefly through a small
side diorama of a kitchen pantry and laundry assemblage. Here are
the artifacts of the "other half", the servers who worked for the
camps and supported this lifestyle.
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Diorama - Kitchen Pantry and Laundry
Photo: Steven Darby
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Diorama - Interior
Photo: Steven Darby
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Three piece salmon rod assembled at 13'
with reel (detail)
This rod is of bamboo and is joined together by a ferrule and tube system.
Rods of this sort began to appear in New Brunswick around the turn of the
century and while they were more easily assembled than the older spliced
rod, traditionalists felt the bamboo not as strong or expressive as the
greenheart and lancewood rod. Rod stamped at butt, "Edward vom Hofe & Co.,
Makers, N.Y."; 4" reel is stamped "Thos. J. Conroy, Maker, N.Y."
Photo: Steven Darby
(Rod, Kedgwick Lodge; Reel, Camp Harmony Angling Club)
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Pith Helmet,
label inside reads "Made in Hong Kong", about 1880
Photo: Steven Darby
(Camp Harmony Angling Club)
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