Waterfowl decoy collecting

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Bob Biddle Goose Decoy.

History

Ever since Joel Barber, the first known decoy collector, started in 1918, decoys have become increasingly viewed as an important form of North American folk art. Barber's book Wild Fowl Decoys, was the first book on decoys as collectible objects. It was followed in 1965 by folk art dealer Adele Earnest's "The Art of the Decoy" and "American Bird Decoys" by collector Wm. F. Mackey.

By that time a milestone in collecting had already occurred with the publication of "Decoy Collectors Guide", a small magazine created by hobbyists Hal & Barbara Sorenson of Burlington, Iowa. The 'Guide' helped foster a sense of community and provided a forum for collectors to share their research.

By the 1970s decoys were becoming big business, at least by previous standards. The death of Wm. F. Mackey brought his decoys to market in a series of auctions in 1973 and 1974, with the star of his collection, a Long-billed Curlew by Wm. 'Bill' Bowman selling for a record US$10,500.

Since the 1960s numerous collectors organizations have been created, specialist books and magazines published, with specialist dealers, and special interest shows around the US and Canada. Canadian decoys are still believed to be the "sleepers" in the world of decoy popularity and are often undervalued but are starting to gain recognition.

The former World Record price for an antique duck decoy at auction: Red Breasted Merganser Hen by Lothrop Holmes for $856,000. Guyette & Schmidt and Christie's New York. January 2007.[1]

A new record was set when two decoys (Canadian goose and a preening pintail drake) by A. Elmer Crowell of East Harwich, MA were said to have sold for US$1.13 million dollars each in September, 2007 by Stephen B. O'Brien, Jr. The record-setting decoys were sold in a larger collection of 31 decoys for $7.5 million in total.[2] Stephen O'Brien Jr. Fine Arts LLC, owner of Copley Fine Art Auctions, LLC. Both decoys had previously set sales record.

Regional Schools and Noted Carvers

Barnegat Bay/New Jersey Shore

New Jersey Shore decoys tend to be hollow bodied, have poured lead weighs and are more often made of Atlantic white cedar.

There are also Barnegat style decoys made by carvers of the Delaware River School.

Delaware River

Usually more diminutive than NJ Shore/Barnegat School, more often features flat or pad weights. Heads are positioned relative low, slight swooping up of tail feather (less so than a Barnegat), top tail feather raised on black ducks and mallards.

There also a number of decoy makers of the Barnegat school who have produced Delaware River Style decoys.

Susquehanna Flats

The Susquehanna Flats consists of the region from the mouth of the Susquehanna River where it enters the Chesapeake Bay at Havre de Grace and Perryville through the tidal areas and marshlands along the upper bays (Furnace Bay, North East Bay, Elkton Bay).

Maryland Eastern Shore

Crisfield, Maryland

  • Lemuel T. Ward, Jr.
  • Stephen Ward
  • Lloyd Tyler
  • Elwood Dize

Long Island

  • Andrew "Grubie" Verity (1881-1976)
  • Smith Clinton Verity (1845-1920)
  • Obediah Verity (c.1850-c.1940)
  • William "Obediah" Verity (1961- ) Southampton NY. Multiple US Nationals winner, traditional shore bird carver in traditional methods. Known for details geared to preserving the “Verity Heritage”
  • Thomas Gelston (1851-1924)
  • Frank Kellum (1865-1935)
  • Al Ketchum
  • John Dilley - Quogue, NY
  • William Bowman - Lawrence, NY some believe that the decoys believed to have been made by Bill Bowman were actually made by Charles Sumner Bunn.[3]
  • Charles Sumner Bunn (1865-1952), a Shinnecock Native America who lived on a reservation on Shinnecock Bay (Southampton, NY)
  • William Southard - Bellmore, NY

New York State

Maine & Nova Scotia

Massachusetts

Virginia Eastern Shore

  • Ira Hudson (1876-1949) - Chincoteague, VA
  • Charles Birch (1967-1656) - Willis Wharf, VA
  • Dave "Umbrella" Watson (d. 1938) - Chincoteague, VA
  • Miles Hancock (1888-1974)

Cobb Family/Cobb Island

  • Nathan Cobb Jr.
  • Elkenah Cobb
  • Albert Cobb
  • Arthur Cobb

Toronto / Hamilton (SW Ontario)

  • George Warin - Toronto
  • James Warin - Toronto
  • Tom Chambers - St. Clair Flats
  • Hugh Weir - Hamilton
  • George "Red" Weir - Hamilton
  • John R. Wells - Toronto / Long Pt.
  • John (Jack) Morris - Hamilton
  • Ivar Fernlund - Hamilton
  • Clarence "Clarey" Shaw - Hamilton
  • Ken Anger - Dunnville
  • James Barr - Hamilton
  • Donnie Reid - Hamilton
  • Phineas Reeves and 3 sons and grandson Jack - Long Pt.
  • Les Fawcett - Hamilton
  • Graham Pilling - Burlington
  • Augie Norling - Burlington
  • Ernie England - Hamilton Beach
  • George "Chic" Poyton - Hamilton
  • Les Drew - Hamilton
  • Barney Wanamaker - Hamilton
  • Bill Simmons - Hamilton / Beamsville
  • Merle Franklin - Dunnville

North Carolina

South Carolina

Connecticut (Stratford)

  • Charles "Shang" Wheeler (1872-1949) - Stratford, CT
  • Roswell Bliss
  • Albert Laing

Ohio

  • William T. Enright
  • Charles Klopping
  • Ned John Hauser
  • John Sharon

Louisiana

  • Marc Alcide Comardelle (1880-1955)
  • Charles Joefrau
  • Mark (Marc) McCool Whipple
  • Xavier Bourg (1901-1984) - LaRose, LA

Lake Michigan

Illinois River

  • Charles Perdew(1874-1963) - Henry, IL
  • Robert Elliston - Bureau, IL
  • Charles Shoenheider Sr. - Peoria, IL
  • Charles Walker - Princeton, IL File:MVC-904F.jpg
  • G. Bert Graves - Peoria, IL File:G.b.graves.decoy.jpg
  • Virgil Lashbrook - Pekin, IL
  • Hector Whittington -
  • Stephen Lane
  • Hiram Holtz
  • Fred Allen
  • William Lohrman
  • Frank Cassini
  • Henry Holmes
  • Walter "Tube" Dawson
  • Glen Cameron
  • Robert Weeks
  • Charles Althoff
  • Cline McAlpin
  • William T. Shaw
  • Leonard Doren
  • George Kessler
  • George "Skippy" Barto
  • Perry Wilcoxson
  • Otto Garren
  • J. Fred Mott, Sr.
  • Richard Sheppard

Washington

Wisconsin

  • Joseph Gigl-(Fremont, WI)
  • Howard Homer - Diamond Lake, WI
  • August "Gus" Moak (1852-1942) - Tustin, WI
  • C.C. Roberts & J.J. Rheinschmidt
  • Frank Strey - Oshkosh, WI
  • Joseph Sieger
  • Ned Hollister (1876-1924) - Delavan, WI
  • August "Gust" Nelow (1874-1961)-(Oshkosh/Omro), WI

California

Vintage Factory Decoys

Peterson Decoy Factory

Began in 1873 by George Peterson in Detroit, MI. Sold factory to Jasper Dodge in 1883.

J.N. Dodge

Jasper N. Dodge (1829-1909) began his decoy production ca. 1883 after purchasing the George Peterson Decoy Factory. Production ceased in 1905 and closed permanently in 1908.

Mason's Decoy Factory

The most famous of all factory made decoys. Operated in Detroit, MI, from 1896 to 1924. Produced decoys in the same style as Peterson and Dodge. Produced five grades of decoys:

  • Premier Grade - two-piece, hollow body, flat bottoms, glass eyes, swirl paint on breast, notch carved bill, carved nostrils, carved nail.
  • Challenge - both one piece solid and two-piece hollow bodies, flat bottoms, glass eyes, less elaborate paint on breast, no notch carved bill, lesser carved nostrils, painted black nail.
  • Standard #1 or "Detroit"(glass eye) - smaller in stature, less carving, more paint detail, glass eyes.
  • Standard #2 (tack eye) - smaller in stature, less carving, somewhat less paint detail, tack eyes.
  • Standard #3 (painted eye) - smaller in stature, less carving, even less paint detail, painted eyes.

William E. Pratt Manufacturing Co.

Established in 1893 in Joliet, IL, did not begin to produce decoys until 1921. Eventually bought out by the Animal Trap Company of America which became Victor.

J.W. Reynolds Decoy Company

Established in Chicago, IL

Swisher & Soule

Established in Decatur, IL

Hays

Established in Jefferson City, MO

H.A. Stevens

Harvey A. Stevens (d.1894) began this factory in Weedsport, NY from 1880 to 1902.

Evans Factory

Walter Evans (1872-1948) was a large scale producer of fine hollow body duck decoys in Ladysmith, WI from the 1921 to 1932. Similar in appearance to the Mason Factory decoy.

Wildfowler Decoys, Inc

Began in 1939, in Old Saybrook, CT. In 1957, the company was sold and moved to Quogue, NY. The company was bought by Charlie Birdsall in 1961, and moved to Point Pleasant, NJ. The company was relocated in to Babylon, NY in the mid-1970s. Occasionally, the Wildfowlers were contracted to produce decoys for the Abercrombie & Fitch catalog.

The story of Wildfowler Decoys from Decoy Magazine (2001)

Herter's Inc

Popular sporting goods catalog company founded by George Leonard Herter in Waseca, MN from the 1930's through 1970s.

L.L. Bean

Sporting goods mail order company based out of Freeport, ME produced factory decoys for a few years.

See also: L.L. Bean

Contemporary Decoys

Contemporary decoys are generally though of as more recent (post 1960s) decoys which were carved for aesthetic and decorative appeal and were never considered to be utilized as a working decoy. Modern decorative markets have been driving up the cost of master carvers into the prices one would consider reserved for antiques.

  • Mark S. McNair and sons Ian and Colin - Craddockville, VA
  • Ken Harris (d. 1981) - Woodville, NY
  • Robert Biddle - Media, PA
  • Marty Hanson - Minnesota
  • Alex Russell located in Wachapreague Virginia
  • Merle Franklin - Dunnville, Ontario
See also: Wood carving

Decoy Museums & Collections

Decoy Festivals

Collectors Associations

  • Midwest Decoy Collectors Association MDCA
  • Thousand Island Decoy Collectors Association TIDCA
  • Potomac Decoy Collectors Association
  • Long Island Decoy Collectors Association LIDCA
  • Ohio Decoy Collectors and Carvers Association ODCCA
  • New Jersey Decoy Collectors Association NJDCA
  • Minnesota Decoy Collectors Association MnDCA
  • East Coast Decoy Collectors Association (Maryland and Virginia area)
  • Northwest Decoy Collectors Association
  • Canadian Decoy & Outdoor Collectables Assoc.

References

  1. ^ "Bids for the birds - San Diego Union Tribune". Retrieved 2007-08-11.
  2. ^ "To tune of $1.13m, decoys are the real thing". Retrieved 2007-9-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  3. ^ [Decoy Magazine. January/February 2004. Volume 28, Number 1.

General References

  • Earnest, Adele (---) The Art of the Decoy: American Bird Carvings. Bramhall House, New York, NY
  • Fleckenstein, Henry A. Jr (1979) Decoys of the Mid-Atlantic Region. Schiffer, Exton, PA ISBN 0916838242
  • Fleckenstein, Henry A. Jr (1983) New Jersey Decoys. Schiffer, Exton, PA ISBN 0916838757
  • Luckey, Carl F. and Lewis, Russell E. (2003) Collecting Antique Bird Decoys and Duck Calls (3rd Edition). Krause, Iola, WI ISBN 0873495462
  • Starr, George Ross, Jr. (1974) Decoys of The Atlantic Flyway. Winchester, New York, NY ISBN 0876911416
  • Goldberger, Russ J. and Haid, Alan G. (2003) Mason Decoys-A Complete Pictorial Guide: Expanded Edition. Decoy Magazine, Lewes, DE ISBN 0-9724423-0-8
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