There I was in
my living room the other day reading a book about vintage cars when I looked up
to catch the gaze of the bird across the room.
It sat on my ottoman across the room looking at me with that never-ending
stare. The bird is my duck decoy, nicely carved and painted, which I bought
several years ago from an antique dealer for 20 bucks. Now it sits comfortably on my ottoman far
away from the water it was probably intended to occupy.
The bird is
not exactly part of a collection unless you consider one a collection—which I
don’t—so I thought about starting a collection, which many collectors have
done. The fact is that duck decoy collecting is getting very popular these
days, and why not. Duck decoys represent the work of artisans, are purely an
American art form and represent part of our history. They’re attractive,
graceful, colorful and they can be affordable to collect.
Duck decoys go
back a few thousand years. Although duck decoys are an American art form,
evidence of other types of animal decoys have been found in Ancient Egypt. The
earliest known duck decoys date back to the Native Americans and were found in
a Nevada cave dating back to 2000 AD. They were made out of reeds decorated
with feathers.e
Duck decoys
were and are used to fool other ducks into landing near the decoy. Naturally
this is beneficial to any duck hunter (ancient or modern) waiting to take aim
with a club, arrow, net or gun in order to bring home dinner for the family.
In those early
days duck decoys were primitive, but as tools developed decoys were formed out
of other materials other than natural materials. Decoys have been made out of
cork, rubber, wood, plastic, Styrofoam and other materials. Of course the ones
that are mostly collected are made out of wood.
Some of these
early wooden representations are crude; maybe a rough piece of carved wood
somewhat resembling a duck with a little paint splattered on it for color. However, contrary to what some may believe,
ducks aren’t stupid, so the decoy began to evolve into something a bit more
realistic. That’s when they evolved into an art form. They were transformed
into wooden sculptures with fine details and exquisite painting.
The duck
hunting industry grew in several areas: New England, The South Atlantic and The
Gulf Coast. Those areas produced some of the most famous duck carvers. Men like
Albert Laing, Harry Shourds and Ira Hudson became famous for their work. Any piece from one of these men with proper
documentation is quite valuable on the market.
Duck decoy
carving proliferated from the early 1800’s through the early 1950’s and in the
1970’s, collecting these decoys began to gain in popularity. Ducks come in many
species and you can find them faithfully reproduced in these carvings.
Today’s decoys
are not made out of wood. They lack that certain quality that you can only find
in old wood in the vintage wooden pieces. Some of these old pieces bear the
scars of their years of service on the water including bullet holes. Of course,
some of the vintage decoys were carved purely as art and never made it to the
water.
Interest in
decoys began many years ago. In 1918 an architect named Joel Barber found a
decoy near his property and became fascinated with it. He began carving and collecting decoys and
in 1934 wrote what is considered the guide to decoy collecting titled “Wild
Fowl Decoys.” If you are interested in
duck decoy collecting this is an excellent book with which to start your
passion.
Decoys can be
quite expense or quite affordable. Thousands of dollars have been paid for
decoys while others can be bought for a few dollars. Expensive old decoys can be hand carved but also products of
factories. Those 19th century hunters not having the necessary
skills to carve their own decoys could acquire one that was factory produced.
The first factory-produced decoys were made in 1896 by the Mason Decoy Company
in Detroit Michigan. These old factory produced decoys can also command high
prices if properly documented.
Age,
condition, the carver, workmanship and its rarity determine the value of a
decoy. Serious collecting of valuable decoys requires in depth research beyond
the scope of this article. There are many reproductions and even experts have
been fooled by an excellent reproduction or fake. Some carvers carved their
initials on the bottom of the decoy, which helps to authenticate them. As noted, there are many famous carvers
whose work is quite valuable. Factory made pieces had metal tags attached to
the bottom to the identify the production factory. Buyer beware though; as
stated, many an expert has been fooled by a piece that looks original but is
not.
More modern
inexpensive, beautifully decorated decoys can be found at flea markets, yard
sales, antique shops, estate sales, on Ebay and other online auctions. These pieces may be newer and the original
carver may not be so famous but they can make stunning display pieces. Duck
decoy carving is a uniquely American art form.
Even if you’re not interested in forming a collection, just one
beautifully decorated decoy sitting on a shelf, fireplace mantle or even an
ottoman can draw admiring attention from any visitor.
Happy duck
decoy hunting.
