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The decoys on this page
were sold on consignment and are no longer available. In some
cases I have indicated the maker or history where this info
is known.
Many were handcarved by
local hunters for practical gunning purposes and exhibit a
rustic appearance in addition to approx. 100 years of natural
patina.
The Redbreasted Merganser
Drake at left was carved by a doctor in Massachusetts in the early
1900's. This one never reached the market and was sold with
an offer of $4,000 from a customer who had bought many pieces
of original art and other antique decoys from us over the past
10 years.
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No info is available
on this vintage gunner.
Appears to be homemade
and as you can see, this decoy shows major shrinkage cracks
and other working battle scars.
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According to the attached
label, this sleeping or preening profile Canada goose was made
by "Mr.
Whipple"
in approx. 1875 at Union Springs, near Cayuga Lake, in NY.
It is a hollow body.
See further down the page
for another example from Mr. Whipple.
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| This decoy is
a homemade carving that dates to about 1890 and was made
by Dunham Tyler from the south shore of Oneida Lake. |
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| I have no reliable
information on this old handcarved wooden crow (one of two).
Has glass eyes. Dates to early 1900's. These sold on ebay in
1999 for $300.00 each. I have been told that these were carved
by Charles Perdew of Illinois, however, I have no research findings
that support the claim. |
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| Below is the
mate to the one above. Same maker, however, this one still has
the hinged anchor rod still attached, and a bit more of the original
paint. |
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| This old vintage
Golden Eye Whistler was made by Foster Parker, about 1880 - Montezuma
Swamp. Note intentional angled head. |
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| This is a late
1800's Bluebill - Evans, Hays, or Mason. We think Mason, Premier
grade. Has "Fox Island" stamped on the bottom. |
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This is an old vintage
Canvasback stamped S. Forsythe. The name is probably the
owner and not the carver.
No other information is
known on this one. Has a factory look to it, or it could be
a very well made homemade one.
I'd like to thank Karl E.
Hoekstra from Corning, NY for submitting the following info:
"Many of the design features
of this decoy resemble those of H. Seymour "Putt" Smith (1878-?)
from the Dresden area of Seneca Lake in New York State. |
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are the general shape of the body, the angle of the chine and
forward location of the eyes. The head is similar but not
quite the same as other Smith's I have seen. It may be that this
is an early Smith or an imitator from the Seneca Lake area." |
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Karl E. Hoekstra also
submitted this decoy photo to illustrate his findings.
These newspaper articles
were included:
Seymour1 | Seymour2
Thanks Karl. |
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All that is known about
this antique Redhead gunner is from the attached label that
reads: North Shore Oneida Lake.
Homemade - early
1900's.
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| This is an 1890's
Goldeneye Whistler that according to the label was carved by
Harvey Stevens and owned by a hunter from Stoney Island. |
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This is another example of
an old hollow body gunner carved by Mr. Whipple from Cayuga
Lake.
Dated 1875. |
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This is
an early Mason Factory decoy - Detroit grade, Snakey Head.
Working touch up paint.
Most of the paint is original and you can still see the combing
effect.
Glass eyes. Stamped on the
bottom Fox Island (owners).
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| Above:
This is an old working gunner Bluebill from Henderson Harbor,
NY. The attached tag indicates it was carved by O.M. Paddock
about 1875.
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Above: Old working
Canvasback drake in original paint, with working touch up. I
remember when I was consigned to sell this decoy. It definitely
has the look and feel of an early factory decoy, being symetrical
and having excellent form and proportion. My best guess was Mason,
Pratt, Hayes, or Evans. Narrowed it right down, didn't I? It
did have the original weight as far as I could tell under magnification.
There were some numbers stamped in to the bottom, but I believe
these were an inventory or previous owner's ID.
As with any of these vintage
decoys, I would be interested in hearing from you if you have
solid knowledge regarding the origin and/or maker.
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| Above:
Vintage Goldeneye drake, working decoy. This Whistler
suffered some significant battle damage. As you can see a big
section of the bill has broken off. There are numerous shrinkage
checks, has a few pellet holes, and several years of grime
buildup. I tend to think this might be a Ken Harris decoy due
to the shape of the metal keel - very similar, if not identical
to some of the metal keels Harris used.
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