The dynasty of decoys

One of the most popular shows on television right now is “Duck Dynasty.” We have recently come across a large number of duck decoys in a local estate, so I thought our readers might enjoy a little duck decoy history!

The first duck decoys were actually used by Native Americans over 2,000 years ago. Evidence of this was uncovered in a cave in Nevada in the early 1900s by miners who had purchased a cave to mine bat guano and discovered a cache of Native American artifacts including crude duck decoys with actual feathers!

While Native Americans were the first users of decoys to lure in ducks, decoys have been used in North America since the 1830s and were hand carved from various types of wood available in the local area. Some are quite crude while others are realistic works of art.

Duck hunting became quite popular as people began to eat more roast duck and the sport grew in popularity. The first mass production of duck decoys was started in 1896 by the Mason factory in Detroit. Decoys and parts were shipped all over the country from this factory until 1924 when the company left decoy manufacturing to enter the paint production industry.

Duck hunting became so popular by the early 1900s that the duck population began to dwindle dangerously as so many birds were just being killed for sport. This led president Theodore Roosevelt to declare Pelican Island, Fla., the first bird sanctuary and led to limits and better wildlife management practices.

Duck hunters used as many as fifty to hundred decoys at one time so there was a surplus of decoys out there to choose from. They were made from wood, cork and plastic.

Architect Joel Barber recognized the beauty in these decoys that were often hand carved and painted and produced the first collectors guide in 1918. He also began to carve his own decoys and other artists began to follow his lead and a whole new generation began to produce decoys as purely an art form and not necessarily for hunting purposes.

Decoy collecting has become a huge hobby and certain artists are highly sought after and collected. If you would like to take up this hobby, read and study as much as you can. Like any other high end collectible, decoys are faked and there are lots of Chinese reproductions out there. Happy Collecting!

Jillinda Falen has been buying and selling antiques for over 27 years. She is a licensed REALTOR and estate liquidation specialist. You can contact here through the Houston Home Journal or via email at falen@windstream.net.

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