Good book! Waterfowl DECOYS of Michigan and the Lake St. Clair Region (and a great museum)

Steve Sanford

Steve Sanford

Well-known member
All~

I just got this book in the mail - and love it! I have only skimmed it thus far - but it has very nice - and large - photos of many truly gorgeous decoys. It opened my Atlantic Tidewater eyes to a wonderful world (and it arrived with a pair of rare Herter's Mallards which will be the subject of some future post...)

Michigan Decoys Walsh and Jackson.jpg

I was inspired to buy this book by 2 circumstances. About 6 years ago - February 2020, I think - my wife and I drove up to the Shelburne Museum to see the last days of a show about Joel Barber - the father of decoy collecting, thanks to his WILD-FOWL DECOYS, published in 1934.

sm Joel Barber Portrait.jpg

Of course, the exhibit had just a fraction of their collection - one of the best in the country. They have most of Barber's personal collection and had just completed a re-build of the Dorset House - where all the decoys are shown. I photographed scores of decoys during our visit - and came away with plenty of inspiration. I painted this Canvasback - which Barber himself carved, inspired by similar decoys he had found on Lake. St. Clair. The watercolor (which I've shown here previously) was the first "flat work" I had attempted after losing my right-eye vision in 2019.

sm Barber Canvasback BEST - 5 x 7 caption 1940.jpg

I also took inspiration from many others - including this bobtail Broadbill (Bluebill in Michigan I suppose....)

09 Barber Broadbill 04 - oblique.JPG

Last Fall, I met duckboats.net member Bryce Sharpe in person for the first time. We foregathered at our Lake Champlain camp - which is in New York - across the Lake from the Shelburne. I recommended that he and his wife swing by and take a look. Sure enough, Bryce, too, was taken in by those bobtails. He is contemplating a rig of divers for an old Long Island Scooter he is restoring. I have never carved a bobtail - but learned about them here on duckboats - and saw the wisdom of a well-protected stern on diver decoys - as Long Island's Al McCormick had been doing for many decades.

1771052642112.jpeg

I guess this post is about the book and the Shelburne. I recommend both to any member.

https://shelburnemuseum.org/collection/decoys/

I do not recall who carved these 3 spectacular Canadas - but they grace the banner of the Shelburne's Decoy Collection page:

Collec_Decoys_Primary-1800x900 Shelburne Museum - 3 Geese.jpeg

This George Warin Goose was featured in the Barber exhibit and is also in the book.

sm Warin Goose 04 - oblique.JPG

I am frequently struck by how many exceptional carvers also built boats! (This label refers to a watercolor of the decoy)

sm Warin Goose 01 - caption.JPG

I will presume most members here know roughly where the Great Lakes are. I have never been to Lake St. Clair, but.....

Lake-st-clair-st-clair-river-watershed-map-mediumthumb.jpeg

Enjoy!

SJS
 
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Steve,

Thanks for the honorable mention and for highlighting the work of a Canadian carver. The book 'Traditions in Wood: A History of Wildfowl Decoys in Canada' has an excellent chapter on the Toronto School of Carvers including the Warin Brothers. From this book I learned that George Warin had a great deal of involvement in the St. Clair Flats area - its my understanding he and another gentlemen founded the St. Clair Flats Shooting Company in 1874. It is my further understanding that in 1901 he escorted the Duke of York, later King George V, to Manitoba's Delta Marsh for a hunting expedition.

I would recommend the Shelburne Museum to any discerning waterfowl hunter. My only regret is that I could not spend more time there! I think one could spend the better part of a day with not only the decoys, but exploring all the various unrelated historical buildings and artifacts.

Here are two photos of the Barber decoys from my visit to the Museum - they really caught my eye and I've been inspired by them:

20251024-CES04321 (1) (1).jpg

20251024-CES04320 (2).jpg

Best regards,

Bryce
 
Boy, that bobtail bluebill is about as eye pleasing a decoy can get. At least to me. The plates in Barber's book show the detail of construction. The shelf the head sits on isn't something I see replicated these days. The book goes over the details and says the body is mortised and the base of the head is the mating tenon. I like the looks of it. Good joinery is eye pleasing. That type of joinery will resist breakage and swelling of the wood that undoubtedly occurs in use. A woodworker who knew joinery makes or breaks a project years after its construction had some input to this decoy design.
 
The ODCCA show at Westlake, Ohio would feature decoy books and the authors each year. Many times they would also include displays of the decoys featured in the books. Back then we were fortunate not only to learn about decoys from all areas in North America but to see and sometimes hold the decoys. It was the only decoy show in North America to feature decoys from all flyways. It was heaven on earth for decoy collectors, carvers, and students of decoys. The value of being at that show during those years is something that shall not happen again anytime soon that is for sure.

George Reiger's book Floaters and Stickups has some very good photo's of Joel Barber's decoys IN the water. A Ring-necked decoy, a Canvasback decoy, and a Scaup decoy the exact one that is show here.

I could not afford the old high quality decoys back then, nor now. I could afford the books about them. At every show I collected many decoy books old and new. My library is large and yes I still take them down off the shelf to reread and study. The info concerning the decoys may not be totally accurate but the decoys are stunning.

my 2 cents
 
Vince - thanks for your thoughts and for sharing the research tip. I've been fortunate to find a few out of print books at reasonable prices featuring Ontario decoys. I enjoy studying them and borrowing bits and pieces from different carvers as I develop my own style.

Best regards,

Bryce
 
Bryce,

Canadian decoys are some of my favorites in style, paint and function. George Warin Canada geese are in a class all their own. Traditions In Wood as you mentioned is a very good book. You may also consider WATERFOWL DECOYS OF SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO by Paul Brisco. Mr. Brisco is a wealth of information. He gave many talks at the Ohio show and his display and collection of Canadian Decoys is outstanding. His room at the Ohio show was always a favorite of mine cuz I could touch and study the decoys up close.

David W. Nichol and the Decoys of the Rideau Canal Waterway is also a book you might enjoy.

DECOY MAGAZINE has collections of issues that feature Decoys of Canada. You might want to contact the magazine and Joe Engers for info and prices. The articles are very well researched and written. You will enjoy them. I have boxes full of Decoy Magazine for reference and enjoyment.

You will do well to study Canadian decoys to help develop your style. The egg shell thin hollow decoys carved and painted so well are amazing to hold in your hands. I met 2 gunners years ago gunning off Turkey Point beach over a nice spread of classic Ontario hollow decoys. They deemed us Crazy for layout shooting Bluebills "Way Out" when the birds could be shot so close to shore... They were correct.

Best regards
Vince
 
Vince Pagliaroli said:
The ODCCA show at Westlake, Ohio would feature decoy books and the authors each year. Many times they would also include displays of the decoys featured in the books. Back then we were fortunate not only to learn about decoys from all areas in North America but to see and sometimes hold the decoys. It was the only decoy show in North America to feature decoys from all flyways. It was heaven on earth for decoy collectors, carvers, and students of decoys. The value of being at that show during those years is something that shall not happen again anytime soon that is for sure.

George Reiger's book Floaters and Stickups has some very good photo's of Joel Barber's decoys IN the water. A Ring-necked decoy, a Canvasback decoy, and a Scaup decoy the exact one that is show here.

I could not afford the old high quality decoys back then, nor now. I could afford the books about them. At every show I collected many decoy books old and new. My library is large and yes I still take them down off the shelf to reread and study. The info concerning the decoys may not be totally accurate but the decoys are stunning.

my 2 cents
Click to expand...
Vince~

Thanks for the tip about Barber's decoys in Reiger's book. Both books are upstairs - right next to my sleeping wife - so I'll need to wait 'til she arises (soon).

All the best,

SJS
 
Steve,

From what I recall the Shelburne was not very happy about Mr. Reiger having the decoys In the Water where they belong. I doubt that will happen again. I've been a fan of Mr. Reiger for many years. The man tells it like it is.

Best regards
Vince
 
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