LONG ISLAND DECOY COLLECTORS ASSOCIATION
47th Annual
Antique Decoy, Fishing & Sporting Collectibles Show
Saturday, March 3, 2018
9 a.m. - 4p.m.
IBEW UNION HALL
#370 Vanderbilt/Motor Parkway,
Admission: $7.00
Long Island Decoy Show
- Thread starter Paul Mc
- Start date
Steve Sanford
Well-known member
Good morning, Mc~
Thanks for posting this.
There is more info at: http://lidecoycollectors.org/2018-annual-show-contemporary-decoy-exhibition/
We are once again featuring the Contemporary Decoy Exhibition - so today's carvers can showcase their work.
For those interested in a bit of history, here is some context.
The earliest known waterfowl decoys were fashioned by Native Americans long before settlers reached North America's shores from Europe. And, those settlers hunted ducks, geese and swans not long after. History did not record the first creation of a decoy by some newcomer to the Atlantic tidewater, but decoys as we know them today first blossomed in the early 1800s. It was probably not long after that carvers and gunners began to wonder: “Who makes the best decoy?” And so began the history of decoy competitions. Decoys were shown at the nation's Centennial – in Philadelphia in 1876 – but the first real competitions began in the next century.
What’s in a name?
Most carvers – especially those on Long Island and other stretches of the Atlantic tidewater - think of the “U. S. National” as the major carving event that was hosted by the Great South Bay (later South Shore) Waterfowlers Association from the 1960s through 1994. Just as the sponsoring organizations changed over the years, so, too, did the name of the competition. The origins and earlier versions were all based in the New York metropolitan area.
Early Years
The first decoy contest ever was held in the summer of 1923 in Bellport on the eastern end of Great South Bay. It was the brainchild of the Pattersquash Anti-Duskers Association. Among the winners was Charles “Shang” Wheeler from Connecticut. The contest was repeated again in 1924 but not again until 1931 and 1932.
From 1948 through 1951 – contests at the National Sportsmans Show and the National Decoy Makers Contest were held in New York City. The 1948 competition was held in New York City and sponsored by the F. M. Schaefer Brewing Company. Winning names included Lem Ward from Maryland and Ken Anger from Ontario. Ted Mulliken’s Wildfowler Decoys, in Connecticut, dominated the “machine-made” classes.
Rebirth – 1964 through 1994
The competition was resurrected on Long Island in March of 1964 at the Masonic Hall in Babylon. The Long Island Decoy Contest was hosted by the Great South Bay Waterfowlers Association (GSBWA). The 50 entrants in 1964 rose to 165 by the next year. In 1966, the Show was expanded to two days. Al “Mr. Decoy” McCormick began bringing his workbench, patterns and tools and showed all on-lookers how he carved his iconic cork birds. In 1968, the name became the U. S. National Decoy Contest.
Sharing the Wealth
The primary purpose of the U. S. National was to bring together carvers from all around – to show the world what they could do and to share their knowledge with other carvers.
The Great South Bay Waterfowlers expanded the mission by helping waterfowl, too. For many years, proceeds from the U. S. National were donated to Ducks Unlimited to fund specific habitat restoration projects.
Judges
The U. S. National was always blessed with a wealth of judges who donated their time to the thankless task of selecting the best of the best. Decoy experts Joel Barber and Bill Mackey, carvers Ted Mulliken, Bill Veasey and Cigar Daisy, artists Don Eckleberry, Milton Weiler and Malcolm Fleming, among many others, have judged various U. S. National competitions. As important, many winning carvers have gone on to serve as judges.
Categories & Rules
The challenges of devising the “right” rules and categories have always been – and probably always will be - an evolving part of all carving competitions. Carvers, judges, organizers and spectators all want contests that are fair and provide opportunity for carvers and carvings of many different types. Over the years, distinctions were made between Professional and Amateur. Later, “hand-made” were separated from “machine-made”. As interest grew, skill levels among carvers yielded distinct classes for Professional (later called Open), Intermediate, Novice and Junior (for carvers under 16 years old). The carvings first included just duck and goose decoys. At the U.S. National, categories grew to include shorebirds, birds of all kinds, miniature duckboats and other handiworks such as embroidery, needlepoint, oil and watercolor paintings, and even jewelry.
Waterfowl decoys at the competitions began as true “gunning stool” - simple, rugged tools to be carried by the dozens in burlap sacks and tossed hastily into icy duckboats. These cork and wooden carvings evolved to show off their makers’ many skills in both carving and painting. Bill details and raised wing feathers joined meticulous, “every feather” paint jobs to change the playing field. Eventually, though, the “Floating Decorative” category was created for the most detailed birds and came to dominate many shows. Decoys were compared with the live bird and every feather was carved, textured and painted. Bills – including tongues, sometimes - were precisely crafted along with eyelids and even feet.
Rules committees tried mightily to preserve the competition for true gunning-style birds while allowing for showdowns among the best carvers and painters. At the U. S. National, the true gunning birds wound up as L. I. Open Gunning Stool beginning in 1976. Later, Class A included true gunning stool and those birds with more detail competed within the L. I. Gunning – Class B. Finally, a L. I. Special Purchase category was created in 1989 for those birds intended only to reside on bookshelves and mantels. One clever aspect of these Gunning categories was that birds were charged no entry fee. These waterfowl and shorebird decoys were then purchased from the carver for $10 and auctioned off for whatever the market would bear. This approach was intended to both ensure that only true “gunners” were entered and also gave the U.S. National a major source of revenue. Some carvers purchased their own birds, OK with the higher prices because they contributed to a good cause.
Migration
The U.S. National moved around over its lifetime. The 1923 contest was held in Bellport and then moved to Manhattan for 1932 and from 1948 through 1951. The revived Show was held in Babylon from 1964 through 1977, first at the Masonic Hall then at the American Legion Hall. In 1978 it migrated north to the IBEW Hall on Pinelawn Road in Melville until 1993. The final Show in 1994 was held back in Babylon at the Hibernians’ Irish Cultural Center on Locust Avenue.
Evolution & Extinction
The U. S. National enjoyed the status as the premier decoy carving competition and grew for many years. Ultimately, though, it was eclipsed by other shows and then finally ended after its 1994 finale. This conclusion was the result of numerous factors which affected many of the growing number of shows throughout the 1970s and 80s. One such force was the tension between those who really wanted decoy contests to stay about traditional decoys - blocks that one could and would take into the field to lure a duck or goose within range of a shotgun.
The Contemporary Decoy Exhibition is our attempt – new in 2016 – to re-establish an opportunity for today's carvers to show their work. We have begun by keeping things simple. We are including just local species – the core of traditional Long Island decoys – and just 2 classes.
The first class is for true gunning decoys and is named after Long Island's own Mr. Decoy – Al McCormick. Al helped many local gunners carved hunting decoys that are simple, durable and effective. He demonstrated his inimitable methods at the U.S. National for many years.
The second class is for decoys too fancy for most to use in the rough-and-tumble of everyday gunning. Most are destined to live on mantelpieces or bookshelves. These birds honor the work of Charles “Shang” Wheeler of Stratford, Connecticut. Mr. Wheeler won the first-ever contest – back in 1923 – with birds that showed a level of carving and painting that went far beyond the typical gunning decoys of his day. The Wheeler Class provides an opportunity to today's carvers who want to go the extra mile with knife and brush. These birds look like decoys – they are not intended to be exact replicas of live birds – but allow carvers to put art over practicality and infuse each bird with the carver's own sense of style
Hope to see you there!
SJS
Thanks for posting this.
There is more info at: http://lidecoycollectors.org/2018-annual-show-contemporary-decoy-exhibition/
We are once again featuring the Contemporary Decoy Exhibition - so today's carvers can showcase their work.
For those interested in a bit of history, here is some context.
Who makes the best decoy?
The earliest known waterfowl decoys were fashioned by Native Americans long before settlers reached North America's shores from Europe. And, those settlers hunted ducks, geese and swans not long after. History did not record the first creation of a decoy by some newcomer to the Atlantic tidewater, but decoys as we know them today first blossomed in the early 1800s. It was probably not long after that carvers and gunners began to wonder: “Who makes the best decoy?” And so began the history of decoy competitions. Decoys were shown at the nation's Centennial – in Philadelphia in 1876 – but the first real competitions began in the next century.
EVOLUTION
The U. S. National Decoy & Carving Competition
What’s in a name?
Most carvers – especially those on Long Island and other stretches of the Atlantic tidewater - think of the “U. S. National” as the major carving event that was hosted by the Great South Bay (later South Shore) Waterfowlers Association from the 1960s through 1994. Just as the sponsoring organizations changed over the years, so, too, did the name of the competition. The origins and earlier versions were all based in the New York metropolitan area.
Early Years
The first decoy contest ever was held in the summer of 1923 in Bellport on the eastern end of Great South Bay. It was the brainchild of the Pattersquash Anti-Duskers Association. Among the winners was Charles “Shang” Wheeler from Connecticut. The contest was repeated again in 1924 but not again until 1931 and 1932.
From 1948 through 1951 – contests at the National Sportsmans Show and the National Decoy Makers Contest were held in New York City. The 1948 competition was held in New York City and sponsored by the F. M. Schaefer Brewing Company. Winning names included Lem Ward from Maryland and Ken Anger from Ontario. Ted Mulliken’s Wildfowler Decoys, in Connecticut, dominated the “machine-made” classes.
Rebirth – 1964 through 1994
The competition was resurrected on Long Island in March of 1964 at the Masonic Hall in Babylon. The Long Island Decoy Contest was hosted by the Great South Bay Waterfowlers Association (GSBWA). The 50 entrants in 1964 rose to 165 by the next year. In 1966, the Show was expanded to two days. Al “Mr. Decoy” McCormick began bringing his workbench, patterns and tools and showed all on-lookers how he carved his iconic cork birds. In 1968, the name became the U. S. National Decoy Contest.
Sharing the Wealth
The primary purpose of the U. S. National was to bring together carvers from all around – to show the world what they could do and to share their knowledge with other carvers.
The Great South Bay Waterfowlers expanded the mission by helping waterfowl, too. For many years, proceeds from the U. S. National were donated to Ducks Unlimited to fund specific habitat restoration projects.
Judges
The U. S. National was always blessed with a wealth of judges who donated their time to the thankless task of selecting the best of the best. Decoy experts Joel Barber and Bill Mackey, carvers Ted Mulliken, Bill Veasey and Cigar Daisy, artists Don Eckleberry, Milton Weiler and Malcolm Fleming, among many others, have judged various U. S. National competitions. As important, many winning carvers have gone on to serve as judges.
Categories & Rules
The challenges of devising the “right” rules and categories have always been – and probably always will be - an evolving part of all carving competitions. Carvers, judges, organizers and spectators all want contests that are fair and provide opportunity for carvers and carvings of many different types. Over the years, distinctions were made between Professional and Amateur. Later, “hand-made” were separated from “machine-made”. As interest grew, skill levels among carvers yielded distinct classes for Professional (later called Open), Intermediate, Novice and Junior (for carvers under 16 years old). The carvings first included just duck and goose decoys. At the U.S. National, categories grew to include shorebirds, birds of all kinds, miniature duckboats and other handiworks such as embroidery, needlepoint, oil and watercolor paintings, and even jewelry.
Waterfowl decoys at the competitions began as true “gunning stool” - simple, rugged tools to be carried by the dozens in burlap sacks and tossed hastily into icy duckboats. These cork and wooden carvings evolved to show off their makers’ many skills in both carving and painting. Bill details and raised wing feathers joined meticulous, “every feather” paint jobs to change the playing field. Eventually, though, the “Floating Decorative” category was created for the most detailed birds and came to dominate many shows. Decoys were compared with the live bird and every feather was carved, textured and painted. Bills – including tongues, sometimes - were precisely crafted along with eyelids and even feet.
Rules committees tried mightily to preserve the competition for true gunning-style birds while allowing for showdowns among the best carvers and painters. At the U. S. National, the true gunning birds wound up as L. I. Open Gunning Stool beginning in 1976. Later, Class A included true gunning stool and those birds with more detail competed within the L. I. Gunning – Class B. Finally, a L. I. Special Purchase category was created in 1989 for those birds intended only to reside on bookshelves and mantels. One clever aspect of these Gunning categories was that birds were charged no entry fee. These waterfowl and shorebird decoys were then purchased from the carver for $10 and auctioned off for whatever the market would bear. This approach was intended to both ensure that only true “gunners” were entered and also gave the U.S. National a major source of revenue. Some carvers purchased their own birds, OK with the higher prices because they contributed to a good cause.
Migration
The U.S. National moved around over its lifetime. The 1923 contest was held in Bellport and then moved to Manhattan for 1932 and from 1948 through 1951. The revived Show was held in Babylon from 1964 through 1977, first at the Masonic Hall then at the American Legion Hall. In 1978 it migrated north to the IBEW Hall on Pinelawn Road in Melville until 1993. The final Show in 1994 was held back in Babylon at the Hibernians’ Irish Cultural Center on Locust Avenue.
Evolution & Extinction
The U. S. National enjoyed the status as the premier decoy carving competition and grew for many years. Ultimately, though, it was eclipsed by other shows and then finally ended after its 1994 finale. This conclusion was the result of numerous factors which affected many of the growing number of shows throughout the 1970s and 80s. One such force was the tension between those who really wanted decoy contests to stay about traditional decoys - blocks that one could and would take into the field to lure a duck or goose within range of a shotgun.
CONTEMPORARY DECOY EXHIBITION
The Contemporary Decoy Exhibition is our attempt – new in 2016 – to re-establish an opportunity for today's carvers to show their work. We have begun by keeping things simple. We are including just local species – the core of traditional Long Island decoys – and just 2 classes.
The first class is for true gunning decoys and is named after Long Island's own Mr. Decoy – Al McCormick. Al helped many local gunners carved hunting decoys that are simple, durable and effective. He demonstrated his inimitable methods at the U.S. National for many years.
The second class is for decoys too fancy for most to use in the rough-and-tumble of everyday gunning. Most are destined to live on mantelpieces or bookshelves. These birds honor the work of Charles “Shang” Wheeler of Stratford, Connecticut. Mr. Wheeler won the first-ever contest – back in 1923 – with birds that showed a level of carving and painting that went far beyond the typical gunning decoys of his day. The Wheeler Class provides an opportunity to today's carvers who want to go the extra mile with knife and brush. These birds look like decoys – they are not intended to be exact replicas of live birds – but allow carvers to put art over practicality and infuse each bird with the carver's own sense of style
Hope to see you there!
SJS
"One clever aspect of these Gunning categories was that birds were charged no entry fee. These waterfowl and shorebird decoys were then purchased from the carver for $10 and auctioned off for whatever the market would bear. This approach was intended to both ensure that only true “gunners” were entered and also gave the U.S. National a major source of revenue. Some carvers purchased their own birds, OK with the higher prices because they contributed to a good cause. "
I entered the SSWA "Nationals" back in the 80-s. I did place a few times and actually won a first. The auction was interesting because most of the entries went for pretty good money. As I recall over $100 for most gunners. Using 1986 for a base year, $100 is worth $223 in todays money. There was also decoy head carving competition done right on the floor of the hall. Think you got an hour to carve a head as I recall. There was also an auction for the heads. The auctioned revenue derived went into paying for the show. I never could see bidding on my own decoy or head carving and paying that money when I could just carve another one.
I entered the SSWA "Nationals" back in the 80-s. I did place a few times and actually won a first. The auction was interesting because most of the entries went for pretty good money. As I recall over $100 for most gunners. Using 1986 for a base year, $100 is worth $223 in todays money. There was also decoy head carving competition done right on the floor of the hall. Think you got an hour to carve a head as I recall. There was also an auction for the heads. The auctioned revenue derived went into paying for the show. I never could see bidding on my own decoy or head carving and paying that money when I could just carve another one.
Capt Rich Geminski
Well-known member
Remember the Nationals well. Went there for years. A lot of top carvers brought their birds there to be judged before going to the World's. Many great carvers came from long island and did well all over. Many of them taught classes and inspired many novice carvers that went on to many ribbons at different shows in the US.
Need more guys teaching again.
Need more guys teaching again.
Steve Sanford
Well-known member
Good morning, Joe~
LIDCA featured a retrospective on the US Nationals several years ago. That's where I took the narrative from. We had many former winning birds at the Show (including a couple of mine from the 1990s), but I do not know of a list per se. I'll look around next week when I have more time.
It was a great event in its day. I recall standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the crowd, edging slowly around the floor to see all of the fine birds.
All the best,
SJS
LIDCA featured a retrospective on the US Nationals several years ago. That's where I took the narrative from. We had many former winning birds at the Show (including a couple of mine from the 1990s), but I do not know of a list per se. I'll look around next week when I have more time.
It was a great event in its day. I recall standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the crowd, edging slowly around the floor to see all of the fine birds.
All the best,
SJS
There were a lot of entries. Just about all species were contested. I would guess there were 25 blackducks and 25 broadbills entered. Had to be 200 plus decoys entered and auctioned at the end. The head carving had to have 20 entries. The auction probably paid for the show.
Steve Sanford
Well-known member
Good morning, Joe~
If you bring 100 decoys, we'll be halfway there!
See you next month,
SJS
If you bring 100 decoys, we'll be halfway there!
See you next month,
SJS
Steve Sanford
Well-known member
Good morning, Joe~
If I recall correctly, we had 108 birds in 2016.
I may bring a couple of birds to show - but cannot enter because of my role in running things.
All the best,
SJS
If I recall correctly, we had 108 birds in 2016.
I may bring a couple of birds to show - but cannot enter because of my role in running things.
All the best,
SJS
P. Revicki
Active member
Steve,
I plan on coming and bringing 3 or 4 birds. Also hope to have a couple other carvers with me. See you at the show.
Pete
I plan on coming and bringing 3 or 4 birds. Also hope to have a couple other carvers with me. See you at the show.
Pete
Steve Sanford
Well-known member
Pete~
That's great news! I look forward to a large contingent from the Nutmeg State - and to seeing you and your birds.
See you soon,
SJS
That's great news! I look forward to a large contingent from the Nutmeg State - and to seeing you and your birds.
See you soon,
SJS
mike braden
Well-known member
I’ll be there with my mentor Rob Oliver. We will probably have 12 decoys between us
Steve Sanford
Well-known member
Mike~
That's great to hear - the more the merrier!
See you on March 3.
SJS
That's great to hear - the more the merrier!
See you on March 3.
SJS
]
Steve Sanford
Well-known member
Good morning, George...it's only February 20....surely you can knock out another dozen or 2 for Long Island!!!!!
Thanks for sending a bird - and I will certainly pass your regards along to Sandy.
All the best,
SJS
Thanks for sending a bird - and I will certainly pass your regards along to Sandy.
All the best,
SJS
Capt Rich Geminski
Well-known member
Steve, LIDC didn't advertise in decoy mag? Booked myself to another show for that date months ago? Usually see it in the mag...
Steve Sanford
Well-known member
Good morning, Rich~
Hmmmmm???? Always lots of conflicts this time of year.
I did not know the ad wasn't in Decoy. Where will you be?
SJS
Hmmmmm???? Always lots of conflicts this time of year.
I did not know the ad wasn't in Decoy. Where will you be?
SJS