Your favorite Canvasback decoy

BillS

Well-known member
There was a post that resurfaced about favorite bluebill decoy not long ago. I got thinking with Pats recent post about the St Charles show what are some of the decoys that inspire me. My favorite canvasbacks.

John Graham, this is probably from his heyday as a carver. Clean smooth lines, simple paint pattern, roman nose, iron keel, is branded JC Sloan(unkown). The lines and carving on this decoy are some of the best Graham did. It dates to about the 1870's.
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John "Daddy" Holly, this well used decoy with layers upon layers of gunning paint bird probably was reheaded by his son Jim at some point. While is not the prettiest thing to look at, it was a work horse and it does carry something special to prove it.
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The brand "Reckless" this is the famous gunning scow of the late 1800's on the Susquehanna flats. This was my "holy grail" for decoys, just think of the history of this bird.
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These next birds are from contemporary carver, with quite a resume Harrold Duebbert. He was stationed in the prairie pothole region for close to 30 years conducting research on waterfowl. He has authored and co-authored over 60 research papers on waterfowl biology many have a direct impact on what see out hunting each fall. He began carving at age of 12 and has always felt a connection to the past and carved decoys that honored them. With a hatchet and knife he has produced over 1000 decoys, making hunting decoys for himself, friends and family. I got to see Harold briefly again last month and he told me how special it was that the decoys he made for me rode the waters of the Chesapeake Bay and still keeps the picture in his shop. For those like to read about historical duck hunting accounts in retiremnt he compiled a collection of stories titled "Wildfowling the Dakotas". It a great book of stories from an area not often read about n the pre 1900 era.
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I don't have any pics of other favorite Cans in my current rig, but included in there is one of my first decoys I bought from a modern carver, my friend and mentor George Williams. Couple years later after moving to Maryand he invited me over and I got to watch carving techniques and discuss philosophical insight to what makes a hunting decoy. Philosophies that I hold everytime I grab a chunk of wood.
 
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Picked up this Drake Canvasback a long time ago, when I was a young boy cleaning out a Southampton Estate in NY. I am trying to identify the Maker or Factory, I would appreciate all your help & knowledge. It is one of my favorites, Thank You

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Dakota Jedi, it does my heart good to see that you finally picked one from the Reckless--Now, we can mate them, perhaps, since i still possess one of the few hens from the same boat--You are aware that Grover Cleveland was buds with the owner, and likely gunned over our artifacts?
 
My goodness........those Flats Cans are as Good As It Gets. Thanks for the photo's. I saw Obi-Wan's hen last year, at Harve de Grace - SSWWWWeeeeeeeet. Great waterfowling history.
 
Bill,

What a treasure you have with the Bull Can off the Reckless. That is a priceless piece
of history you own. Thanks for sharing.

Tom
 
That first Can is sweet... not that the others aren't nice too.

I'm glad you added that bit about the book [font=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Harold Duebbert put together. I'd never heard of that and there seems to be very little written history about fowling in the Dakotas. I'll be keeping an eye out for that one now, thanks.

Tim
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Those are some great looking decoys, Bill.
Just think, some day there will be a young man out there who found an old decoy with your name stamped on it and he will have that as part of his growing collection. What is that spent shell and how old is it?
Al
 
I think I've posted this decoy before under a "favorite decoy" thread or something similar, but here is an Ivy Stevens canvasback that I love. Stevens (1876 - 1947) was one of the old Back Bay / Currituck carvers. If I recall, he worked under John Williams, one of North Carolina's legendary carvers.

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This is even a more ugly decoy, holly bluebill reheaded by Bailey Moltz, but this one has a "Susquehanna" brand, this was a sister ship to the Reckless. Commissioned in 1883, was a tad smaller but was built for hunting. Both decoys were bought without me or the owner knowing of the brands, Iactualy bought both from the same guy 1 year apart. It took some hard looking in different light to see if anything may be underneath.

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very nice, I love NC birds, but I am still not imformed enough to make a purchase, but I am working on it.
 
Most of the time, I seem to prefer contemporaries over classics, but for a can, my favorite, etched in my mind for most of my lifetime is a Gus Moak can my dad kept top dead center on the built in bookcase that covered the entire end wall of our living room where I grew up. I don't have a picture, but will have to remedy that next time I'm down to the farm. To me, that decoy is what I envision in my mind's eye when someone say "Canvasback decoy"

Chuck
 
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