Wooden Counterfeits

[Craig Larter]

I have been collecting decoys for 40+ years way before vintage SxS's. I collect NJ shore carvers, Delaware River carvers and Bert Graves (circa 1920'-1930's) from Peoria one of the top Illinois River carvers. A few pictures of a sampling of my Graves Decoys. Enjoy!!

[JJ Roberts]

Garig,Thanks for sharing your decoys,hope to see more. J.J.

[OH Osthaus]

the photography is nicely done Craig

[Craig Larter]

A few more
Graves Black CJC brand
Dan Englsh Black
Jess Heisler Sleeper
Rhodes Truex Black
HV Shourds Black
Jess Heisler Black

[Wild Skies]

A couple of Woodcock. The first was carved by Thomas Tyers. The flyer was carved by Robert Mitchell and shown with a custom Fox.

[OH Osthaus]

it was a duck hunting weekend in the antique shops- found an old Pennsylvania Game Commission waterfowl ID book- with nice reproductions of what seem to be watercolor paintings of the various species- i thought about taking it apart to frame some - but its in too nice condition to break up. and got the contact info for a J. Eugene Hendrickson swimming black duck that seems to have never seen water - so- may go for that one soon

a couple other odds and ends - but found this lathe turned hen mallard - i assume Victor or Pascagoula (but the speculum is off for those i think) - obviously the base is not original - paint is old - but i am curious if its original or someone dressed it up for display - looks to have been never used and was a display piece out of an estate of a banking family, the name with the decoy was the son of the founder and president of the bank in the early 1900's - not sure yet when he passed - but the bank's webpage states he and the rival bank's president (the two merged during the depression) were great hunting partners.

anyway- looking for opinions - seems like fancy paint job for the lathe style decoy - it has glass eyes - and I already had a very similar drake in great paint that had been lightly hunted - so the two will shelve as a pair

[Wild Skies]

I've been informed that this is a Victor Animal Trap decoy. It has its original paint and I believe that it has never been in the water. Almost looks like it could be the mate to your hen Rick, although yours appears a little snakey and has more detail in the paint.

[OH Osthaus]

thanks Greg- that is a very clean example- still has the neck ring - most i see are missing the putty used to cover the joint

but, look at the speculum on yours - not too long and the back white line is at a steep angle and for the Pascagoula examples i see on line they almost come to a V

the hen I have has a longer patch and parallel lines - much like the drake I have does (he has a few dings- but is pretty good for his age)



on my two -drake's tail comes to a point and is a little thinner top to bottom- the hen's tail is a little more rounded -


not to get too deep in the weeds on something as mundane as a lathe made decoy- but I love a mystery - and this gentleman was known as a serious hunter and lived just down the road from where I gun- might I be in his footsteps when a big drake comes over?

[Wild Skies]

Here's another a decoy with provenance . . . from the rig of Conrad Sundeen is this Wood Duck Drake carved by Jim Slack of Pekin, IL. Mr. Sundeen was the proprietor of Von Lengerke & Antoine sporting goods store in Chicago.

[OH Osthaus]

from this weekend's rambling
not high end - but i like the factory "field grades"-- sort of like most my guns

Wildfowler geese ( bearing the Point Pleasant NJ stamp) a low and higher head with pretty good paint (the setting sun broke through just in time to cast an orange glow )