Collecting Old Decoys
WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN and HOW.
Collecting old Upper-Chesapeake bay decoys presents many challenges to both beginning and seasoned collectors. Because of the volume of decoys produced by many different carvers and the seeming likeness of Canvasback decoys in particular, there is often confusion as to exactly who may have actually made the decoy. Add in the fact that different well known carvers often used hired help, friends and relatives to help produce decoys makes for many a bewildering question as to Who, What, When, When and How given decoys were developed.
A QUESTION OF PAINT.
Because Susquehanna decoys were used extensively for market hunting before 1935, they were heavily used and abused. These were not decoys that were laid out in a marsh or swamp on the weekend, but saw rough handling in heavy boats and were built to withstand being knocked about and stacked on top of each other, many dozens at a time, as sometimes hundreds of decoys were used in a "set". Many Canvasback decoys were repainted each season or every other year. Because of this is it relatively rare to find old pre-1935 Upper-Chesapeake bay decoys that have the first coat of original paint. The further back in time one goes the harder it is to find original paint decoys.
If successive paint coats were put on before the original paint surface deteriorated, it is possible to rescue and restore the original paint surface. This is an established and proven technique used by professional decoy restores to bring back the original carvers established provenance and authentic creation.
COLLECTING OUTLETS
There are many venues available to the collector to acquire decoys. Auction, Private and Public sellers, Estate sales and Swap meets or Decoy fairs. Auction houses are great places to fine fine examples of decoy art. Usually there is a 15 to 20 percent premium charged that enables the auction house to make a profit. Going to the source for decoy value is possible when collecting Upper-Chesapeake bay decoys. Carvers, Dealers and Private sellers are located on the Eastern shore of Maryland and not only still have access to newly discovered rigs of decoys, but can acquire them often at a lower price than a reseller located elsewhere, which enables them to sell to you at a lower cost. Many of the Havre-de-Grace carvers especially are very knowledgeable about the particulars of a given decoy. Chesapeake Old Decoys has acquired many decoys from the shore and after a little elbow grease was applied we were not sorry for the purchase.
PRICE RANGES OF DECOYS
Decoy collecting today is becoming big business. Art collecting is at an all time high. After the blow-out of the Technology Internet stock boom and bust of the late 1990's and the some say ready to bust Real Estate market; one sure market that has stood the test of time is Art. The stock market is in a long "BEAR" market that is not predicted to go anywhere for the next 10 years. A lot of people are putting their money in solid assets like Gold, Oil or Art. Folk Art waterfowl decoys are at an all time high and not predicted to go down anytime soon. Upper-Chesapeake bay decoys do not currently bring the high prices that decoys from other areas do, but this could change and could already be underway.
The top real secret of investing that is well documented is to Buy Low and Sell High. Some of the really expensive decoys that you see bringing many thousands at auction houses may have "topped out" or became a "bubble" as they say in investing parlance. There are only so many buyers willing and able to pay top prices, and prices cannot sustain much more upward movement and in fact may fall. This leaves the vast low and middle range decoys more chance to appreciate over the coming years as collectors/investors vie for position to own decoys that in the past were not considered to be of great value for whatever reason, but now are more in demand.
Upper-Chesapeake bay decoys fit this above model exactly. It needs to be further acknowledged that the Susquehanna was the birthplace of the most perfectly devised waterfowl hunting and decoy making establishments ever to exist.
STICK WITH THE PROS
There are many ideologies and philosophies connects with collecting decoys, especially Upper Chesapeake bay decoys. Because of the parameters and limitations of the Who, What, Where, When, and How, there has always been much discussion and sometimes heated debate as to the merits of different carves and origination of Susquehanna decoys. Chesapeake Old Decoys also delves into the not much examined WHY of Upper bay decoy collecting, and this can add another dimension to the ongoing study of the subject.
Some collectors may take one particular aspect of decoy collecting out of context and put it above all other considerations concerning decoy collecting. As the saying goes this is usually one man's opinion and is not relevant to overall concepts of what decoy collecting is about. One man's (or womans) meat is another's poison as the adage goes. Collecting decoys is a new and wide field with colorful conjecture and passions evident that are not often proven, except in theory. Except for some letters, there are few written documents available concerning old Chesapeake bay decoys, that came from the original source, the carvers. Later books by amateur historians that are considered the "bible" of Upper Chesapeake collecting are often incorrect and provide only scant in-depth information. This is not a fault of the books or authors considering the lack of material to work with. Actually, the work is to be celebrated considering the circumstances.
Collecting Upper-Chesapeake bay decoys is not just about Sinkboxes, Punt guns and Canvasback decoys. It is about a total environment of bay culture, Waterman's lifestyle and folkways of the bay country. Marylanders are proud of their heritage and rightly so. The Chesapeake was the lifeblood of the people who resided there for centuries and continue this heritage today.
When collecting Upper-Chesapeake decoys stick with the pros, the best true and insightful information available is from the source. These are people who have lived the bay lifestyle or continue the rich heritage of decoy carving on the Chesapeake. Since Chesapeake Susquehanna decoy carvers that carved the older vintage decoys that we collect are long dead, there has to be something more connected to the evaluation, insight, philosophies and study of Susquehanna decoy culture.
When one is raised in a culture, there are indelible marks made upon the personality and world view of the person immersed in the everyday life and past heritage of a place, that they cannot escape and those born outside the culture cannot enter. For this reason alone, I believe that those with true knowledgeable, in-depth accurate information about Susquehanna decoys were either born, have a heritage and/or reside within a few hundred miles distance of the Upper Chesapeake bay.
There are quite a few real experts concerning Upper Chesapeake bay decoys that do reside close to the Chesapeake. If there are others outside the area, I have yet to be informed of them. There is much more to the study of Susquehanna decoys than paint, brand, previous owners etc. These things can be gleaned from various books and magazines on the subject. What German philosophers called the "Weltanschauung" is of utmost importance. This is a term to explain the inner psychic and world view of a given culture, or an individuals interpretation of the world and how they act on it, or a framework for generating a comprehensive set of opinions. In fact the Early Upper Chesapeake culture was comprised of largely English, German and Irish decent. There is much to be understood how the interplay of age old European cultural influences undoubtedly affected the mindset of the carvers and could help to explain the individual carving styles. People are products of their environment, culture and heritage. You may leave home, but the home does not leave you.
Beware of "mirror" internet Decoy sites that try to mimic professional web sites. They usually try to copy information, layout and editorial aspects of a valued site. Often they will have negative advice about some aspect of decoy collecting on the mirrored web site that is twisted to try to spin truth into their narrow perceptions, which usually are related to a jealously of decoy value in some way. This sophomoric rhetoric is bad enough, but they may even steal photos from the professional site ! The site may have a "forum" comprised of similar subject matter of the original site populated by a few repeat largely amateur collectors as few professional collectors have the time to frequent forums. These ploys are devised to try to give validity to their site. Negativity is the broken tool of a competitor who is no competition and cannot compete on a level playing field.
by Mike Robinson