CHESAPEAKE OLD DECOY SHACK
Welcome to the Chesapeake Old Decoy shack. All the very best carvers from the old bay welcome you. Have a seat by the cherry red wood stove and set a while. Take a load off, it's always warm here. Let the spirit of the old watermen carvers guide you along a virtual tour of their folk art. All decoys for sale at Chesapeake Old Decoys are premium grade mostly original paint decoys that are cherished for their artistic display value and been carefully examined using the same methods that museums and wood boat restoration surveyors use. My decoys have been carefully chosen from many Chesapeake decoys to insure sound structure, form and paint. This guarantees that buyers will receive a true quality decoy that will stand the test of time. All Decoys are from my own personal collection.
Previous buyer's of Chesapeake Old Decoys receive a 5% discount on future purchases. Shipping and insurance is FREE for all decoys in North America. We have secure VISA and MASTERCARD either direct by phone or thru PAY PAL. All decoys are Guaranteed and money returned if not satisfied. 907-561-5739
ORDER HERE : akimage@gci.net 1-907-561-5739
For your assurance of quality we have a easy to understand grading system for our decoys as below:
Mint , Excellent + , Excellent , Very Good + , Very Good
Charlie Joiner - Chestertown, MD (circa 2nd quarter of 20th century) Mint. Exceptional Mallard Drake. Beautiful patina and structural form in a perfect condition decoy. In my view the ultimate Joiner ever, how about you ? This gift decoy to Lem and Steve Ward brings together the mastery of one of the last old line Upper-bay carvers and the collective talent of the lineage of Susquehanna carvers into the threshold of the masters of the Lower bay. Historic decoy. As clean and honest a decoy as they come. The Wards were heavy smokers and the film over this decoy is from tobacco smoke. I've been told this is easy to remove, but I prefer the original ambiance. The market remains strong for Joiner decoys and this one is a complete winner. Strong original and perfect paint with superb patina and light smoke covering. PROVENANCE: Ida Ward Linton's keepsake. $ 3340
Ward Brothers - Crisfield, MD. (circa 1950's/60's) Hollow Goldeneye Drake. Excellent +. Near Mint, very clean. This Goldeneye has great Ward ambiance and fine form. Stand out detailed beautiful head, bill carving and color. The form and transition of the way the head blends with the body is a joy to behold. Has neck putty crack common to high percentage of all Ward Goldeneyes. Fine crack down portion of back that has been professionally filled and hardly detracts from decoy. Investment quality Ward that savvy collectors are looking for as Market continues up. Ward Goldeneyes are one of the most desirable species for collecting. Excellent Original paint. Signed by Steve Ward and dated 1967. $4985
Ira Hudson - Chincoteague, Virginia 1873-1949 (circa 1930's) Excellent. Football style Bluebill with fluted tail and tack eyes. Clean and dry. Nice example of a well formed Hudson Bluebill/Blackhead. Wide pad weight and stickers from various collections over the years, which is proof positive of a desirable decoy. Sticker states original paint but decoy may have small amount of gunning paint on breast and tail with minor touch-up. Hudson's continue to be hot at auction and continue to go up. Mostly original paint with small amount of very old gunning paint and paint overall worn to fine patina. Very good structurally with common Hudson small split on bottom. PROVENANCE : Lot 327 in the Richard Bourne decoy auction, July 1978. SOLD
Ward Brothers - Crisfield, Maryland 1948 Balsa Blackduck. Excellent. Very nice condition with minor wear. Head slightly turned. The market continues to be strong and hot for nice Wards. Very nicely done feather paint patterns and overall nice patina. Clean and dry paint. This one is sure to please as it has superb form and presence. Large Black duck with wide body and classic humped back. Investment quality decoy. Original strong paint in superb condition. Wide body decoy with humped back. SOLD
Ira Hudson - Chincoteague, Virginia
1873-1949 (circa 1930) Very Good +. Nice Hudson Balsa Blackduck with angry eye groove and
snaky head. Wood bottom for attaching weight. Original paint worn
down in places and small dents. Small tail chip replacement. Nice
clean and very dry paint. Overall
a nice Hudson for the $ as Hudson's continue to rise. Original paint
with some wear. PROVENANCE : From the Henry Stansbury collection.
SOLD
Doug Jester - Chincoteague Island, Virginia 1876 - 1961 (circa 1930-40's) Very Good +. Scarce Jester Merganser from the lower bay. Top brown color is original paint and bottom white is very old gunning paint with nice look and patina. Early model of the type that collectors look for and are sought after. Detailed head carving has that great folk primitive look that is highly desirable. Honest decoy with original staple and ring rigging plus original pad bottom weight. Natural original wood defect on left side. Original very dry paint plus early gunning paint on bottom with excellent patina on both $1685
Ira Hudson - Chincoteague, Virginia 1873-1949 (circa 1920's/30) Very Good +. Nice Hudson Blackduck here from the old Chincoteague master. Slightly turned head with thick original lead pad weight. No cracks on bottom like many Hudsons. Superb shaped head and bill with classic Hudson angry look. Very nice defined wing speculums with fantastic paint, and fluted banjo tail. If you have been looking for a great Ira Hudson Blackduck at a good price, this is it ! Original paint with excellent dry patina. SOLD
Joe Dye - Havre de Grace, Maryland 1870 - 1931 (circa 1st quarter of 20th century) Excellent. Joe Dye moved from Charlestown MD to Havre de Grace, but kept the Charlestown style look to his decoys. Decoy is a rare one with perfect form that screams the word Folk Art and floating sculpture. Has some close design parameters to Scott Jackson decoys. Nice upper-bay decoys are scarce today, but this one has it all. Almost Mint structural condition. Very old gunning paint has the craquelured look that collectors look for. Small tight neck crack per majority of Upper-bay decoys. PROVENANCE : From the Henry Stansbury collection. $1495
Ira Hudson - Chincoteague, Virginia 1873-1949 (circa 1st quarter of 20th century) Very Good. Original paint remains over much of decoy, but paint worn to wood in areas. Free flowing Hudson body has remnants of scallop paint patterns behind head and some very old gunning overpaint on black that is worn very thin. Some typical bottom splits on bottom per usual Hudson's use of heart wood. Tight neck crack. Canvasbacks Hudson's are scarce this one is a good buy for the $. Worn original paint, original weight and remnants of original leather line tie. SOLD
Ward Brothers Canvasback "shooting stool" (1945) Very Good +. The Wards need little introduction as they are known worldwide as the alpha and omega of 20th century waterfowl decoy carving. The famous Crisfield, Maryland carving shop with it's sign "Wildfowl Counterfeiters In Wood" was known in the Chesapeake bay country for many years. In Maryland and the world when people talk decoys you will always hear the term "But...it's a Ward", and this is an affordable one. Canvasback Decoy is in original paint with some touchup. All original weight and leather line tie. Truly nice lightweight Balsa block. Head turned 35 degrees. Nice Ward conformation and form made from WWII balsa life raft. Sure to please. SOLD
Ira Hudson, Chincoteague, Virginia
1876-1949 (circa 1940's) Excellent. Seminal folk carver of Chincoteague. Rare
pair of Balsa Canvasbacks. Ira Hudson had a large family and rode a
bike around the island for transportation. Real nice Hudson
conformation and style. Hard fully intact balsa pair that are hard to find
and sure to please. Cans in large numbers did not often frequent the
Island area and Hudson Cans are Scarce to begin with, with Balsa models possibly
even more rare. Drake is in mostly original paint and Hen is original paint
with some touch up done long ago by Delbert Hudson. Drake missing weight. This
pair displays well and both are nicely aged with superb patina. Drake and
Hen have tack eyes and Drake has slot back. LITERATURE : Hen, Henry Stansbury, Ira D. Hudson and Family, page 88
SOLD
Ed Phillips, Cambridge/Golden Hill, Dorchester county, MD. 1901-1969 (circa 1935) Excellent +. Classic Phillips Redhead. An important Mid-bay carver, Phillips worked the Tar bay area of Hoopers Island gunning for Canvasbacks, Redheads, Bluebill and other species. A carpenter by trade Mr. Ed's decoys show real fine construction and paint and held up well in actual gunning conditions. Probably influenced by Upper-bay carvers as the rounded bottoms are atypical for the area. All decoys were made for personal use. All original paint with original leather line tie and weight. Carved eyes. Appealing full rounded deep body with rounded head. Truly nice example of a Dorchester decoy. LITERATURE: Henry Stansbury, Chesapeake Wildfowl Hunting, Maryland's Finest Decoys, Baltimore, MD., 1991 - Plate 76 SOLD
John B. Graham - Charlestown, Cecil county, MD 1822-1912 (circa late 1800's) Excellent +. Considered the father of the Charlestown school of Susquehanna flats carvers. This decoy is a very rare wide body Preener or twisted head model. Truly fine form by the old master himself. This decoy has the finest of body form I have seen on a Graham. From the Easton Guyette and Schmidt auction. Decoy is very appealing old gunning paint with fine wing detail. Remnants of old leather line tie replaced a long time ago by large staple and ring. The is a fine, beyond exemplary example of Grahams work in mint structural condition. SOLD
Quintessential Canvasback by Mike Robinson. (young sexy version of King Can as seen below) This piece has borrowed design features from some of the bays most famous carvers from the Susquehanna to the Barrier Islands but copies none of them ! Obvious ones include Holly/Barnes, Ward etc., see if you can identify others ! Unique and beautiful simplistic form and conformation. Semi pinch breast, divided raised wings. Has Folk Art look and paint. All hand cut, chopped and sanded. $665
Blair school sleeping but alert root head Pintail by Mike Robinson. Unique one of a kind piece with root head and superb aged and stressed gunning look. All hand cut and chopped. Finest materials and paints used in construction. In this decoy body I explore the connection between the Holly and Blair school of decoy design as some believe there was a direct connection between the two and after carving both schools I feel there is one also. Root head is naturally curved and has a twist that gives a very lifelike appearance. Exceptional folk art look. Head pinned to body. Decoy Exhibits areas of subtle fine scratch paint. $575
Early Lower Chesapeake Barrier Island Root neck preening shorebird by Mike Robinson. Stunning Folk art piece with wood grain (not sanded) fluted and twisted root neck and pine head. Raised wing carving. Head and neck pinned to body. Very realistically weathered and antiqued. Shot holes. Comes with stand. Captures a very early style of pioneer Barrier Islands gunning shorebird decoy. $345
Voluptuous stylized Root neck turned body Brant. This piece has a driftwood root neck in a reaching position. The body, wings and tail are tilted to the same side of the neck for realism as a real bird would exhibit when the skeleton and muscles change conformation. The beautiful twisted neck appears to have ruffled feathers. Raised divided wings with pinch breast. Bill has mandible cut and teeth. Great layered blended paint that has depth and style. No carving on neck except for the bill and eye socket. All hand cut and chopped block. by Mike Robinson (Chesapeake Wings Decoys) $640
Ira Hudson school reproduction highhead Pintail by Mike Robinson. Extra fancy style like Ira had on display at various hardware stores on the Eastern shore back in the 30's. In keeping with the display idea this decoy does not have any gunning wear, just enough to give it an aged handled look. Hudson high heads were very rare and some collectors say there were none. Always interested in the rare and exotic I thought it would be cool to see how one might have looked. Has Hudson scratch paint on back, wing speculum and tail as close to original paint scheme as possible. and very exact contoured body. Forward swept white stripe gives the decoy that Hudson angry look that Ira was known for. Has glass eye instead of common Hudson tack eye in keeping with the metrics of an "extra fancy style" and very long tail. $440
John Blair hollow swimming Mallard reproduction by Mike Robinson. Hollow construction has two dowels and tacked side seams per some Blair Mallards and Teal. Stress and age built into decoy not just on outer layer like most aged reproduction decoys. Slightly longer neck gives the bird that haughty refined classy look. A large decoy but lightweight. Has very fine scratch feather painting you have to see to believe. $565
Ready to dive root head feeding Canvasback. The cocked head feeding/diving unique head style complements this very early Lower Chesapeake Barrier Island design. This old boy has general Cobb Island body features and as he looks down in the water with that cocked alert head you just know he has spotted some wild celery and is about to go down to investigate. I imagine that a carver found an old beam from a wrecked sailing ship and that a decoy like this was carved very fast and the naturally weathered flat back depicts this. Hand chopped and cut with very old looking paint and age with some shot holes. Looks 160 years old but photo does not give proper impression. Two piece Root head has very little carving except for bill. A fine reproduction Folk Art decoy by Mike Robinson $465
Fat Jaw Canvasback in the Ward style by Mike Robinson. Classic stage 2 Stipple and scratch paint. Very Fat Jaw and rounded head believed to be a transition decoy between the Fat Jaws and later rounder head Jawless Wards. The real deal is one of the most rare Wards in existence. Decoy even has built in yellowing age like you see in many very old Wards and the patina is just unbelievable. All hand cut and chopped. SOLD
Swimming Goldeneye drake in the style of the Ward Brothers circa late 1940's. The worn texture of the Ward type stipple paint technique is superb. Hand cut and chopped the Old Chesapeake way. Thick swirl and stipple paint aged right. Finest quality woods and paint used in construction. Branded and signed by Mike Robinson SOLD
Upper Chesapeake bay Canvasbacks in the John "Daddy" Holly style by Mike Robinson. The quintessential original decorative pair of John Holly decoys can be found in the first page of the Maryland section in The Great Book of Wildfowl decoys. This replica set is sure to please as it evokes the ambiance of the Havre de Grace school of Maryland decoy carving as practiced by Daddy Holly. I don't know of another pair of these anywhere except the real deal. The photography does not convey the realism and beauty of this pair. Pair is given the right amount of wear that would have been accumulated by admiring hands over the course of the original decoys lifetime. All hand chopped the Old Chesapeake way with no power tools used in any way. $875
"King Can" This bull necked knot head Can is ready to kick sand in the face of lesser species that the waterman of old called "trash ducks". This old bad boy is all about the legendary "Night feeding Cans" of the Susquehanna that avoided the Sinkbox gunners during the day. They were said to be large, old and wary with feet the size of a waterman's weathered hand, and this one is putting on speed with tail down as fast a he can to avoid danger. Because of over hunting, loss of habitat, good winter feed and loss of centuries old genetic pool, these large Canvasbacks may never be seen again on the Chesapeake. Decoy is stippled, scratch paint made to look old with some ageing, just enough to look antique but not worn. A large very solid block with unique form and structure. Detailed carved primary and secondary wing patterns. Fantastic folk art appeal. Decoy is cut and Hand Chopped the Old CHESAPEAKE way with no power tools used in any way in construction. Truly one of a kind ! By Mike Robinson $420 see MY DECOY CARVING PHILOSOPHY
Slightly embellished rendition of Cobb Island Robin Snipe. A little more voluptuous humpy back curve, a few shot scars and a refined tail and you can almost smell the salt spray from a hundred years ago. Classic marine iron oxide paint primer with lampblack admixture of house paint, acrylic and oil paint give this lil dude a great folk look. Aged the right way. Has embedded shot for eyes. Stick and base can be ordered raw or stained/painted SOLD
"Crisfield Kid" Interesting Canvasback decoy made to give my interpretation of most of the major design changes of classic early Ward styles, from 1918 to the 50's all in one decoy with my own embellishments. See any traits ? This bird has some built in age with blended stipple style and scratch paint with subtle vermiculation on the the shoulder area black white and grey. Divided raised wings, pinch breast with deep slot back. Fat jaw head has been partially inlet into upper back shoulder area. Wide low design. Decoy is cut and hand Chopped as above decoys. by Mike Robinson $320
"Lower Bay Folkie" Made to look like an old Folk Art Canvasback decoy possibly from the Barrier Islands at the mouth of the Chesapeake. Turned head and attached wing. Looks 130 years old without being aged. Age build in to decoy not just on the surface like most antiqued decoys. Stippled back. Old style heavy Humpback Preener. Hand cut and chopped by Mike Robinson. SOLD
""HdG Heritage" This decoy is all about the Holly decoy carving school that originated at the "decoy capital of the world" at Havre de Grace, Maryland located on the Susquehanna flats at the head of the Chesapeake bay. This decoy owes it's conception and inspiration to the very few Jim Holly decorative decoys in existence. Decoy has full face carving of mandible, bill nail, nostrils with refined "snaky" head. Has some age built into paint. A very graceful and elegant bird. Appears more elongated in real life than what the photography shows. SOLD
1928 High Head Knot Head Canvasback in the Ward brothers style. A later Knot head on the road to the "36" design. Has a very soft natural patina and paint depth hard to find in a reproduction bird. This decoy came from a collection of 7 repro Ward divers including Redheads, Bluebills and a high head 1936 model. By Mike Robinson SOLD
More birds coming soon ~
Decoys Wanted : Chesapeake Old Decoys wants your old wooden vintage Chesapeake bay antique duck decoys. Good prices paid for good decoys. E-mail : akimage@gci.net
Collectable shelf decoys : Upper and Lower Chesapeake Decoys at least 40 years old to unlimited age. Especially looking for Ward, Hudson, Cobb Island, Holly, Graham, Dye, Barnard, Jackson.
See 25th Anniversary Havre de Grace Decoy and Wildlife Art Festival here