Chesapeake Wings Decoys
Welcome to the Chesapeake Wings Old Decoy Carving shack. 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 folk art waterfowl decoys that have been hand carved and crafted by Master Decoy Carver Mike Robinson. Below you will find traditional gunning and interpretive Chesapeake decoys from the most renown decoy carvers in the Chesapeake bay region from the mid 1800's up to the 1950's. Heritage and meticulous research into the history and methods of carving the worlds finist waterfowl decoys makes possible not only exact reproductions of world famous Chesapeake folk art decoys but interpretive analysis of the many models and makes, including some that no longer exist.
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ORDER HERE : akimage@gci.net 1-907-561-5739
Chesapeake Wings Decoys
Below are decoys that are carved by Mike Robinson : see my Decoy Carving philosophy HERE
WARD Brothers mid 1930's Hollow Hen Mallards. These shootin' stools are from my own rig and are rigged out for hunting with leather line ties and ballast weights. This type of decoys was still being made in 1936 and close sisters to the coveted "36" models. Both birds differ slightly in paint and form. The preener at top has round feather marking on the bottom of the tail for example and the lower decoy has hash marks. Both of these were used by Lem Ward. The lower decoy had the orange and white blended wing feathers, multi colored bill and a darker ambiance overall. Mallards are considered rare as they were not among the Wards favorite decoys to carve as they thought Mallards as too common. These reproduction replicas are very hollow and ride high and proud in the water increasing visibility. Imagine a small rig of these baby's as your decoy rig. Relive the heritage. Bring back the good ol' days of the world famous Chesapeake bay as only a replica pair of Wards can do. Be one of the rare few able to live the re-live a wildfowlers dream. $1500 each or pair for $2700
Ward Brothers 1929 Hollow Mallards These reproduction decoys are Bishops Head Club shootin' stools rigged and ready for hunting. The Bishops Head Club located on Maryland's Eastern shore was not that far from Washington D.C, and attractd not only vast numbers of ducks but also many Washington politicians, Captains of commerce and Sports Stars of that period. Unique Bishops head design makes these decoys among the most spectacular art form of any American folk art period decoys ever produced in North America. I have a number of these Mallards in my own decoy rig and can attest to their duck finishing ability for shy birds. These stools are flyweight hollow and slightly beefed up in a few areas for tough hunting conditions. 90% of the Wards I make have turned heads and these stools are no exception. These are probably the lightest wood decoys you will ever hold as they are hollow even into the neck and tail. Some models even have semi-hollow heads. Decoys made to look lightly gunned over. Ultra lightweight made to be lighter than most plastic decoys. Hunt over stools that bring back the allure of the old Chesapeake glory days of Gods own decoy carvers, Lem and Steve Ward of Crisfield, Maryland. $2500
Jim Holly Decorative Canvasback Pair. Beautiful and superb Jim Holly Replica Upper-bay Cans. Circa 1900. Own a reproduction pair of the most famous decoys from the Chesapeake bay. There was only 1 pair of these ever made by Holly, are priceless and the last time I looked resided in the Haver de Grace Decoy Museum. Deceptively a daunting challenge to correctly carve and paint, many hours went into this pair to evoke the spirt of the Susquehanna flats that at the time resided the greatest concentration of Cans in North America. I made the wings on the drake a little darker as I think the decoy looks a little better with more contrast. Both decoys have a subtle racy appearance. Maryland Decoy historian John Sullivan said the original pair were the finest decoys he ever held in his hands. Drake has subtle raised wing carving. Hen has proper indented (ice dip) or divided wing impression back. Finest select wood and premium paint. All Hand chopped and crafted the old Chesapeake way. $2585
Ward Brothers 1936 Hollow Oversize Mallard. This reproduction decoy is from my own rig and has ballast weight and leather line tie. Very Hollow flyweight decoy that really brings in the birds from my rig of Ward 36 mallard and Bishops Head Club stools. Gunned over, but not overly worn. Perfect floater with correct proper balance that creates a live duck look much better than modern plastic decoys and weights less too. There is nothing that can take a body back to the spirit of the good ol' days of waterfowl hunting than gunning over a rig of the the worlds best decoys recreated in form and function from the worlds best gunning decoy makers. Relive the real spirit of Chesapeake Waterfowlin' not possible any other way except from replica decoys with built in age from Gods own decoy carvers. Beautiful Reproduction models and designs from the World famous Ward brothers. Ask me about special prices on a half or full dozen. $1575
Barrier Island Shorebird group. These Curlews are a gunning set following mostly Cobb island models but have a few influences from a few nearby islands. A set like this of at least 6 would have been in the Shorebird hunters kit before Shorebird hunting was outlawed in 1918. Maybe we could envision a family group with junior in the middle? Nice sand colored wood slab adds a touch of realism. Tree branch bills are all removable. Birds are mostly the same but all in subtle ways vary. The bird on the left has an indented wing divide, the middle bird a carved wing set and the last bird a different bill type and more narrow profile. Very realistic aging here with shot holes and a few authentic looking cracks in the old papa bird on the left. Decoys can be turned on their stands. $2460
Left bird #1
Middle bird #2
Right bird #3
Jim Holly Black Duck. Early 1900's model. Holly black ducks of this grade were given as "Christmas duck" presents along with other species to neighbors and relatives. Blair school form and decoy conformation is evidenced in this decoy. Nice scratch painting and a fine patina here with Holly snaky head. This replica is sure to please a collector looking a wonderful example of the upper-Chesapeake master. Scratch painting on head and body. Beautiful decoy stool with style and grace. $1200
Ira Hudson Green Winged Teal. Very nice repro Hudson football Teal made to look like a member of the very rare J.B.Smithman rig. There is only one real drake to my knowledge and a few hens. There were also some higher headed Teal models from the same general time frame of 1930 that had paint schemes totally different from this piece and I gave this one an in between head height in a slightly swimming or reaching pose with a determined and somewhat angry Hudson attitude. It also has nail holes from where the unique bottom cover decoy weight would have been, these surround the bottom of the decoy. Tack eye. Perfectly balanced football body. Rocks to and fro and acts alive. Has very authentic looking Hudson spokeshave marks. SOLD
Ward "Bishops Head Club" Hollow swimming Goose. (circa early 1930's) Don't be fooled as no other Goose decoy in North America had the style, grace, sophistication and real shooting/working nature as the Ward BHC Geese. This reproduction/replica has it all. Hollow, decorative style high ridge back, neck/wing slot and tail apron. Some of the original BHC geese were almost made to decorative standards of the day. This one has Ward fancy Goose paint of the period, finely carved bill and tail apron. The Bishops Head Club was one of the most famous ducking clubs in North America. It attracted a virtual who's who of politicians, industrialist and sport stars of the day. Ageing is fine craquelure crazing with proper paint deterioration of the time period. Close ups are very magnified as the fine grade craquelure ageing must be seen up close to be believed. Ward Bishops Head decoys of all species are among the finest working impressionistic decoys ever produced in the U.S. Head is turned 40 degrees. $2800
Ward Swimming Black Duck (semi-hollow). This reproduction decoy is a very early 1920's Ward style Black Duck. Large decoy with nice scratch paint on body and very fine scratch paint on head. There are very few of the original early Ward Black Ducks in existence and they seldom come to market. A later 1928 model can be seen in the Ward book "Timeless Treasures". Decoy has auger holes in the bottom like the Wards used on occasion for lightness. This piece has orange color cast on body like Lem Ward used for a realistic Black duck look. Large wide bill like original. $1900
Lem Dudley style Canada Goose. Lem was from Knotts Island North Carolina. I don't wander far from the Chesapeake Bay in my Decoy making, but since I used to fish with my uncle down to Cape Hatteras and my sister lives and collects decoys in N.C. , I make a few birds from this area. The Dudley decoy's are very old (circa late 1890's) very folky birds. I believe there is only 1 of these in existence in a museum. This one is made with a removable head as some were I believe from my research. Head is inletted, pegged with a fire hardened pine peg and then locked in place with a hardwood oak block and pin. The back end of the base of the neck inlets deep into the middle body so that the head is quite impossible to remove without taking out the block and pegged head. This is a large Goose with a high head. Chesapeake Wings decoy brand like all of my decoys. $2600
Hog Island Fat Running Dowitcher. This fatty has very nice conformation and excellent paint. Paint has a suburb craquelure patina finish that serious collectors look for and does not look like poured sugar in the paint like on some Southern Chesapeake shorebird reproductions. The ageing is beyond reproach and looks like the real thing would on a 1800's era shorebird decoy. Cedar base adds a nice touch for display. $770
Hollow Barrier Island Brant in the Ira Hudson style. Very early model with snaky head, excellent aged paint and suburb realistic patina. This piece has fantastic folk art form and presence. The natural cracks and craquelure ageing will amaze even the dyed in the wool collector. This old bird looks like it weathered many an Atlantic storm and is fat and happy from an eel grass diet. If Brant were feeding on seafood a good recipe I heard of from an old waterman was to get your oven hot, and roast your seafood eatin' Brant on a cedar board. When done throw the Brant to the dogs and eat the board. All hand chopped replica the way Ira Hudson did in the old Chincoteaque Island days. Very lightweight block. Early Hudson finger style painting on sides. Hudson style tack eyes and very folk art style early root snaky head and very featherweight hollow body. SOLD
Early Cobb Island Black belly Plover. Really nice shorebird weathered, stressed and aged for the appropriate barrier island timeline. Shows nice warm remnant color that that shows nicely and more of it than many original Cobb island shorebirds. Pleasing shape and conformation. Beautiful cedar wood that shows two different colors on each side as shown. Hardwood bill splined thru head like original. #4 Shot for eyes. Shot holes in body and head. Reproduction decoy by Mike Robinson $650
Flat out running Curlew. This type of Curlew were unique to Smith Island. Fairly large shore bird with nice naturally curved tree branch bill. Nice folky painted period wing and body. Comes with weathered square driftwood base. Tack eye. Decoy looks like it is moving even though is it just a shorebird decoy. Stylish sports cars look this way even when still. I guess he spotted an interested shorebird collector and wants to get outta here. $885
Late 1920's Ward Humpback Widgeon (Bishops Head Club model) Mike Robinson reproduction replica of one of the most famous and scarce Ward decoys. Stage 2 stipple paint is exact and superb. Standard turned head makes for an animated pose. A few of the remaining original decoys have snuggle heads. Large decoy 17 1/2 inches long. Aged paint has wonderful patina, soft and dry. Aged to give a gunned over look, but not a lot of wear. Widgeons were one of the Wards favorite birds. A real one of these that was a lot more worn went for over $130,000 at auction. Sometimes referred to as square head model. Auger holes in bottom like the Wards used sometimes to lighten decoy. $1745
Essential Ward Canada Goose. After researching many of the Ward Geese from the early 20's to mid 30's I call this model the essential Ward Goose because if all the many varieties were distilled down to one model, I believe this is what it may have looked like. This fine block represents an amalgamation of the going styles in that era not counting the Bishops head pattern. The closest associations probably follow the 1920's models and the highly regarded "36". The extreme forward dip of the body is exaggerated but gets its influence from some 1940's designs, which adds a lot of style. The Ward angled head and animated style that is hard to capture makes the block look smaller than it actually is. This a large heavy decoy 23 inches long. Auger holes in bottom to make decoy lighter like the Wards used sometimes. Scratch paint and wonderful aged patina. Reproduction by Mike Robinson (Chesapeake Wings Decoys) $1720
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. Decoys don't come any more folk art and elemental than this one. 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. Neck has been inlet into body with hand auger , the same type tool used in pioneer America. 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 $1325
I have patterns for all the above decoys and others and can recreate any of them with a down-payment. Call or e-mail for prices. Patterns include Hudson thin-necked shorebirds, Ward 1918 Blackhead (scaup), Early Folk Susquehanna "Flattie" Canvasback, 1920's Ward redhead, Cobb, Hog Island and Hudson Geese/Brant, 1918 Ward Canvasback " Crisfield Kid " Canvasback and various upper-bay carvers and more.
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