“Every day is like an Easter egg hunt,” Markel Eskra said of his drive to collect decoys, whirligigs, weathervanes and other antiques. Atkinson, N.H.

Review & Onsite Photos by Z.G. Burnett

WESTPORT, MASS. — On October 18, White’s of Westport, Mass., welcomed the first Atlantic Coast Decoy collector show, hosted and organized by Tom Reiley, Jim Jankowski and Tim Seiger. Reiley enthusiastically invited attendees to shop about 20 tables filled with antique decoys and hunting memorabilia, as well as new examples crafted by the vendors themselves.

Many vendors were from Long Island, with others driving in from almost every New England state and a few from even farther afield. Dealers chatted pleasantly amongst themselves and were more than happy to educate novices and newcomers alike about their highly artistic and technical medium.

Reiley shared a story that demonstrates his devotion to setting up and showing up for the show’s other dealers. While driving up from Connecticut the day before, his fully-packed vehicle blew a brake line and needed to be towed back home. Reiley luckily had a backup ride that could accommodate his stock and presented the tow truck driver with a decoy as part of his tip. The driver had no idea about the world of decoy collecting until picking Reiley up that evening and was delighted with the unusual gratuity. A bit of bad luck may have made a new collector.

Show organizer Tom Reiley brought this “not for sale” Eider decoy, which he carved under the tutelage of his mentor, Clint Chase of Monroe, Conn.

It may or may not surprise readers unfamiliar with decoys to learn that those who collect them often create them, as well. John Schmidt is one such artist with almost 50 years of experience in the business as a sculptor, educator and collector. Like most vendors at the show, he was putting his deaccessioned decoys up for sale to refine his collection. These included examples of his own carved birds and beasts, others found on trips around the country and even some framed and matted antique prints. Schmidt also displayed his portfolio, filled with photographs of early and current work alongside his more contemporary creations. Many were sculpted with found wood and other objects, some figural and others completely abstract.

Jim Szeglia of New Market, N.H., represented two generations of decoy makers, even if his son Duncan, Rochester, N.H., was not present. Both hobbyists, Szeglia started making decoys when he was 18 and later taught his son the craft, amounting to 70 years of experience shared between them. He showed two tables full of their carvings; some were three-dimensional, others flat, all functional. The tallest decoy was a snowy egret, “made to look old,” and one of their smallest was a surface-swimming alligator head. “I’d like to make a full size one,” said Szeglia with a mischievous grin. “And let it loose on a lake upstate.”

David E. Clark is all about quality and quantity in decoys, and providing the tools to support both goals. His business, Estuary Duck Boats, specializes in building and restoring these vessels. Two rows of fine Brant decoys sat on one of his tables, and Clark explained that he made all of them for a customer 23 years ago that were used on a duckboat outside in White’s parking lot. Another table was stacked high with multichambered sailcloth bags, categorized by the number of their pockets, made specifically to transport decoys safely. Clark has produced and sold more than 18,000 of these in his 47-year career and creates custom orders in addition to gunnel bags, flapperboards, boat covers and bow dodgers. “I also make a smaller version of the bags for wine bottles,” he added.

David Clark could, and has, outfitted entire hunting parties with his custom made boats, decoys, decoy bags and more. Estuary Duck Boats, North Smithfield, R.I.

Markel Eskra presented a wide variety of shorebirds and ducks on his single table, indicating that letting these go for “quality over quantity” was not an easy task. “They’re hard to let go because they all have a story,” he said. Eskra recently downsized and shared collection photographs in his new home. In addition to decoys, he also collects whirligigs and weathervanes, which were and are often carved by decoy craftspeople. Eskra also showed a photograph of his favorite decoy at home, a red-painted promotional decoy from the Red Goose Shoe Company of St Louis, active 1906-11. At some point in its life, the decoy was converted into a child’s toy with wheels and a pull string, but is nonetheless a rare find. Eskra buys, sells and trades decoys, but commented, “I’ve never been in it for the money, it’s about what they give back.”

Richard and Tina Meder, from Cincinnati, may have traveled farthest to attend the show, and a pair of migratory oversized Mallard duck decoys by Jim Slack, Pekin, Ill., sat front and center at their booth. Slack began carving in the 1970s and is known for his decoys’ fine forms and detailed plumage. The decoys were hollow and made in the style of Bert “Chips” Graves (1887-1956), Peoria, Ill. The Meders also displayed an extinct Herter’s pigeon, better known as a passenger pigeon decoy, made by the Herter’s Factory in Waseca, Minn. Martha, the last passenger pigeon, died in captivity at the Cincinnati Zoo on September 1, 1914, and Herter’s was bought by the major hunting outfitter Cabela’s in 1981.

Some of the show’s earliest decoys were brought by organizer Tim Seiger, including a greater yellowlegs in “alert pose” carved by A. Elmer Crowell (1862-1952), East Harwich, Mass., from the collection of Joseph French, circa 1920-30 with original paint and bill. According to St Michaels, Md., auctioneers Guyette & Deeter, “Seven of the top 10 decoys ever sold at auction were carved by Crowell.” In November 2006, the auction house achieved the highest price ever paid for a Crowell decoy: a feeding “dust jacket” plover at $830,000. Placed next to this star was a circa 1860s golden plover with juvenile plumage by an unknown Nantucket, Mass., maker, and a black bellied plover from Obediah Verity, Seaford, Long Island, N.Y., created in the same era. Guyette & Deeter represented with their own booth behind Seiger, offering catalogs for their upcoming auctions.

Date for the next Atlantic Coast Decoy Collector Show to be determined. For information, Tom Reiley 860-324-4001; Jim Jankowski 631-721-6914; or Tim Seiger 516-384-0728.