Decoy Collecting
For thousands of years, Native Americans across North America used cattails, other grasses, and rushes for the original Duck Decoys. People have been collecting Duck Decoys for years and new Collectors are joining the ranks every day in Decoy Collecting.
As early as 1934, collector Joel D. Barber wrote a book, Wild Fowl Decoys, referring to them as "floating sculptures". If you love the look and lore of duck and other waterfowl decoys but think you can't afford to begin collecting, think again. There are examples that come to auction and sell for a few hundred dollars. Of course, they won't be signed by one of the master carvers, and may be late 20th century. Unless you know what to look for, you may buy a recent reproduction.
Some fine examples were factory made and are worth collecting. The Mason Decoy factory of Detroit Michigan made the first factory decoys (1896-1924). William Mason was a dedicated waterfowl hunter. He began making handmade decoys in 1890 of cedar blocks with heads carved and finished by hand. On an assembly line basis, the decoys were put together, painted and affixed with glass eyes. Auction prices vary widely for them, as low as two hundred dollars.
Native Americans made the first known decoys, bird lures, from bulrushes painted in natural colors. The early colonists imitated the Native American lures, that eventually were used in Europe. However, by the late 18th century Americans wanted something more durable. They began carving decoys from wood. Since they were made to attract the bird's eye, not the human's, carvers made and painted them in patterns suggesting plumage.