Big-Headed Michigan Downriver Bobtail Drake Canvasback Duck Decoy Carl Wallach?

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Big-Headed Michigan Downriver Bobtail Drake Canvasback Duck Decoy Carl Wallach?:
$65.00

Fantastic Big-Headed Drake Canvasback Bobtail Wooden Duck Decoy \"Downriver\"Michigan

Description

Made disproportionate, this regal drake canvasback was carved in the downriver style, carved very similarly and potentially by Carl Wallach. It is very nicely carved with a very sharp tail that quickly tapers to the flat bottom of the decoy. It has great paint with Mason\'esque paint swirls on the breast. The body of the decoy has an excellent smooth hump and lowered neck seat and as a whole the entire body very smoothly transitions between the contours of the body complete with a very nice pinched breast. The head of this decoy is huge and seemingly to big for the body, but this was done with a purpose. Carvers of the time wanted a regal, intimidating decoy to put into their decoys spreads and Wallach like other carvers used the head and neck of the decoy to provide this look. The head is fitted with large red glass eyes and the bill is carved with deep mandible carving and an exceptional flattened crown on the top of the decoys head. Even though the head is carved over-sized when compared to the body, it actually looks rather fitting and gives the decoy a unique look. The measurements for the body only are 14 1/4\" long, 6 3/4\" wide, and 3\" tall and the head/neck measures 4 1/2\" tall, 2\" wide, and 6 1/2\" long. The decoy is fitted with a 9 1/2\" keel that has a lead strip attached to the body that is placed near the back of the body to help counterbalance the head and level the decoy on the water. It has two line ties loops, one round eyelet and another hog ring. Overall, this decoy is a very pleasant and well-carved with exceptional fit and form.

Condition Report

Still in original paint, this decoy has survived the years of gunning and wear that many other decoys have not without the need for major repairs or touch up. The size ad style of the body and head lend itself to being very durable. The paint is very nicely done with nice transitions and shapes to emulate the look of raised wings and relief carving and a nice black \"mask\" to the front of the drakes head, a style commonly found on birds by Wells, Anger, and other carvers form Michigan and Ontario. There is some light wear from gunning use but the neck is free of cracks, body is free of major splits, and everything is highly intact. There is a small very tight body check in the left side of the decoy, but something that occurred many many years ago. Obviously, someone repainted the keel sloppily at some point but luckily never touched the top of the decoy!

I have done my best to document this decoy through both the text above and the photographs. Please look over all the photos and if you have any questions or request any additional images, please just ask before offerding. I will do my best to accommodate any and all requests. The decoy you are seeing is the exact one you will be getting, therefore, there should be no surprises if you have taken the time to scroll through all the photos and read the text. While I do not generally take returns, I will accept a return if there is something blatant that I missed or failed to disclose. This doesn\'t happen often, in fact it never has to date, as I am generally diligent with my assessment of the decoy and provide detailed photographs, but something could get missed. I am human after all. Unless the decoy is listed in 100% original paint, expect some old hunter touch-up. Almost every single decoy I have for sale was in fact a working decoy part of a larger rig and subject to typical gunning wear including rubs that were typically touched-up between hunting seasons as a way to pass the time during the off-season. Some of these decoys are more than 100 years old and over the course of many hunting seasons it is bound to happen. Overall, I am easy to work with and more than willing to be helpful in any way possible.

Carver\'s Name/History

While I can\'t \"pin\" this decoy on any particular carver, it is very similar to the works I have seen of Carl Wallach. Wallach carved decoys in this flat-bottomed style with the nicely shaped bobtail and utilized the works of carvers like \"One Arm\" Kellie and Zeke McDonald. His decoys were arrogant and regal, much like this one. I have seen one similar decoy to this one attributed to Wallace in the book \"Waterfowl Decoys of Michigan and the lake St. Clair Region.\" The body is very similar to this decoy, but the head is slightly different.

Shipping Information

Each decoy will be carefully packed to ensure no damage occurs in transit, under normal handling practices of course. I strive to ship all items within two business days, but sometimes life gets in the way and it may take an additional day to get the package shipped out to you. I don\'t want the decoy to arrive damaged and neither do you, so if I am short on packaging please understand that the third day, which occurs less than 2% of the time, is most likely due to having to purchase additional peanuts, bubble wrap, or a more adequately sized box. I will also gladly combine shipping typically for less than half of normal postage on the lowest priced shipping charge when two purchases are made, and shipped, at the same time. My shipping charges are as close to actual as I can adequately gauge. I don\'t like to use the shipping calculator as it is often incorrect. Be assured that I am not making money on shipping as supplies like tape, boxes, peanuts, and etc. all quickly add up. In fact, in most cases I am losing $ on shipping, but that is just part of the sellers experience. For international shipments buyers can use \'s Global Shipping Program or contact me for a quote. The choice is yours. In most cases I always ship USPS, but in certain scenarios where a package is heavy or being shipped to the west-coast, UPS may be used. All shipping charges are for the lower 48 states only, shipping to Hawaii or Alaska will incur additional charges.

Terms

Most of my decoys are for sale as a high-buyer gets it in a straight-laced no-reserve sale. I say most because as you see some decoys will have a modest/fair-market reserve. For the most part I am simply cleaning out my current collection and whittling it down to what I want to keep. Call it down-sizing if you will. So to that, I am not interested in taking a major hit and I am OK with keeping them for my own collection. I will also from time to time have a few fixed-price listing for items that I feel are better suited for potentially a singular buyer. I am easy to get along with. If a decoy doesn\'t meet reserve, let\'s talk. I am also always looking for select Ontario-carved decoys, so keep in touch.

*NOTE: As with most sporting collectibles, along with being a great addition to a game room or home decor, vintage decoys have shown to be a sound investment that seldom decrease in value. Each decoy is truly a One-Of-A-Kind item as no two hand-carved decoys are exactly alike and with so few available decoys from each carver, as time passes, they will surely only increase in value

*Be sure to add my to your favorite sellers/searches. I have many more decoys to add from all regions including the Chesapeake Bay, Ontario, Quebec, Michigan, New York, Illinois, the St. Lawrence River, region and the Maritimes in the coming days/weeks from various makers from Ben Schmidt to George Warin to Anger and will always hold shipments to combine shipping.