What decoy collectors actually do

Most of the hobby is looking. Collectors read auction catalogs the way other people read box scores, walk the tables at decoy shows, and pick up every bird a dealer will let them handle. At home the work is study: matching a head shape or a paint pattern to a region, then to a carver, and deciding how much of the paint is original. Decoys were tools, so nearly all of them were repainted, reheaded or patched by the hunters who used them, and sorting honest wear from later meddling is the skill that takes years. The reward is an object with a traceable life. A good decoy can often be tied to one maker, one stretch of water and one gunning rig.

A row of painted duck figures on a dark wooden shelf, lit from the side by low evening light — Painted ducks on a shelf

A salt marsh of golden grass cut by blue tidal channels, with trees on the far shore

02

Which kind of decoy do you want?

Four ways in

Antique Working DecoysHand-carved gunning birds made from about 1850 to 1950, collected by region and by carver. This is the heart of the hobby and where the big prices are, but birds by unknown makers are affordable. The base kit below covers it.

Start here

Find the next decoy show or auction preview within driving distance and go to handle birds, not to buy. Pick up twenty decoys, turn each one over, and ask the dealer who made it and what has been done to it.

North American Decoy Collectors Association

Factory DecoysBirds turned on lathes and painted by hand in workshops such as the Mason factory in Detroit, then sold by mail order. They come in set models and grades, so they are easier to identify from a book than one-off carvings. The base kit covers them too.

Start here

Look up one factory's models in your guide book, then search completed auction results for that factory and note what the plain grades in worn original paint actually sold for. Set that number as your ceiling before you bid on one.

Guyette & Deeter

Shorebirds and Fish DecoysSmall carved plovers and yellowlegs that stood on sticks in the sand, and weighted wooden fish used for spearing through ice in the Great Lakes states. They take little shelf space and have devoted followings. They need no extra gear.

Start here

Open a recent auction catalog online and read only the shorebird and fish decoy lots, with their condition reports. These are small, widely faked forms, so learn what a real one looks like before you spend anything.

Copley Fine Art Auctions

Decorative CarvingsNew birds carved for the shelf, not the water, from inexpensive painted ducks to competition pieces with every feather cut in. A new carving is the cheapest way to get a wooden bird on display while you learn the antique market.

Start here

Choose a species you like and order one new carved bird for a shelf this week. Use it to practice the handling and care habits below before you bring home an antique.

Open a kind to see its first step. Decorative Carvings ends in a button that adds a new carved bird to the kit.

03

Your first month

04

How to judge a decoy

Paint

Original paint is the largest part of the value. Old paint has fine cracking, is worn through on the high spots (the bill tip, the tail and the edges of the head), and sinks into dents instead of bridging them.

Repaint

A second coat applied by a hunter while the bird was still in use is called in-use repaint, and it is accepted at a lower price. Fresh paint added to raise the price is not. Under ultraviolet light, newer paint and filler usually glow differently from the surface around them.

Form

Look at the bird from across the room. A good decoy reads as its species from the outline alone, and the head sits on the body with a confident line.

Structure

Check the bill, the neck seam and the tail for cracks, glue lines and replaced wood. A long split that follows the grain of the body is called a check and is normal in a solid-bodied bird.

The bottom

Turn it over. Look for a weight, a leather or staple line tie, and any brand, initials or stamp. A burned-in brand from a known gunning club or owner adds history and value.

Wear

Real gunning wear is uneven and makes sense. Shot scars, rubs where birds knocked together in a boat, and a clean ring where the weight hung all sit where use would put them. Even wear over the whole bird is a warning sign.

Maker

Attribution drives price. Treat any carver's name as a claim until the head, the paint pattern and the body construction match published examples in your guide.

05

Keeping a decoy in good shape

Do not clean it. Washing, oiling, waxing or touching up the paint removes value that cannot be put back. Dust with a soft dry brush and nothing else.
Lift with two hands under the body. Never pick a decoy up by the head or the bill, which are the weakest joints.
Keep it out of direct sun and away from radiators, vents and fireplaces. Light fades old paint, and heat opens cracks.
Hold the room's humidity steady. Wood that swings between damp summers and dry winters splits, so avoid attics, basements and garages.
Leave weights, line ties and old tags in place. Rigging is part of the bird's history, and collectors pay for it.
Put new labels on a string tag tied to the line tie. Never write on the wood or stick a label to the paint.

06

Lead and the law

Most working decoys carry a lead weight, and house and marine paint sold before the 1978 federal ban often contains lead. Wash your hands after handling, keep the birds out of reach of small children, and never sand or scrape one indoors.
In the United States, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 makes it illegal to buy or sell feathers, skins and mounts of wild migratory birds. Carved wood, cork and canvas decoys are unaffected, but pass on any decoy that has real feathers or a real skin attached.
If you plan to buy from another country, check that country's export rules for cultural property before you bid.

The federal law

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: Migratory Bird Treaty Act The federal law that covers feathers, skins and mounts of wild migratory birds

07

What trips beginners up

Expect to be unsure for a while. Telling original paint from a careful repaint takes hundreds of birds handled, so start with inexpensive decoys where a mistake costs little.
Buying the bird before the book. A guide costs less than the buyer's premium on one auction lot and stops most bad purchases.
Trusting a famous name on an online listing. Signatures and brands are easy to add. Buy the bird, the condition and the seller's written guarantee.
Confusing decorative reproductions with antiques. Machine-carved ducks with an artificially aged finish have been sold as home decor for decades, and they turn up at flea markets described as old.
Fixing things. Regluing a loose head or brightening the paint feels helpful and cuts the price sharply. Restoration is a job for a specialist, and it is always disclosed when the bird is sold.
Forgetting the extra costs. Auction houses add a buyer's premium of roughly 20 to 28 percent to the hammer price, plus packing and shipping.
Chasing every species and region at once. A shelf of five related birds teaches more, and resells better, than twenty unrelated ones.

A carved wooden shorebird with a long thin bill, mounted on a wire above a wooden block — A carved shorebird on its stand

08

Where to learn more

Decoys are learned in person, so the best classrooms are museums and shows. The Havre de Grace Decoy Museum in Maryland covers the Chesapeake Bay tradition, and many regional maritime and folk art museums keep a decoy gallery. The North American Decoy Collectors Association runs the largest annual show for vintage decoys, held each April near Chicago, where dealers lay birds out on tables and expect to be asked questions. Its website also lists smaller regional shows. Between shows, the catalogs of specialist auction houses such as Guyette & Deeter and Copley Fine Art Auctions work as free textbooks, because each lot has photographs, a condition description and a sale price.

Museums, shows and auction catalogs

09

About the kit

The decoy itself is the one thing here that Amazon does not sell, so it leads the list as a reminder to budget for it. The guide book is essential because it is what keeps that money from being wasted. The ultraviolet flashlight and the loupe are the two inspection tools collectors carry to every show, and the brush and string tags cover care and record keeping from the first bird on. Deep shelves are optional and only matter once the birds outgrow the furniture you have. The Decorative Carvings add-on is a new carved bird for people who want a wooden duck on display right away.

A tall carved duck in bare wood standing in front of dark green painted doors — A new carving in bare wood

A deep pile of unfinished carved wooden ducks in bare wood, seen from above

10

Build your rig

Every lot, with its options side by side

The first lot is the decoy itself, which is not something you buy online, so it has no cards. For the rest, compare the options on each line, then set your tiers and check out from the cart. Clicking a card selects it there, and clicking the selected card again takes that line out. The book, the light, the loupe, the brush and the tags start in the kit. The carved bird joins when you switch on Decorative Carvings, and the shelves are there if you want them.

Lot 01

First working decoy

Essential · The decoy

The collection starts with one real bird that was made to be hunted over. Handling it at home teaches more than any photograph.

Not sold on Amazon · buy at a show or auction

Not sold on Amazon. Buy from a dealer at a decoy show or from a specialist auction house that gives a written condition description and a return guarantee. A mid-century factory bird or an unsigned regional decoy in worn original paint typically costs $50 to $200.

Lot 02

Decoy identification and price guide

Essential · Reference

Photographs of documented birds, sorted by region and maker, are how you check a seller's attribution and get a feel for fair prices.

budget

The Collector's Guide to Decoys

4.6(5)

$10.65

Decoy Collecting

What decoy collectors actually do

Which kind of decoy do you want?

Your first month

How to judge a decoy

Keeping a decoy in good shape

Lead and the law

What trips beginners up

Where to learn more

About the kit

Build your rig

First working decoy

Decoy identification and price guide

Ultraviolet inspection flashlight

Jeweler's loupe (10x)

Soft dusting brush

String tags

Hand-carved decorative duck decoy

Deep wall shelves