Duck Decoys Have Lengthy History, Wide Price Range

Question: I have some old duck decoys handed down to me by my father. I believe he told me they were carved in Detroit, where he was from. What sort of information can you give me regarding their value and history? --H.T.

Answer: In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, there were several companies manufacturing duck decoys in Detroit. Among those firms two names stand out: Mason and Dodge.

Prices of collectible decoys can range widely, from about $100 to more than $15,000. A genuine Mason decoy, for example, can bring $3,000 or more, according to collectors.

In any case, price is directly related to original condition.

Decoy collectors want original parts, and replaced heads or bills or missing parts translate into depreciation. Most importantly, repainting a decoy is almost always a mistake; collectors invariably are attracted by original paint and generally frown on repainting and refurbishing.

It may be difficult for you to precisely tell which factory produced your decoy, because early decoys were not necessarily stamped or signed with either the place of production or the carver. Still, veteran collectors can identify decoy artists through their carving style.

Waterfowl decoys in this country have a long history. They were used by the Indians before the colonists arrived and were then copied by the settlers. Indian hunters tended to use decoys shaped from various natural materials, whereas the settlers preferred to carve their decoys from blocks of wood.

Bookshelf

“From the White House Inkwell: American Presidential Autographs” is an updated, expanded edition of a 1968 book by John Taylor, a longtime collector of presidential autographs, letters and manuscripts. The 257-page book (Modoc Press Inc., Suite 318, 506 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, Calif. 90401; paperback, $13.95) has 130 facsimile autograph plates and an index.

Taylor discusses writing idiosyncrasies of the presidents, from Washington to Bush, and the scarcity or frequency of their autographs.

Taylor notes that there are “two clouds on the horizon for collectors of presidential signatures.”

The first involves escalating prices, which, he says, means that “collectors of modest means are less concerned with theoretical availability than with the basic question of whether they can afford a certain autograph.”

The second “cloud,” according to Taylor, is the fact that political leaders are transacting less and less business by mail, and so, what becomes available is “increasingly mundane.”

Datebook

The California Assn. of Token Collectors will meet from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday in the Mercury Room at Mercury Savings & Loan, 22939 Hawthorne Blvd., Torrance. Tokens, medals, political pins, old gambling chips and other money substitutes will be on display and can be brought in by collectors for evaluation. Free admission. For more information, call (213) 478-7405.

Mailbag

A special display of three-dimensional images plus old photos of Hollywood will highlight the September meeting of the American Society of Camera Collectors in Burbank.

The Sept. 24 event, featuring more than 100 tables of exhibitors from the United States, Europe and Asia, will be at Machinists Hall, 2600 W. Victory Blvd., Burbank. Show hours: 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission: $4, with $1 discount coupons available at many camera stores.

For more information, call (818) 769-6160.