I recently added another canvasback decoy to my collection of working decoys. Different areas had different distinct styles of how they carved and painted their decoys but this one I bought as much for the name of the carver as the decoy itself. I had seen his decoys in the Ward Brother Museum, Salisbury Maryland, which is a fair endorsement in itself. They are a shorter, more blocky decoy which I suspect did well on the rough Lake Erie, where they were hunted.
Note the head and part of the breast are carved as a unit. This reduces the neck area breaking from rough handling. This is his "normal' head position but he also made "sleeping" and a high "head" position which is rarely seen. Can't decide if the high head is alarm, or extreme interest. When you see one you can guess. Like to see how it rides in the water when it gets rough. Bet he knew what he was doing. They all did. Decoys were for working, not decoration so if they did not ride well nobody wanted to buy them. Would be fun to gun over a spread of these birds back in the day.
Edward F. Kellie, or Edward F. "One Arm" Kellie, 1883-1955.
