Description

Vintage Adam Anger Bluebill Hen Duck Decoy Excellent Original Condition. This is a beautiful decoy with minimal shelf wear. Shows great detail in carving and rasping. Below from Mallar Decoy site “Adam Anger, Windsor, Ontario About sixty years ago, Adam Anger used an ax to hack out his first rig of hunting decoys from cedar posts. While working for the Hiram Walker Company and carving in his spare time, Adam Anger dreamed of carving full-time after his retirement. Sadly, he could not do so: he was forced to stop carving in 1992 because of crippling arthritis. During his career, Mr. Anger made about 2,000 gunning birds. Anger, a distant cousin of the renowned carver Ken Anger, drew all of his own patterns. He was influenced by the carvers of the St. Clair Flats, where he hunted, and many of the local carvers. Adam also was aware of the work of those who preceded him, especially his cousins Ken and Cecil, and Ben Schmidt. Careful rasp work is a trait of the Anger carvers and many other carvers of the St. Clair Flats region, and the deep wing outlines come from Ben Schmidt. Each keel has an inlaid lead weight, typical of the area. Best of all, the rasp grooves of Mr. Anger's working decoys flow in the direction of the feathering and creating a very pleasing and realistic surface. The decoys were available in magnum and regular sizes. Unless the hunter requested otherwise, the decoy had a keel. Divers were available with the standard tails and in a bobtail style. Especially on fast water, bobtails appear like a relaxed bird with its tail down. Most decoys were done on order for hunters in his area, and many are still in use in a few rigs. However, very few Anger decoys are still available in mint condition. They are rare, highly collectible and they should be prized as the work of a man who consciously chose to make wooden birds that served and still serve their original purpose: hunting. Thank you, Adam Anger, for sharing these few for all to see. For more background information about this marvelous carver, see Rucker, Laurence; Adam Anger,Continuing a Family Tradition; Decoy Magazine, March/April 1997, pp. 40-42.” Below from a Mediaplex article 2016 “By Aaron Lombardi Even in old age two Windsorites continue to pursue their passion in woodworking. The inside of Adam Anger’s modest Tecumseh home is filled with paintings of ducks flying over marshes in the sun. Walls and shelves hold wooden duck decoy decorations hand-carved and painted by Anger. Anger, 83, grew up outside of Puce, Ont. As a young boy living on a popular flyway for migratory birds he was exposed to the thrill of duck hunting. “When the (Great) Depression hit, it hit my family hard. That’s all we could do,” said Anger. “It was cheaper for my family to buy a gun and hunt ducks than buy meat.” The family had to ration and save during the depression in order to survive. It was then Anger discovered a fallen tree which influenced a creative change in his life. “All we had was an axe and my brother and I began to use it to carve decoys to help us in our duck hunting,” said Anger. “I think we made about 15 together the first time.” By the 1960s Anger was working at a full time job with Hiram Walker & Sons Limited, but now he is becoming an underground celebrity. Anger’s homemade decoys are being popularized by hunters and decorators. While other manufacturers were producing smooth blocks of wood that had been painted, Anger’s were far more realistic. Some would be cut in half and carved hollow, making them lighter when they float in the water. “I would use white cedar for the bodies and pine for the heads. That’s best for the details,” said Anger. The white cedar I would have to take from telephone poles that had fallen.” This decoy is 14.75 inches long and weighs a hefty 3 pounds and 6.2 ounces. All original and stamped and signed by Adam Anger. This is a solid heavy decoy with keel and weight. I can ship for flatv$20 to continental US. My choice USPS Ground advantage or UPS least expensive route. Please refer to the many pics for overall condition. Thanks for looking.