Inside Decoys from Shelburne Museum
Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, VT houses one of the most significant collections of hunting decoys in the United States. A collection of collections, the basis was formed in 400 of the decoys collected by Joel Barber (1876-1952), architect, author, and illustrator of Wild Fowl Decoys. First published in 1934, Wild Fowl Decoys is considered a thorough account of American decoy making and the first work to discuss decoys as works of art. Though not a hunter, Barber began collecting decoys in 1919, and exhibited 116 of the works in his collection in an exhibition sponsored by Abercrombie and Fitch in 1932 (Chitwood 1987, 164).
Today the decoy collection at Shelburne Museum numbers around 1,200, and is comprised of game birds, shorebirds, fish, and amphibians made in the 19th and 20th centuries. Decoys made of painted wood, metal, textile, paper, and rubber are represented.
With the desire to learn more about these objects from a technical point of view, the conservator at the museum worked with radiological technologists Carol Kittredge and Michael Blakeslee at the University of Vermont Medical Center to image a few of the birds. The following is the result of some of that work.
Navigating this site
We chose to use Scalar to build this site chiefly for two reasons: it has great tools for annotating visual media, and it permits creation of multiple pathways for moving through information.
The articles on this site can be accessed by 3 different pathways: by fabrication method, by maker, or as a list arranged alphabetically by species. These paths are listed in the Contents below and can be accessed from any page by hovering over the three lined menu symbol in the upper left corner of your screen.
At the bottom and outer edges of each page, you'll find navigational links in blue and grey colored boxes or arrows that will help move you along these pathways. You can also search for terms within this site by clicking on the magnifying glass to the right of the title.
We hope you enjoy the site and look forward to your feedback.
Navigating this site
We chose to use Scalar to build this site chiefly for two reasons: it has great tools for annotating visual media, and it permits creation of multiple pathways for moving through information.
The articles on this site can be accessed by 3 different pathways: by fabrication method, by maker, or as a list arranged alphabetically by species. These paths are listed in the Contents below and can be accessed from any page by hovering over the three lined menu symbol in the upper left corner of your screen.
At the bottom and outer edges of each page, you'll find navigational links in blue and grey colored boxes or arrows that will help move you along these pathways. You can also search for terms within this site by clicking on the magnifying glass to the right of the title.
We hope you enjoy the site and look forward to your feedback.
