Inside Decoys from Shelburne MuseumMain MenuDecoy MakingMakers represented in this projectDecoys included in this projectThe rationale behind which decoys were included in the project.About the RadiographsThe nitty gritty about how the radiography was done.BibliographyCited works and works that informed this project.About the AuthorsAbout Nancie Ravenel and Lesley Day MirlingNancie Ravenelbc84e2b969fab7c5f039797f42318c7fcfc8159bLesley Day Mirling3670b61b9eba655d6cf36db8e509081714fc05b1Shelburne Museum
Lateral view radiograph of the front of the body from a Canada goose decoy made c. 1849 by Captain Charles Osgood
12017-08-04T12:31:15-07:00Nancie Ravenelbc84e2b969fab7c5f039797f42318c7fcfc8159b41363The radiograph was taken at the University of Vermont Medical Center Hospital. Captain Charles Osgood (Salem, Massachusetts, 1820-86) Canada Goose Decoy, ca. 1849 Wood, paint, metal, and leather Gift of Mrs. P.H.B. Frelinghuysen, 1953-301.1plain2017-08-06T05:55:19-07:001953-301.1Shelburne MuseumNancie Ravenelbc84e2b969fab7c5f039797f42318c7fcfc8159b
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12017-08-05T07:24:03-07:00Nancie Ravenelbc84e2b969fab7c5f039797f42318c7fcfc8159bMark in neck shelfNancie Ravenel1plain2017-08-05T07:24:04-07:00Nancie Ravenelbc84e2b969fab7c5f039797f42318c7fcfc8159b
12017-08-05T07:25:08-07:00Nancie Ravenelbc84e2b969fab7c5f039797f42318c7fcfc8159bAn example of radio-opaque fill above counter-sunk nails.Nancie Ravenel1plain2017-08-05T07:25:08-07:00Nancie Ravenelbc84e2b969fab7c5f039797f42318c7fcfc8159b
12017-08-04T10:53:26-07:00Canada Goose, 1953-301.117One of the five geese made by Captain Charles Osgood in Shelburne Museum's collection.image_header2017-08-06T17:17:01-07:00This goose has its head raised upwards and slightly turned to its right. The heads and bodies of Osgood's geese are connected with a brass knuckled hinge with wire pins. One side of the hinge is attached to the underside of the neck, and the other side is attached to the neck shelf on the body.
Because the body was larger than the digital target for the x-ray machine, the body had be imaged in two sections, front and rear.
As observed in normal light, the body is constructed from three pieces of wood held together with nails and that the head appears to be made from 5 pieces of wood, one large piece that makes up most of the head and neck and then added sections to make up the sides of the neck and the cheeks. The pieces are all held together with metal fasteners. However, as seen in the radiographs the continuous wood grain through the neck of the head may indicate the head was actually carved from a single piece of wood. The nails may have been added to prevent splitting as a result of short-grain construction in the cheeks and the lower parts of the neck.
The radiographs show that the nails in the head and body are cut nails. The nails are counter sunk, and a radio-opaque fill material is seen over each nail head in the body in the lateral view. A crack partially extends through the the proper left side of the neck. The eyes are made of metal tacks, and the nostrils are cut deeply into the bill.
Given the smooth edges of the hollow within the body, the observable tool marks suggest that the hollow was at least finished with chisels. The interior surface of the upper piece of wood has been thinned to an arch in the space just behind the neck to the tail. The smoothness of the inner surfaces is markedly different than the surfaces seen in other hollow constructed wooden decoys, notably the long-tailed hen by Charles "Shang" Wheeler and the premiere grade whistler drake by the Mason Decoy Factory. The front inner edge of the hollow appears to be a simple vertical, while the rear is thinned to complement the shape of the rear of the decoy. The bottom piece of wood is a board.
Wood plugs in the underside lead one to conclude that various kinds of attachments had once been attached to the underside of the decoy and are now removed and the means of attachment repaired. A single cylindrical lead plug extends from the underside into the hollow of the decoy, as seen in the lateral view radiograph images of the body.
The brass plate on the underside of the neck and the hinge that makes up the connection between the head and the body are attached to the wooden elements with threaded brass fasteners with slotted heads. The dotted Roman numeral "III" punched into the brass plate on the underside of the neck matches the mark on the body's neck shelf to the front of the attachment hinge. These marks are visible in normal light, but are also evident in the axial radiograph view of the head and the lateral radiograph view of the body.
