Left side of Mason Decoy Factory whistler drake decoy, premier grade
1 2017-08-04T12:15:14-07:00 Nancie Ravenel bc84e2b969fab7c5f039797f42318c7fcfc8159b 4136 2 Mason Decoy Factory (Detroit, Michigan, 1896-1924) Whistler Drake Decoy, ca. 1900 Wood, paint, and glass Museum purchase, acquired from Richard H. Moeller, 1956-707.118 plain 2017-08-07T05:25:46-07:00 1956-707.118 Shelburne Museum Nancie Ravenel bc84e2b969fab7c5f039797f42318c7fcfc8159bThis page has tags:
- 1 2015-02-01T12:15:14-08:00 Nancie Ravenel bc84e2b969fab7c5f039797f42318c7fcfc8159b Decoys included in this project Nancie Ravenel 52 The rationale behind which decoys were included in the project. gallery 118948 2017-08-07T05:28:30-07:00 Nancie Ravenel bc84e2b969fab7c5f039797f42318c7fcfc8159b
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- 1 2017-08-04T08:14:43-07:00 Mason Decoy Factory (1896-1924) 7 Detroit, MI. plain 2017-09-10T07:15:43-07:00 42.331429, -83.045753 The company factory was started by William Mason in 1896 in a shed behind his Detroit home. As the business grew, it moved twice before closing in 1924. The factory produced decoys in various grades, or levels of complexity. These included Premier, Challenge, No.1 Glass Eye, No. 2 Tack Eye, and No. 3 Painted Eye. (Ward Museum) The Premier grade decoy examined for this project has glass eyes.
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2017-08-04T09:18:37-07:00
Premier grade whistler drake decoy, 1956-707.118
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Made c. 1900 by the Mason Decoy Factory, Detroit, MI
plain
2017-08-04T13:24:04-07:00
The radiographs show that the decoy is made of 3 pieces of wood, a head, an upper body and the lower body. The upper and lower body appear to have been carved as a single piece of wood and then split using a bandsaw, as suggested by the tool marks in the posterior-anterior image. The posterior-anterior image also shows that the glass eyes are enclosed within a metal jacket.
The lateral radiographic image shows that the body was hollowed using what appears to be a Forstener bit, and that the two halves of the body are secured with adhesive and finishing nails. The head is secured to the body with a wood dowel secured with a metal pin in the neck, as seen in the lateral image.
The lower half of the body also appears to have been hollowed using a Forstener bit applied with a wagging or angled motion to speed clearance, as evidenced by the shapes of the drill bit mark centers in a slice from a medical digital tomograph scan in the axial direction. Lateral slices from the digital tomograph scan provide an even clearer view of the bit mark, with a pointed center and a cutting tooth on the outer perimeter of the bit.
Digital medical tomograph take an x-ray image in a 10 degree sweep. The computer divides the resulting signal into slices. Features that are in the same plane as the slice are in focus. Those that are not appear blurry and less visible. This allows us to see beyond some of the features that are visible in the standard radiograph.
