Inside Decoys from Shelburne Museum

Whistler Hen 1952-192.216; 27.FD14-4-B


Though this decoy is attributed to Benjamin Holmes, it is thought that the head was replaced by Charles “Shang” Wheeler. No inscriptions or marks are noted on this decoy, apart from the accession and catalog numbers applied at the museum. This decoy was formerly in Joel Barber's collection, but is not depicted in Wild Fowl Decoys.

The head appears to be a replacement, but it cannot be determined at this time whether it was made by Shang Wheeler. It was constructed from a single block of wood and is held to the body with four finishing nails in a similar fashion seen on the Whistler Drake. There is no central fastener within the neck of the decoy. There is a notable gap between the head and the body. Vestiges of the shank-end of a nail which likely held the previous head remains in the decoy’s breast and is seen in the lateral view radiograph. 

The eyes are missing, with vestiges of iron split tacks remaining at the center of depressions carved into either side of the head.

The body is made of two pieces of wood. The base board is approximately 3/4 inches thick (2 cm.) . Cut nails, approximately 3 cm in length and spaced 5/8 inches to 1 inch (1.75 to 2.5 cm.) apart, hold the bottom board in place. The nails placed at the front and rear of the decoy’s body have rusted, resulting in brown stains on the paint in these areas. A tear-drop shaped weight is held to the underside of the decoy with a slotted flat head screw. The leather loop at the front of the decoy’s underside is secured with a brass oval headed slotted screw.

A square-shaped wooden base was nailed to the underside of the decoy at some point in its history. This prevents the decoy from resting directly on the lead weight attached to the underside.

This page has paths:

This page references: