Conklin worked as a boat captain on the St. Lawrence, a hunting guide and a carpenter. Having an artistic [...] Click here to continue reading.]]>

Roy Conklin, Master Duck Carver

A native of New York’s Alexandria Bay on the St. Lawrence River, Roy Conklin, born in 1909, was a self-described “jack-of-trades”, as a young man coming to maturity during the Great Depression in a small town and rural environment.

Conklin worked as a boat captain on the St. Lawrence, a hunting guide and a carpenter. Having an artistic bent, he spent some time taking art classes at Columbia University and working in the printing operation of a city newspaper. However his love of hunting, fishing and the St. Lawrence river brought him back to the town of Ogdenburg where he settled and worked, primarily as a carpenter.

A whittler on the side, Conklin was a student of the legendary decoy carver Chauncey Wheeler (died 1937), who taught him the basics of carving. Conklin began his thirty-year carrer in duck carving in 1930 about the time of greater interest in ornamental models of ducks for display in homes rather than the traditional decoys for duck hunting. He made these models a specialty and was particularly innovative in carving longer, thinner necks and in using bolder colors in painting the carving. Rather than concentrating on feather painting as popular in earlier times Conklin frequently used a comb-like device to run along the freshly painted back of the duck to simulate feathers.

With this skill, artistry and innovation Conklin built up a business sufficient to carry him through the Depression. He was one of the principle carvers to introduce the half-model duck in flight for use as a wall mount. These were wildly, and widely popular, attracting orders from the likes of Abercrombie & Fitch in New York and Harrods of London. Business was so strong that Conklin hired his father and brother to help with the carving and painting.

Today collectors of birds and waterfowl carvings prize Conklin’s work for its innovation and form and consider him to be the most artistic of all the St. Lawrence river carvers.

Information for this reference note was collected from local press reports from the 1930′s, and from the book The Great Book of Wildfowl Decoys by Joe Engers and Bill Bruckner, 2000, The Lyons Press, New York, a principle reference work in this field.

Reference note by p4A editorial staff, November 2011.

In 1898 the English Family Cottage was built in Beach Haven, New Jersey. This Victorian Cottage was initially owned by our consignor’s grandmother and her three sisters.

Apparently Chris Sprague’s father (who was also a [...] Click here to continue reading.]]> Chris Sprague (1887 – 1982) Decoy Carver

This collection of Chris Sprague decoys has been consigned by a single consignor (Alderfer Auction June 16, 2007). Chris Sprague was an old family friend and remained so for nearly 80 years.

In 1898 the English Family Cottage was built in Beach Haven, New Jersey. This Victorian Cottage was initially owned by our consignor’s grandmother and her three sisters.

Apparently Chris Sprague’s father (who was also a decoy carver) was the initial caretaker at the cottage during the 1890′s. According to family memory, the father died circa 1900 and Chris Sprague assumed the caretaker’s responsibilities at the cottage, working primarily as the painter and sash cord repairer.

As the years progressed Chris became quite close with the Simonin Family. During the summertime he became a regular Simonin Family weekly dinner guest, primarily because he loved our consignor’s grandmother’s cooking. He would often carve decoy heads while waiting for dinner to be served. Apparently he was also attracted to Mrs. Simonin’s rice pudding as well and he continued attending family summer dinners until the late 1970′s to the early 1980′s, just prior to his death.

Although a few decoys were purchased directly from Chris Sprague, the majority were received as Christmas gifts when Chris Sprague would visit the Simonin Family in Philadelphia over the Christmas or New Year’s Holiday.

The family remembers Chris Sprague carving decoys until just before his death in 1982.

Information courtesy of Alderfer’s Auction & Appraisal, June 2007