Impressive the flock would have been – large, elegant decoys; graceful, arched necks; and bold, massive heads of the European mute swan. Rare, unique, and historically important… the Dodge swans of the St. Clair Flats. This swan decoy was purchased by Bruce Malcolm in the 1980s from W.R. Miller of Ottawa and, subsequently, was acquired by Peter Brown. “Bill” was an early decoy collector, waterfowl biologist, and enforcement supervisor with the Canadian Wildlife Service in Ottawa, Ontario. Miller indicated that he acquired the decoy in 1962 from the manager of the St. Clair Flats Shooting Company. The decoy, one of two owned by Miller, was one of several swan decoys used in the Mitchells Bay area of Southwestern Ontario in the late 1880s. Several of the Mitchells Bay swan decoys made their way to the St. Clair Flats Shooting Company.
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437. Very rare hollow carved swan, Dodge Decoy Factory, Detroit, Michigan, last quarter 19th century. Old in use repaint; filled crack in one side; thin crack in the other; neck filler is rough.
Provenance: Peter Brown collection. Purchased from Bruce Malcolm.
Literature: “Traditions in Wood,” Patsy Fleming, editor, p. 19. “Decoys of Mississippi Flyway,” Alan Haid, p. 65. (3,000 - 4,000)
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