LaMay Gallery ~ Welcome Gallery ~ Decoy Study

Congratulations to all of our winners! Click here to download lists of all winners after 2004. To see the 2003 World winners, Click here. To see many other fine wildfowl carvings, sculptures and paintings, visit the Ward Museum in person, and don't miss the 39th annual Ward World Championship Wildfowl Carving Competition, April 24-27 2009 in Ocean City!

This display demonstrates the evolution of gunpowder and shotgun shells from 1860 to 1940 as it relates to the market and sport gunners from that era.

From the first settlers until just after the Civil War, long barreled muzzle loading single shot fowlers and double barrel shotguns were used to harvest waterfowl. Both used black powder and many had large gauges of 8 and above. They were heavy and cumbersome. By 1890 gunners were taking full advantage of the new improved smokeless powders being produced by manufacturers such as Du Pont, King, Hazard and Lafkin & Rand. All of the powder cans displayed are from that time period. Many hunters were still using muzzle loading shotguns but the new powders reduced the need for extra large gauges. 10 and 12 gauge then became the norm. It was not uncommon for the sink box market hunters to employ two double shotguns, enabling them to get off four shots into an incoming flock.

Around 1890 breech loading shotguns were becoming available, especially to the wealthy city sports that were forming gun clubs, buying up or leasing the best gunning grounds up and down the East Coast. Many reloaded brass cases that could be used many times over. The two reloading boxes displayed would have held all the necessary items needed for that purpose.

Any discussion of Long Island cork decoys must begin with some definitions. In general there are three kinds of cork and high density cork. The latter is a development of the second half of the 20th century and decoys made from it would be considered contemporary and not within the scope of this exhibit.

White cork is the bark of the cork oak, a tree indigenous to the Iberian Peninsula of Southern Europe. It is the stuff of wine corks. Cork came to be used in the manufacture of life vests used on all manner of sailing vessels in the middle of the 19th century. The cotton, however, deteriorated quickly and many were thrown overboard. Many washed ashore along the Atlantic coast beaches. Early decoy historians tell us that individuals were using cork to make decoys well before 1900. These early cork stool were usually pieced together from several pieces of cork. As time passed carvers began to purchase cork in bales, thus getting larger and thicker pieces with which to work. White cork stool were made in considerable numbers until World War II. In general, these white cork decoys are today's collectables.

Black cork refers to the thick sheets of coarsely grained cork, glued and pressed together to form insulation for walk in refrigerators. The material turned out to be a terrible choice for decoys, as the glue dissolved in salt water and the decoys broke apart and crumbled to pieces.

By the 1940's a denser form of black cork came into production with vastly improved glues and fine sized cork granules was available in four foot sheets. Many Long Island hunters were taught to make black ducks, mallards, broadbills and geese of these materials by Long Island's Al McCormick of Westbury who set up shop at early Long Island decoy shows. Others used Paul Casson's book Decoys Simplified to make their own rigs.