Antique decoy resesarch , I am a antique Decoy & I will help you with all your question. Is your decoy valuable?

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Thanks for looking at my antique decoy story and my self-help information data. So you have an old decoy and you wonder if it’s a good one! If you have enjoyed your old wooden decoys for years, may have just been given a few, a family member has left them to you or you know someone that does. I will help you! I have helped people like you for over 30 years. Please e-mail me a picture & I will send you free research data for each old decoy. I am please to let you know the value, who made it, when and where. Its been a great few months with dozens of amazing decoy pictures e-mailed to us from all over North America. The most valuable were a set of 5 shorebirds from the east coast worth about $4,000.00 each. Some of the more unique ones were a swan, some crows and hundreds of great duck decoys. We helped with several large collections. The largest was over 200 old decoys, collected over 40 years. The most hart braking was a family sold off their late fathers collection for a few hundred and it was worth several thousand. Please don't be shy about sending us your pictures. We will get back to you in a few days with some great research data. Its all free. We are pleased to help other outdoors people! On with the “DECOY DATA”. Hello Folks I would like help you readers learn more about your old wooden decoys. I am a volunteer of a different and "DUCKY" sort. I enjoy helping out total strangers daily. I enjoy giving back to others that enjoy old decoys! So many outdoors people have helped me over my lifetime it time for me to give back. Please have a look at my decoy data. Please add my e-mail & or phone number so folks can find me or I would be willing to help in any way. I am not a writer and expect no payment from you for my data or for helping the dozens of folks from all over the world, that call on me weekly. Please feel free to e-mail me or call any time. I will do my best to help your readers with honesty and consideration. Thank very much. Steven Lloyd The National Decoy Information Centre 1-613-922-7000 e-mail lqqklake@aol.com I have a life long passion for studying Old Canadian hunting decoys and helping people world wide with their old bird. Thousands of Cottages threw out North America have old wooden bird decoys on display of hidden under, over or outback. They can be a valuable treasure that is often mistaken for just a hunters old ducks. As you find yourself reading this article on old bird decoys I sincerely hope you enjoy my thoughts on my life's passion. I hope you consider this, my gift of knowledge to other outdoors people. It is my hope to empower old hunters and their families to make a more informed choice when considering what to do with old decoys. Please look at the old decoys you may have still in a potato sack or crate as an art form desired by international collectors not just your old blocks. My Passion What a great journey it's been 30 + years of studying old wooden decoys from all over the world & helping people evaluate their decoys always free of charge. I am semi-retired and thrilled about the many folks that contact me everyday from all parts of North America. I enjoy giving back for all I have been given in life. My payment has been countless new friends and more knowledge on our Historical Canadian Decoys. Your old wooden duck goose even shorebird decoys may be priceless to you for sentimental reasons or could be some of the valuable antique decoys the millionaire collectors are hoping to find. Find out by simply mailing or e-mailing a picture of your old birds. I know that all of you reading this have dreamed of finding treasure in some form, as we wonder with anticipation from antique shops to flea markets and to the Internet. Too many folks have overlooked the value of old wooden decoys pushed into an old basket in a corner. My goal is to help you all see the possibilities of your old decoys. For years, I have been called Canada's Foremost Authority on Historical Decoys by much of North America's media, The Toronto Star, The Ottawa Citizen, Global News, CBC TV, CTV TV, CJOH TV, PBS, and so many more. Decoy History The history of decoys in North America dates back at lest 2000 years. Wow most people didn't realise that. Decoys are noted even farther back in other parts of the world like early Egypt. The oldest decoys in North America are housed in the Smithsonian Museum. These unique bird replicas were found in an Arizona cave and were dated with native pottery pieces found alongside. Our traditional wooden decoys were primarily made in the mid 1800's to the mind 1900's. In the last 100 years decoy means many things to many different people. To most is an artificial duck or bird carved of wood. To hunters it is a tool required for successful waterfowling. To Collectors it means a desired folk art. To Antique dealers it is a supplemented income and a wonderful accent to country furniture. To Steven Lloyd it is his life long study and passion. What if your decoys could talk? A famous saying often used when talking about decoys is If only this old bird could talk, imagine the stories it would tell. If you have enjoyed your decoys in your home or cottage, THATS GREAT but I'm sure you have wondered what all of us decoy owners have. What about the history? Who made this decoy? Where is it from? Where has it been used? How did it get here? Why was it made this way? What kind of duck is it? Who owned it? Is it documented? Whose initials are on the bottom? Is it valuable? Would a museum want my decoy? Most of these questions can be answered, some easier than others. You can start by sending a picture of your decoys to Steven. As a well seasoned decoy researcher and Canada's foremost Authority on decoys he can often answer many of these questions with a glance of your decoy. The Word Decoy: 1 a bird or mammal, or an imitation of one, used by hunters to lure game. 2 a thing used to mislead or lure someone into a trap. 3 a pond from which narrow netted channels lead, into which wild duck may be enticed for capture. Verb lure by means of a decoy. Decoys are a functional tool primary that was used with as many as 300 similar blocks to lure in wild birds to excited waiting hunters. To day, many decoys are still used for hunting but many thousands have been retired and are being used in Antique shops to lure in wild decoy collectors, excited about finding the next treasure. Like the early hunters that had different opinions about what was the best decoy and how they should be used. Today's collectors have similar opinions on what decoys are treasures or trash. In the most early days of decoys they were primitively constructed from materials on hand, marsh grass, tamarack, mud, twigs even animal skins. All usually had a few found feathers of wild birds to add colour and texture. From the mid 1800's to 1918 was the glory years of decoys. Thousands of decoys were carved out. The market hunters were in full flight and the demand for wooden decoys was higher than what could be supplied. There were many individual carvers that sold decoys but soon factories took the overflow. The Mason, Dodge, Stevens, Victor, and Peterborough Decoy Companies were some of the many ones. The die-hard men hunting day after day. Many even in spring and fall. It's a known fact that many of these outdoors men prided themselves on hitting three or more ducks per shot on a regular basis. Then unfortunately for the waterfowl there was the invention of the punt gun. It was like a small canon that was bolted to the duck boat and could shoot dozens per shot. In these days ducks were an important source of food for early families. Many for the commercial hunters also sold at a market. The folks would go into town and sell the days hunt often by the pair. The ducks were also shipped in barrels by rail to larger centres. In early days it was common in all the upscale restaurants to order a wild duck dinner or in some areas geese, swans, even shorebirds. Criteria for Evaluation & Appraising Old Decoys Most collector and investors agree on the following criteria. 1 Condition, as perfect as when it was originally made. 2 Damage, rule of the thumb the more damage the more the value drops. 3 The carver, the decoys of well-known carvers often bring higher prices. 4 Documentation, decoys that are documented are usually more desirable 5 Rarity, of the decoy, by specie, construction, or numbers produced. 6 Folk art, unique construction or a creative pose often catches a different eye. 7 Matching pairs or sets of birds appeals to many collectors & investors. 8 Museums often have interest in documented & unique decoys 9 Our economy if things are good in the world, decoys price are often up. 10 A Bird In Hand is true today as it was years ago. Collectors and researchers like myself often only get one opportunity in a life time to buy a dream decoy. We often have dreamed of a certain bird is still out there. So yes, I have paid much more than market price for a few dream decoys in my collection. What has happened to the thousands of decoys? Do these stories sound familiar? 1 I lent them to a hunting buddy & they never found their way home. 2 I left them in my duck boat on the shore, in the morning they were gone. 3 I once had a great retriever but she loves eating the bills off decoys. Before my great retriever I had great decoys. 4 A great storm came up fast from the Northwest and swept them all out to sea. 5 They looked so real they were shot into tooth picks! 6 My great old hollowed body decoys sank! 7 I gave them to my son & nephew. 8 I sold them for $2.00 each, year