a few favorite decoys

The first 3 photos show a blue bill pair by Addie Nichol, Smith's Falls, ON, Canada, made c. 1925. Meticulous, detailed carving for something meant solely for hunting. Light, hollow-carved, with a thin-shelled body and inset bottom board, these decoys weigh about half a pound. These exact decoys are pictured and described in the book "Nichol Decoys: The Smiths Falls School of Carving", by Gates, Mewburn & Reeve, the authoritative resource material on decoys of this area. The last photo shows a pair of hooded mergansers reputedly made by Sam Hutchings, c, 1910, although there is reason to believe they are a generation older, and perhaps by an earlier member of the family. Only a dozen known to exist, and uniquely made with their cross-hatched surface carving. Hutchings lived near Chaffey's Locks, ON, on the Rideau Canal system.