The Best! A Wigeon Drake and Hen Decoy Rigmate Pair
George Sibley--"Mr. X" (1861-1938), Chicago, IL, Ca. 1900

Hover over image for more detail. Click to magnify.

Rigmate pair of hollow carved wigeon with inlet bills, characteristic of Sibley decoys. Drake's head is turned 45 degrees. Hen is nearly mint; drake has minor flaking on back and one side of its head. Both retain 18i99 U.S. patent application stamp. Ex. Jim Cook collection.

And from the Wisconsin Decoy Asociation: The Sibley Decoy company was owned by father and son, James A. and George M. Sibley, of Chicago, Illinois. The Sibley Company began producing decoys in 1899 George was an avid waterfowler and one of the original members of the prestigious Hennepin Shooting Club on the Illinois river. George lived and worked in Chicago prior to his move in setting up his decoy factory in Whitehall, Michigan.

Sibley decoys were produced on a production line much like Mason decoys. The decoy parts were turned on a lathe, assembled, hand finished and painted. The uniqueness of the Sibley Decoy is in its hardwood inserted bill that is mitered into the head. This process was used to reduce bill breakage during use.

Collectors for many years were not able to identify the carver of the inletted bill decoys and just called them Mr. X decoys. Thanks is due to a collector in Illinois who came across an old Sibley advertising flyer who was able to clearly identify George Sibley as the carver.

If you have a Sibley, enjoy a classic piece of floating art that was made over 120 years ago.

Drake 13", hen 14" long.


$12,500
ITEM # 22148

 

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