''Wild Fowl Decoys'' is an art
reference book
A reference work is a work, such as a paper, book or periodical (or their electronic equivalents), to which one can refer for information. The information is intended to be found quickly when needed. Such works are usually ''referred'' to f ...
by American collector
Joel Barber. It was the first book that was published on decoys and decoy collecting. It was first published in
1934
Events
January–February
* January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established.
* January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...
by Eugene V. Connett III by the original Derrydale Press. As were almost all original Derrydale Press books, it was published as a limited edition. This first edition typically sells for thousands of dollars. A subsequent edition was published by Windward House.
The book has been re-printed a number of times, notably two years after Barber's death in 1952, by Dover Books. More recently, the book has been reprinted in 1989 and 2000 by resurrections of the
Derrydale Press
The Derrydale Press was an American book publishing company founded in 1927 with headquarters on Park Ave. in Manhattan, New York. It was the creation of Princeton University graduate Eugene V. Connett III (1891–1969). He told ''Time'' magazine ...
.
This heavily illustrated book aimed to be a comprehensive guide to the carved wooden
duck decoy. Used by early American
waterfowl hunters, this type of decoy was promoted by the author as a form of
folk art. The book is considered by art historians to be the first on the subject, and was a bible to decoy collectors throughout the 20th century. The watercolor illustrations painted by Barber for the book are in the collection of the
Shelburne Museum
Shelburne Museum is a museum of art, design, and Americana located in Shelburne, Vermont, United States. Over 150,000 works are exhibited in 39 exhibition buildings, 25 of which are historic and were relocated to the museum grounds. It is located ...
.
as is much of Barber's collection.
See also
*
Joel Barber
*
Folk art
*
Duck hunting
Waterfowl hunting (also called wildfowling or waterfowl shooting in the UK) is the practice of hunting ducks, geese, or other waterfowl for food and sport.
Many types of ducks and geese share the same habitat, have overlapping or identical hunt ...
*
Duck decoy (model)
References
External links
''Wild Fowl Decoys''- available from Powells.com
- Robert Shaw
Midwest Decoy Collectors AssociationThe de facto international decoy collectors group
1934 non-fiction books
American folk art
Encyclopedias of art
Decoys
{{art-book-stub