Hollow Canvasback Pair
Christopher C. Smith (1861-1938)
Algonac, MI, c. 1910
16 in. long

A pair of hollow St. Clair Flats decoys with glass eyes and bottom-board construction. The hen has a turned head.

In addition to carving decoys, Chris Smith is widely known for his boat building skills. As market gunners, Chris and his older brother, Henry, made the decoys and boats out of necessity. The maker would go on to found a company named Chris Craft, which produced the Miss America boats that dominated races held on the Detroit River, along with a myriad of other prominent yacht designs.

Chris and his brother often sourced their wood for decoys from boats that were passing Algonac. According to local lore, ships’ captains would throw logs overboard for the brothers. Based on his hunting experience of trying to load many decoys in a small boat, he carved hollow decoys which were well-suited to that purpose. Smith's works represent the primary species that were hunted in his home waters: black ducks, scaup, canvasbacks, pintails, redheads, and whistlers.
As found.

Provenance: Len Carnaghi Collection

Literature: Gene and Linda Kangas, "Decoys: A North American Survey," Spanish Fork, UT, 1983, p. 187.