Vintage Herter ' S Balsa Wood Pintail Drake Decoy
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:23751499 | Modified Item: No |
| Duck Type: Pintail | Country/Region of Manufacture: United States |
| Vintage: Yes | Material: Balsa Wood |
| Brand: Herters |
This is a vintage Herter's Pintail Drake Working Decoy. (There are no markings from the Herter's Company but we found a few examples of their other balsa decoys online and they were very similar to this one.) It is made with a body of balsa wood and a head of some type of hardwood, possibly pine. It has a lead anchor attached with a cord and on the underneath there is a wire attached to the decoy and a lead sinker type weight which we assume was some type of stabilize...r. The head has extra detail in its carving which is visible in the photos but possibly it and the decoy have had some repaint touchup. At places the paint is worn through to the balsa wood on the body and there is a small crack in the body that appears to be where the wood was laminated. It is close to life size: 15.5 inches long, 5.5 inches wide, 6 inches tall, and quite light, weighing 1 pound, 4 ounces with the lead anchor.
Herter's made these decoys, we believe, during the 1940's, early 50's, before other materials such as styrofoam and plastic became widely used. The balsa wood was very light which made them attractive to hunters carrying a number of decoys into the field. But it was also very soft and subject to denting, and generally getting beat up. We searched but were unable to find any other Herter's balsa wood pintail decoys being offered anywhere... which surprised us. But probably the market for pintail decoys is less than many other types of ducks so fewer would have been sold. Anyway, we thought it might appeal to a collector of Herter's Decoys plus it would appeal to anyone looking for old working decoys that are a bit unusual. Pricing is difficult as we could not find any others. Please look it over and we invite your offer. (Also, we always appreciate hearing from someone with more knowledge about our items being offered.) We can ship it within the U.S. for under $10.00 and accept returns for any reason.
Herter's made these decoys, we believe, during the 1940's, early 50's, before other materials such as styrofoam and plastic became widely used. The balsa wood was very light which made them attractive to hunters carrying a number of decoys into the field. But it was also very soft and subject to denting, and generally getting beat up. We searched but were unable to find any other Herter's balsa wood pintail decoys being offered anywhere... which surprised us. But probably the market for pintail decoys is less than many other types of ducks so fewer would have been sold. Anyway, we thought it might appeal to a collector of Herter's Decoys plus it would appeal to anyone looking for old working decoys that are a bit unusual. Pricing is difficult as we could not find any others. Please look it over and we invite your offer. (Also, we always appreciate hearing from someone with more knowledge about our items being offered.) We can ship it within the U.S. for under $10.00 and accept returns for any reason.
