Full Description
Part documentary, part nostalgic history, and part informational catalogue, Waterfowling on the Chesapeake, 1819-1936 explores a century of hunting on the Chesapeake Bay and its major tributaries-from the heyday of gun clubs and market shooting to the rise of conservation law. Drawing on oral histories and period documents and artifacts, C. John Sullivan, a longtime collector of decoys and hunting paraphernalia and a frequent guest curator of exhibits, looks at the effects of technological change, the relationship between hunter and dog, the recognition of decoys as folk art, and the history of hunting. He also introduces us to famous and lesser-known carvers and others who share an enthusiasm for this feature of Chesapeake cultural history and life.
Contents
Contents:Acknowledgments Prologue On Entering the Becks' GarageTales From the Days of Plenty The Gunning Clubs Shooting Methods The Era of the Sinkbox Chesapeake Bay Retrievers Waterfowling Firearms Protecting a Maryland Tradition Legislative Time LineFolk Art Duck Decoys In the Shop of Paul Gibson Collecting Decoys in Harford County Branded Decoys Teal of the Upper Chesapeake A Whiteness of SwansPortraits of Carvers Charles Nelson Barnard Robert F. McGaw, Jr. Samuel Treadway Barnes The Hollys of Havre de Grace The Grahams of Charleston The Crisfield Carvers The Unknown CarverEpilogue Advice to a CollectorAppendix Maryland Decoy Carvers Sources Index
