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function passparaSC(){return '&baseurl='+ escape((function(){var d = return d })()) + RARE "SUPERB ONTARIO" c1910 DOLSON FAMILY-STYLE 'HEN CANVASBACK" Wood Duck Decoy a.imagelink {color:#efe2ae;} a:hover.imagelink {color:#efe2ae;} a:visited.imagelink {color:#000000;} a.imagelink img.saleimage { border: 2px solid #efe2ae; } a:visited.imagelink img.saleimage { border: 2px solid #000000; } Description

BELOW is a PICTURE of a SOMEWHAT FOLKY, ROGER DOLSEN CANVASBACK DUCK DECOY  -pictured with- A WONDERFULLY HOLLOWED, J. R. WELLS BLACK DUCK!!!  These decoys were Carved Roughly During the Same Time Period as this Neat Hen Canvasback Up For sale!!

(BELOW):  THIS VERY NEAT HEN CANVASBACK UP FOR sale HAS ALMOST THE EXACT SAME STYLE & FORM TO THE DECOYS MADE BY FRANK & ROGER DOLSON of CHATHAM, ONTARIO, CANADA!!  (see Information on Roger Below)

ROGER DOLSON (1911-1979) Chatham, Canada

(CHATHAM, KENT COUNTY, ONTARIO, CANADA)
BORN: July 22, 1911 in Chatham, Kent, Ontario, Canada.

DIED:  Sept 2, 1979 in Chatham.

PICTURE BELOW;  VINTAGE PHOTO of ROGER FREDERICK DOLSON and HIS WIFE WINNIFRED EDNA (nee PARKER).

 

SUPERB, 104-YEAR OLD, OUTSTANDING CONDITION;  c1910  DOLSEN FAMILY-STYLED;  "FULLY RIGGED",  HEN CANVASBACK;  WOOD DUCK DECOY;  CHATHAM, ONTARIO, CANADA  (ROGER WAS the SON OF FRED DOLSEN & COUSIN of FRANK DOLSEN)

• AWESOME,PERFECTLY FORMED WESTERN ONTARIO, CANADA GUNNING DECOY!!!!
• OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL PAINT on the ENTIRE DECOY with Very Small and Scattered Traces of Old, In-Use Gunning Touch-Up!!!!
• PERFECT ANTIQUE, IMPORTED RED GLASS EYES!!
• SUPERB OVERALL CONDITION -and- STRUCTURALLY PERFECT!!
• INCREDIBLE PATINA TO THE ORIGINAL PAINT; See Close Up Photos of This Awesome Head and the SUPERB PATINA to the ENTIRE SURFACE!!!

PERFECT BILL AND HEAD with JUST ABOUT THE MOST "STATELY" POSE YOU WILL SEE on an ONTARIO CANVASBACK DECOY; with an Almost "Uppity" Demeanor!!!

• Very Scarce Ontario Decoy that Was Carved with Flawless Symmetry and the Workmanship of a Deft Craftsman!1
• In this Condition and with this Dolson Family Form & Style, Makes This a Hard-to-Find & Very Early Chatham, Ontario and Martin Islands Region of Canada Decoy!!!

The First Thing That Caught My Eye Was How Awesome The Construction is on This Decoy!!  Every Single Element of this Decoy Fits Snugly to the Next Piece and Does it Precisely and Without a Single Gap Anywhere!

Additionally, The Style of This Decoy is So Flowing and the Lines Don't Stop to Rest Anywhere!!   The Symmetry in the Carving of This Decoy is So Precise That You'd Bet He Used a Micrometer at Times!

Lastly, The Condition of this Decoy Truly is Outstanding!!  There is obvious rubbing to the High Points on the Head, Bill and Tail From Picking It Up During Its Gunning Days, But At The Same Time You Have to Assume that it Was a very Well Cared for Member of a Gunner's best Rig!!!!!

SHIPPING INCLUDES INSURANCE

This 104 year old, Solid Cedar, Ontario Hen Canvasback wood duck decoy was carved in the Chatham, Ontario, area of south-central Canada, and it is quite similar to the decoys made by the Dolsen family which has roots that trace back to the late 1700's in that region of Ontario, Canada.

THE VON DOLZEN'S, DOLSEN'S & DOLSON'S....Early Settlers of Martin Island, the Thames River and Lake St. Clair!!

Around 1785, friction was building between Canada West and the United States. Also around this time, Johannes "John" Von Dolzen (1702-1783), much like other British loyalists, sailed to North America to settle land that was offered to the loyalists by King George III. John Von Dolzen was a descendant of Jan Gerritzen van Dalsen who arrived in America in 1640. John Von Dolzen made the crossing into Canada near Detroit and followed the shoreline of Lake St. Clair and the River Thames. Von Dolzen and his two sons, Mathew (1749-1813)and Isaac (5/26/1739 - 10/15/1815)would end up being some of the earliest farming-settlers near the Thames River fork at Chatham, Ontario. In the coming years, the Van Dolzens developed a very significant farming enterprise, and even supplied the North West Company with grains, lumber and shipping apples throughout the British Empire. This was a major foothold for the family, and many generations later, his great-great grandchildren and their children (anglicized to Dolsen) were still farming in Kent County and still actively gunning for waterfowl on Lake St. Clair.

THE GRAY AREA ON THE LEFT SHOWS CHATHAM and the SURROUNDING AREA. THIS is Where the DOLSEN FAMILY FARMED, FISHED & GUNNED FOR WATERFOWL BEGINNING!!!  THIS IS ALSO WHERE THIS VERY NEAT HEN CANVASBACK UP FOR sale IS FROM!1

The Dolsen clan is believed to have done their earliest waterfowling in the Thames marshes at Big, Baptiste and Jeanette creeks, as waterfowl was very plentiful in the area until the devastating drought of 1864. This weather phenomenon changed the landscape of most waterways and wetlands and forced the Dolsen's to venture further away from their immediate living area and other close-by gunning habitat. Isaac Dolsen had two sons, Jacob and Daniel, and both bore sons and further passed down the waterfowl gunning prowess to their sons and further down the line. Probably two of the earlier and most important family members as far as decoy carving is concerned, were Fred Alexander Dolson (1868-1947) and his second cousin Richard Perry Dolsen (1856-1941). Both Fred Dolson and Richard Dolsen lived and farmed just a few miles apart on the Raleigh Township side of the Thames River, just west of Chatham. It was also around the turn of the century (1900), that Richard Perry Dolsen and Fred Dolson erected a small shanty on one of the Martin Islands as a home base for sneak gunning. This location at the mouth of the Chenal Ecarte, which was right in the thick of things as far as areas where diver ducks staged up, mid-migrations they rested and fed in this area before continuing on south when the weather or mother nature came calling to push them further on. Also around 1900, a group of Dolsens, cousins and friends each chipped in $10.00 and put up their hunting shanty equipped with the basic necessities as bunks and a pot-belly stove. It is believed that prior to this permanent-built shanty was their first "established" base, and prior to this they had simple portable facilities like many other temporary resident lake St. Clair waterfowl gunners.

THE ABOVE GRID SHOWS WHERE RICHARD PERRY DOLSEN FALLS INTO THE CHRONOLOGY OF CANADIAN AND AMERICAN DECOY CARVERS!!

THE ABOVE PHOTO is of a RICHARD PERRY DOLSON CANVASBACK; THE OBVIOUS TEMPLATE that ROGER and FRANK WOULD FOLLOW DECADES LATER!! THIS DECOY WAS FOUND in HIS SON FRANK'S RIG DECADES AFTER BEING MADE IN c1900!!

• This Early Canvasback Exhibits the Basic Form That Would Be Associated with the Dolsen's Including the Very Stylized High Cocked, Neck and Head along with the Much Accentuated Humped Back!!

When fall would arrive, and usually on or just after the October Harvest Moon, Fred Dolson and Richard Dolsen made their journey via boat to their hunting grounds. On the first day of their journey they would typically row or sail down the Thames River until they reached the mouth of the river on Lake St. Clair, and once there they would set up their rig in what is now known as the Bradley Marshes, for an evening shoot. The second day they would typically row or sail, if the wind was favorable, northeast along the shore of Lake St. Clair to the point where the Dover Marshes and St. Luke's marshes. Once here they would again work in an evening hunt and then spend the night in that area. At first light, they would again work their way north along Lake St. Clair and then Fred Dolson and second cousin Richard Dolsen along the Big Point marshes to Mitchell's Point (now Tic Tac). Finally, with the weather cooperating, they would sail or row across the bay mouth to the Martin Islands, which in all was a 3 or 4 day row and sail in 14-foot sneak boats.

THE ABOVE PHOTO is of a TRADITIONAL ONTARIO SNEAK BOAT. THE MAJOR DIFFERENCE is that FRED and RICHARD PERRY DID NOT USE A MOTHER BOAT LIKE THE ABOVE PHOTO!!

Once they arrived at their shanty, they stayed thereon one of the Martin islands until late November, when they bay became frozen and the shooting died down to almost nothing.But for the entire time that the men were gone they lived off of the water, on fish and fowl, and they also had contact with the commercial fisherman from Detroit that they were able to buy necessities from.

As far as style is concerned, Fred's canvasbacks were a much more concise and cleanly carved decoy than Richard Perry's with more flowing neck and breast lines and with a not so exaggerated hump back. Most of Fred's decoys were never branded, although some have been found with a crude F.D. carved into the bottom. It is interesting that all of the Dolsen carvers used yellow for their eyes, except Richard Perry Dolsen's decoys.

ON THE MAP BELOW, JUST RIGHT & UP FROM THE CENTER is the MARTIN ISLANDS and the MOUTH of the CHENAL ECARTE! THIS IS WHERE FRED DOLSON and RICHARD PERRY DOLSEN ESTABLISHED THEIR SNEAK RIG HEADQUARTERS or BASE HUNTING SHANTY!!

THIS IS ALSO THE AREA WHERE THIS VERY NEAT HEN CANVASBACK DECOY UP FOR sale WAS MADE AND GUNNED OVER BY ITS MAKER!

 

A VERY IMPORTANT FOOTNOTE: The Original Last Name of VON DOLZEN was Anglicized to DOLSEN (with an "e")in the 1800's. All Ensuing Generations used this Spelling Except for Fred and his son Roger, as they officially changed the spelling of their last name to include an"o" in lieu of the "e". Their new last name was "DOLSON".

Probably the Most Interesting part of this Name Change was Because Fred and Roger were Tired of Having their Mail Getting Mixed Up with that of their Nearby Relatives Richard (Perry) and his son Frank; and Mis-Delivered!!!

THE DOLSON FAMILY DECOY CARVERS:

There are at least 4 of the Dolsen clan that can be identified as to have made decoys and when. Those 4 carvers are Perry (Richard) Dolsen (1856-1941), his second cousin Fred Dolson (1868-1947) and their respective sons, Frank and Roger. Perry's son's official name was Frank (Francis Alexander Dolsen 1900-1981), and Fred's son's official name was Roger (Roger Frederick Dolson 1911-1979). Roger was the man that made this awesome Drake Canvasback decoy up for sale. Fred and his son Roger were the most prolific Dolsons,each making a couple hundred decoys, and Fred the father also made sneak boats while his son Roger deviated from Making Waterfowl once to Create full rig of wooden crow decoys.

THE ABOVE PHOTO IS OF A RIG OF ROGER DOLSON'S CROW DECOYS!!

• They are the Only Known Crow Decoys From Kent County/Chatham!!
• Also, Notice Roger's Hook & Loop Rigging for Deploying a Group of these Very Gregarious Birds Quickly & Fred Dolson and his son Roger made primarily canvasbacks like this beautiful Roger Dolson canvasback up for sale, as canvasbacks were the primary duck sought for market and were deemed the best table fare, hence Canvasbacks were the principal quarry of the the Dolson's.

  ROGER'S FATHER FRED DOLSEN WAS the MOST PROLIFIC of ALL OF THE DOLSEN FAMILY MEMBERS; the ABOVE PHOTO SHOWS 2 OF HIS FINEST!!

  • The Form of His Decoys Was More Closely Followed By Nephew Frank and His Decoy's Than His Son Roger's IMPORTANT FOOTNOTE: ALL OF THE DOLSENS USED YELLOW EYES EXCEPT RICHARD PERRY DOLSEN (Frank's Father).

    Probably the Most Interesting Aspect of this is That a Canvasback's Eyes Don't Fully Redden Until the Bird's Reach Full CHART BELOW ILLUSTRATES A GOOD CHRONOLOGY of the TWO MOST FAMOUS FAMILY MEMBERS: COUSINS FRANK DOLSEN & ROGER DOLSON!!

    FRANK DOLSEN DECOY CARVER (1900-1981)!!

    Frank Dolsen's decoys are beautiful decoys, not quite as finely carved decoys as his Uncle Fred's, but with a little higher back and very attractive and "lovely"thin paint. Frank's drakes have a reversed Mason swirl where the white merges with the black paint of the tail, and gray wing bars with black lines that he used on both hens and drakes. In 1976, at the age of 76,Frank explained how Fred had helped him make his rig in 1919 when he was 19 years old. he still had 46 of the original total of 50 and they were in astoundingly nice condition and closely mirrored the available examples of Fred's canvasbacks. he also had a Mason Premier canvasback mixed in with the bunch, which in all likelihood was the inspiration for the Mason styled detail paint on the rear area of his drake canvasbacks. Frank also recalled at the time that, "the shooting went all to crap when they started using outboard motors on the bay in the30's", he he quit hunting. But with his love for the water and the marshlands, Frank continued to spend late spring to early fall in the old Shanty, right up until his death in 1981 at the age of 81. All of Frank's decoys have his carved in co-mingled "FAD" monogram.

    FRANK DOLSEN at the AGE OF 76 HOLDING ONE of the 50 CANVASBACKS THAT HE MADE!!!

    ABOVE IS A PHOTO OF 3OF THE50 TOTAL CANVASBACKS and ONLY RIG OF DECOYS THAT FRANK DOLSEN EVER MADE!!

    ABOVE is ANOTHER PHOTO OF A BEAUTIFUL FRANK DOLSEN CANVASBACK!!

    THE ANOTHER FINE FRANK DOLSEN CAN, THIS TIME A HEN!!!

    THE ANOTHER FINE FRANK DOLSEN CAN, NOTE THE REVERSE MASON PAINT SWIRLS NEAR THE REAR of this DRAKE CANVASBACK!!!

    ROGER DOLSON DECOY CARVER:

    • THE MAN THAT MADE THIS OUTSTANDING DRAKE CANVASBACK UP FOR sale!!!!

    ROGER FREDERICK DOLSON (1911-1979)

    Roger Dolson made both Canvasbacks and some Bluebills in the family style and very much like the decoys carved by his father Fred. Roger's decoys are thinner throughout the neck and head and have a slightly more exaggerated humped back. Roger's decoys however have cleaner lines that those made by his cousin Frank and Roger's decoys are also thicker in the tail. Much like his cousin's decoys, Roger's decoys have his nicely carved in and super-imposed or co-mingled"R.F.D." monogram on the bottom. Roger's legendary crow decoys were hollow-carved with no bottom board and a hole in the top to hang them from or to. Of more importance, is that these Roger Dolsen Crow decoys are the only decoys known to have been carved in all of Southwestern Ontario.

    Roger Dolson is the 6th generation of the Dolson families to live in or around the Chatham community and Thames area. He received his education at S.S. No. 6, Raleigh and Dover, Chatham Collegiate Institute and Canada Business College.Roger attended Providence Sunday School and received a religious book for perfect attendance when eleven years old from his teacher, Miss Evelyn Peel. He enjoyed the Trail Rangers directed by Rev. Hargreaves and Roger was an adjutant of Providence Church. On October 31, 1936 he married the former Winnifred Edna Parker at St. Andrews United Church, Chatham with Rev. Andrew Wood officiating and he was assisted by Rev. W. J. Preston.

    THE ABOVE PHOTO IS OF A STATELY ROGER DOLSEN CANVASBACK!!! NOTE THE SLIGHTLY MORE DELICATE AND SOMEWHAT THINNER NECK AND HEAD as COMPARED TO THE DECOYS BY COUSIN FRANK!!! ALSO, NOTE THE SLIGHTLY MORE PRONOUNCED HUMP TO THE BACK!!

    THE ABOVE PHOTO IS OF ANOTHER STATELY ROGER DOLSEN CANVASBACK!!! THIS DECOY IS VERY SIMILAR TO THIS BEAUTIFUL DECOY UP FOR sale, ALTHOUGH THIS CANVASBACK UP FOR sale HAS A SOFTER AND MORE BLENDED PAINT JOB COMPARED TO THE ONE ABOVE IN A CANVASBACK'S "WINTER WHITES".

    THE ABOVE PHOTO IS OF YOUNG ROGER ON THE FAMILY'S FRONT PORCH HOME in CHATHAM, ONTARIO!!

    THE ABOVE PHOTO IS OF ROGER DOLSEN WHILE IN GRADE SCHOOL with CLASS-MATES!!!

     

    ROGER DOLSON and FRANK'S DECOYS:

    While Roger and Frank's decoys had the obvious differences in style and form to the basic look of a "Dolsen" decoy, they still both branded their decoys to help in sorting out the blocks on hunting trips. As mentioned, Roger's decoys sported his "RAF" monogram for Roger Frederick Dolson and Frank's were clearly marked with his "FAD" moniker for Francis (Frank) Alexander Dolsen.

    FRANK ALEXANDER DOLSEN "FAD" HOT BRAND is Shown on the LEFT; -and- ROGER FREDERICK DOLSON'S "RFD" HOT BRAND on the RIGHT!!

    THE DOLSON FAMILY DECOY CARVING INFLUENCE & LEGACY:

    The Bold Dolsen Style and Form influenced a Great Many local carvers and decoy makers in and around Chatham, Ontario. The High Backed Canvasbacks like this Hen up for sale, had an excellent and exaggeratedly realistic profile that gave them outstanding visibility to far away ducks working the area. These decoys had a reassuring aura about them that not only drew in canvasbacks to begin with, but more importantly they kept the live birds sitting tight amongst them while the sneak shooters made their slow and calculated approach. Roger Dolson's father Fred was an especially friendly man who was always available to help fellow hunters make their decoys and encouraged young sportsmen to give waterfowl gunning a try.  Fred Dolsen was also an avid trap-shooter as well, shooting with the old Maple City Gun Club prior to 1905 and with Chatham Gun Club, which formed in 1909 with fellow carver Ike Moore and Ernie Brisco. Fred also shot trap at the Grand International in St. Thomas in 1913 along with Howard Bates. Roger's father Fred Dolson's decoys had a direct influence on a host of carvers in the area including Lester Gregory, Tom Parks, Jack Hardey, Roy Fahrner, Frank Parker and Dick Whale among others. Starting with Perry (Richard) Dolsen (1856-1941), his second cousin Fred Dolson (1868-1947) and their respective sons, Frank and Roger, the Martin Islands really bristled from a waterfowling standpoint from about mid-October to late November in the 1800's and first half of the 20th Century. Each of the Martin Islands had between two and three gunning shanties, with a total of of 14 or 15 across the island group, and each shanty was the home away from home for six to ten hunters in each group or Shanty. But this was only part of the gunners in the area, as just across the cut and up a half mile was the St. Anne's Club and the Mud Creek Club which ran all of the way to the mainland.  This area of Ontario was its own little waterfowling mecca and the Dolsen Family members were but a few of the men that made the annual journey to martin Islands after the arrival of the Harvest Moon to "Sneak on Cans".

    There is a distinctive look to all of the Dolsen's decoys and all of their birds are consistent, flowing, smooth, balanced, very well constructed and the overall look is of a beautifully crafted decoy that somewhat folkily imitates a live Canvasback in form and appearance. Considering the construction, the Dolsen's decoys are rather simple and have a large screw holding the head from a recessed hole in the bottom.  This decoy up for sale is so well crafted that every single element of this decoy is as tight and secure as the day that this decoy left the maker's work bench.  Even the original leather line tie looks like it was attached yesterday, exactly like the perfectly secured lead round ballast weight.  The neck shelf on this decoy is very highly raised and beautifully crafted to receive a beautifully carved head with a carefully detailed bill that features exquisitely carved bold and sweeping head/bill separation, deeply cut in nostrils and bottom-cut nail on the end.  This decoy's head wonderfully contours forward at the top of the rear-leaning neck and culminates at the perfectly rounded and somewhat flattened bill tip.  The red glass eyes were first class products, likely from Germany and the maker spared no expense in an effort to create superb decoys that would last for well over the next century.  The Tail on this Awesome Hen canvasback is very typical of an Ontario decoy as it is thick and almost unbreakable almost all of the way to the tip.  Another testament to the workmanship of this decoy is that the head is perfectly intact on this decoy and it is perfect the way that the grain of the wood is perfect in order to limit breakages from cross-grain stressing.  The neck on this decoy was obviously tightened at some point in time while it was without any doubt still being gunned over at the time. Although this Hen Canvasback up for sale has a paint pattern that is somewhat simple, but the paint job is very correct for an early season or young hen canvasback and it was beautifully applied. The brush-strokes that remain on this decoy are feathery while still following the basic black, grey and brown delineations and scheme.  The Chatham made decoys that have survived in excellent condition like this Hen Canvasback up for sale is no doubt due to the maker's utilitarian design, high quality and most-likely careful use.

    All In all this great Dolsen-styled hen Canvasback Duck up for sale has incredible form and encompasses all of the great characteristics of the earlier and quite possibly most functional and aesthetic decoys to be made for use around not only Chatham, but also the best to be gunned over in and around the Martin Islands.  The carvers from this area were also known for the awesome consistency of their decoys as well as the outstanding quality and rugged and somewhat folky beauty.  This decoy up for sale is in excellent Original condition and it is outstanding structural condition as the head is as firmly attached today as it was the day that it was made, although it was reset while in use, but if anything it adds to the awesome and antique look of this century-old gunning bird. This great bird is also as solid as the day it was made and has a great, slightly up-swept and tiny thick tail and astoundingly detailed head/bill separation and Outstanding Head and neck that are carved in beautifully and attached on the top of a very high neck shelf that simply acts as a pedestal to showcase this awesome head.  The High Head on this decoy is stills firmly attached as the day it was made with the quality, large screw that was used to hold it on from the bottom of the decoy into a recessed hole that was covered after the screw was glued and tightened and the hole sealed with a pounded in hand made dowel end.  It is exemplary the way the neck is perfectly flowing and carved in to the high, raised neck shelf.  The decoy is carved and painted perfectly symmetrically as well as the mounting of the vintage imported red glass eyes, although the right eye has a hard to see, internal check in it.  Along with all of the other Kent County carvers, the maker of this Hen Can was one of the area's older decoy makers and clearly among the best and more visionary men, as well as one of the men that helped hold the bar up high for decoys made near the Thames River and also on the Canadian Half of lake St. Clair.  This awesome Chatham area Hen Canvasback decoy measures a significant 15-7/8" long x 5-3/4" wide x imposing 8" tall and weighs a Rig-manageable yet sturdy 2-lbs. 5-oz.  This commanding sized and styled type of decoy enabled it to ride high and be seen from a very far distance, whether it be in the Thames River's offshoot marshes, the Martin Islands or the Open Waters of Lake St. Clair in general. The outstanding and striking paint on this decoy was beautifully applied and detailed wonderfully and this decoy is in wonderful condition, and even the even rubbing just adds to the aura and patina of this Great decoy. The patina to this 104 year old oil-based marine paint on the entire decoy is truly outstanding with its beautiful burnished feathering to the head, bottom and the body.  Considering the decoy is in awesome structural condition, it is clear that the carver and owner not only made a decoy of uncompromising quality, but that they and everyone that owned this decoy after took very good care of it because it Shows Beautifully.  This Excellent decoy could be put in with other decoys in a collection and it wouldn't take long for it to be the highlight of that collection.  If you have any questions or would like a close-up of an area feel free to email me. Thank you for looking.

    I Encourage You to Use the Zoom Feature in this Listing to Get a Close-Up Look at this Entire Decoy!!