Black Duck Decoy, made by the Mason Decoy Factory of Detroit, Michigan, 1896-1924,
16.5" x 6.75." Brick Store Museum Collection, 84.I.32.

Advertised as the "Largest Manufacturers of High Grade Decoys in the World,” the Mason Decoy Factory of Detroit, Michigan, was founded by William James Mason founded in 1896. Mason's business was so successful that he moved it from a shed behind his home to the backyard of a lumber company, and was joined by his son Herbert. 

Patterns were used for the bodies and cut on a lathe. Heads were rough-turned, sanded and joined to the bodies.  Mason had apprentices and painters who did the finish work. The body was painted first, then the head, and finally glass eyes were added.  Once finished, the decoy was balanced by floating it in a wash tub and adding a lead weight.

There were three grades of decoy:  Standard, Challenge and Premier.  The Standard had little carving detail, putty covering the neck joint, no bill delineation, a round bottom, and a choice of eyes.  The buyer could choose from glass eyes, tack eyes or painted eyes.

A Challenge grade model was a bit smaller than a Premier and had a solid body and smooth face and bill, the end of which was painted versus being incised.  The paint pattern was fancy, though not blended, leaving blocks of solid colors.

Premier grade decoys were hollow and flat-bottomed and finished only by Mason’s top painters, who applied the paint in circular swirls to produce the iridescence of natural looking feathers.  A carved notch was on the top of the bill; scored outlines separated the bill from the face, and a “nail” was incised on the end of the bill. Mason Premier grade duck decoys originally sold for $12 per dozen, but a single pristine example commanded an auction price of $354,500 in the year 2000!

Made sometime between 1895 and 1924, the Brick Store Museum’s own Mason Black Duck Decoy is in good condition, hollow, has a carved notch on the bill, scored outlines separating the bill from the face and perhaps has a “nail” incised on the end of the bill. The question remains: is our duck decoy a Challenge or a Premier grade?

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