Shang Wheeler Canada Goose

Charles E. "Shang" Wheeler (1872-1949) Stratford, CT, c. 1930 26 1/2 in. long

A rare "working" cork-bodied goose decoy by the famed Stratford maker. Shang used pine for the head and bottom board. Of a rigmate, Shang scholar Dixon MacD. Merkt writes, "This goose, once actively gunned over, is another example of Wheeler's ability to transform a utilitarian cork decoy into pleasing sculpture." Only a few working goose decoys by Wheeler have ever been found. Original paint with gunning wear and flaking to cork.

Provenance: Theodore S. Harmon Collection

Literature: "Decoy Magazine," May/June 1995, p. 35, exact decoy illustrated. Dixon MacD. Merkt, "Shang: A Biography of Charles E. Wheeler," Spanish Fork, UT, 1984, p. 54, rigmate illustrated.

Provenance

Theodore S. Harmon Collection