Illinois River Mallard Decoy Pair Heck Whittington
Heck Whittington of Oglesby Illinois was one of Illinois most famous and prolific carvers. Born in 1907 he emigrated with his parents from England to settle in Illinois in 1909 when he was 2 years old. In 1924 he carved his first somewhat crude & simple decoys to hunt with. Duck hunting provided food for the family table and he could not afford to buy decoys. This was the start of a life long career of decoy carving. Over the years he carved 1000’s of fine hunting grade and decorative decoys. Examples of his work can be found in many museums throughout the country.
These are without a doubt the best Whittington’s I have ever found. They may very well be the finest Whittington decoys in existence today. They are hunting grade decoys, fully rigged and weighted and were entered into the 1966 National Decoy Carving Contest in Davenport Iowa. This pair took honorable mention. After the contest they were presented as a gift from Heck Whittington to his good friend and early decoy collector John Dunham. The provenance is on the bottom. The carving style is exquisite and the paint has incredible feather detail. They are in absolutely mint original condition. This is an opportunity to own some of Illinois finest decoys.
