Rare Illinois River Coot Decoy Pair Heck Whittington
This is an American Coot decoy by Heck Whittington of Oglesby, Illinois.It is a decorative decoy and is in excellent original condition.It has thick wet-blended paint with brush strokes imitating individual feathers. The decoy is branded with Whittington’s stamp and hometown as well as the date it was made- May 9th 1973.It is also marked “COOT”. The decoy is full sized 13” long and 6” tall.
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.
