Fish Decoy Makers Past and Present

By Donald J. Petersen

This ground breaking book provides a great deal of information about contemporary and old-time fish decoy makers. In the book you will learn that spear fishing interest has dropped from a high of 65,000 spearing licenses sold in Minnesota in 1951 to only 10,197 in 1997. However, due to the ability of decoy and folk art collectors to be able to purchase decoys over the internet, the interest in collecting spear fishing decoys is heading in the opposite direction. Mainly an interest of enthusiasts in the Great Lakes states a few years ago, spearing decoy collecting is now an international passion. With the growing interest comes a need for more information. This book fills in many of the blanks for collectors.

The book is divided into five main sections. It starts out giving a general background into decoys and collecting strategies. The second section provides biographies of contemporary carvers, with photos of the majority of them. Part 3 is similar, but covers old time decoy makers. Section 4 carries biographies of the second essential element to spear fishing, the spear, and section 5 gives the biography of one of the old commercial decoy makers, Oscar Quam (most of the commercial makers were covered in Petersen's first book, Folk Art Fish Decoys). There are also over 400 color photos of representative decoys from both the contemporary and old time carvers listed in section 2 and 3. 

By learning the history and background of many of the carvers and seeing their work in full color it should be much easier for the novice or experienced collector to zero in on the style of decoy you appreciate and find the folk artist who produces them. When the carver granted permission, addresses and  phone numbers have been listed so that the collector may contact the individual artists.

Donald Petersen is a professor at Loyola University Chicago's School of Business, and has been collecting fish decoys since 1984. His first book, Folk Art Fish Decoys, was published in 1996.

For Collectors and historians of spear fishing decoys and their makers, this book will prove to be a valuable addition to the library. And it is a nicely done book that is a pleasure to look at. Fish Decoy Makers Past and Present sells for $49.95 + $4.95 S&H, and can be ordered from the Author Donald J. Petersen at 820 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611. For any additional information you can email the author at decoywiz@worldnet.att.net