Brant decoy by Chauncey “Chance” Wheeler (1862 - 1937) of Alexandria Bay, New York (Thousand Islands / St. Lawrence River region). Clean, dry all original paint with a few scrapes and rubs. Exceptional patina on this vintage piece. Has original weight on bottom and the tell tale Wheeler vice filled holes. Outstanding decoy for the Thousand Islands region collector.

Wheeler is regarded as the most influential early decoy carver from the Thousand Islands area, and his birds are highly sought after by collectors today.

Wheeler created decoys that were both practical for hunting and visually appealing. Working mainly with a jackknife and spokeshave, he carved birds with angled sides, rounded breasts, and oval bottoms fitted with sheet-lead weights along with staples and swivels for attaching an anchor line. The holes left in the bottom of each block by the vise he used were later filled, and these marks have become a useful way to recognize his work today.

His heads were carefully detailed with horizontal eye grooves, carved mandibles and nostrils, and incised joints where the bill meets the head. Wheeler’s feather painting was also distinctive. Using Sherwin-Williams paint and a round-edged brush, he painted rounded feather tips that pointed backward. When combined with feather combing, this technique produced a very lifelike decoy.