A Decoy Corner Article
By Bruce Urben, WWA President
Pictured above: Edgar A Shaw in 1917. Photo credit: John Fandrey collection
Edgar A. Shaw – Waterfowler and Decoy Carver from Oshkosh, WI
As mentioned in several of my Decoy Corner Carver articles, the Winnebago chain was a hotbed for carvers plying their trade in Decoy making. Waterfowl were plentiful, and decoys were needed to put food on the table. This carver fits that bill as an accomplished carver and passionate waterfowler.
Edgar A. Shaw was born in 1886 in Oshkosh, WI, to his father, William Albert Shaw, and his wife. It is known that Edgar had at least one sister, Adeline. Edgar grew up hunting and fishing and lived his whole life in the Oshkosh area.
Edgar was employed as a lineman for the Wisconsin Telephone Company, founded in 1882. Wisconsin Telephone became known as Wisconsin Bell in 1984 and now operates as AT&T in Wisconsin! In Edgar’s later years, he operated a gun shop in Oshkosh. He repaired firearms, made checkered gunstocks, and assisted the local and County Law Enforcement Departments in sighting in their firearms.
Edgar was an avid waterfowler and began carving decoys in the early 1900’s for his own use on the Winnebago chain. We know he carved mainly bluebill and canvasback decoys and maintained a large working rig of both. It should be noted that many of Edgar’s Bluebill decoys were textured on the back by using his stock checkering tools.
As a telephone lineman, Shaw had access to many old cedar telephone poles. Many of his bodies were made from salvaged telephone poles, and his heads were made of local pine. His decoys were generally on the small side, and his heads were narrow at the top, with noticeably flat eye sockets and slightly wider cheeks. He used large glass eyes in his decoys. His head was carved with very clean, detailed lines at the head and a clear, lower, carved mandible line. Edgar’s bodies had high backs and thick, carved tails. His paint style was plain and blocky, but he used shading and blending on the back and in the side pockets. His decoys were generally described as “perky” with oversized eyes. We also know that Edgar built his own skiffs and paddles, a self-sufficient waterfowler. Many of his decoys have a cold stamp under the tail or on the bottom with E A S.
Many of his birds are found in excellent condition, which indicates he was proud of his carving!
Edgar passed away in 1955 in Oshkosh, WI, at the age of 69. After Edgar’s passing, his son-in-law Frank Gams found some unpainted heads in Edgar’s workshop. Frank made several bookends from those unpainted heads.
As expected, Edgar’s decoys are highly valued by Wisconsin collectors. Many of his decoys are found in very good condition. It should be noted that Edgar had a rig of canvasback decoys that were stolen from him, and a number of those are turning up in “well overused” condition.
Edgar A. Shaw, Winnebago chain waterfowler, gunsmith, boat and paddle maker, and Wisconsin original Decoy carver!
