Wisconsin Decoy Carver who migrated to California
A Decoy Corner Article
By Bruce Urben, WWA President
Joe Roesling Canvasback
Joe Carolus Roesling was born in 1862 during the civil war in Janesville, WI, a few years after his parents emigrated from Bavaria. Joe was his parents’ first born, but he had four younger brothers and four younger sisters. Records show that Joe attended “State College” in 1880 and was later noted as a roofer by trade sometime after that in Janesville through 1907. By 1914, a number of his siblings opened a grocery business in Janesville.
Joe was an avid waterfowler, fisherman and guide during his early years in Wisconsin. He hunted and fished Lake Koshkonong near Janesville and during this time he began carving decoys. As expected, his early decoys had a Lake Koshkonong style, which has a strong connection to Chesapeake Bay’s Susquehanna flats decoys!
Joe and his parents moved to Alameda, California in 1908 and Joe became a ship’s carpenter and home builder. While in California he became a “market” hunter in San Francisco Bay. This would explain his need for a large number of decoys. Duck hunting limited his carpentry business to only six months out of the year, the rest of his time was spent hunting, guiding or decoy carving!
A Joe Roesling Canvasback show if its signature “snaky” head
Joe’s decoys are best known for their “snaky” heads with rectangular neck bases inletted into the body and scratch painting applied with a hacksaw blade. The craftsmanship in Joe’s decoys was developed while he was in Wisconsin, but was further refined to a mature carving style of high quality and artistic flavor while in California. His Wisconsin decoys were carved in white cedar from old telephone posts, which contrasted to the redwood bodies he used on his California decoys. He carved primarily diver decoys (canvasback, bluebill, redheads) but expanded to pintails when he moved to California. Joe’s inletted head attachment was also refined while in California, but his “snaky” head style did not change over his carving career.
Joe Roesling canvasbacks and pintails are highly regarded by collectors of fine California decoys. Now with the story of Joe’s Wisconsin roots becoming widely known, Wisconsin collectors are also holding his decoys in high value ($1000’s).
While Joe did not produce thousands of decoys in his carving career, many found examples are in excellent shape, with original paint! It was also known that he re-headed decoys for duck clubs and individual hunters at Lake Koshkonong.
Joe passed away in California in 1944 at the age of 92.
Joe Carol’s Roesling, a Wisconsin Original decoy carver in California!