Heritage Auction Final Digital 11-17

produced a decoy very similar to the Holly decoys. Many Holly decoys used in North Carolina even
had “MF” carved into the bottom.
Fulcher was a prolific decoy maker who started carving around 1895. He carved black ducks,
pintails, redheads, blackheads, brant and geese until the mid-1930s. All of his decoys were wooden
or cork and most were marked with his initials. Fulcher designed some decoys with the heads
situated on a nearly carved shelf. His black ducks and pintails exhibit this. He occasionally used a .22
shell casing to punch eyes into the heads of his decoys. The bill carving was also nicely done.
Mitchell Fulcher made decoys for sale to local gun clubs and hunters. In addition, he carved
heads for bodies made by other local carvers. One such association formed between Fulcher and
Robert Pigott, of the Marshallberg area in Carteret County. Pigott made a stylish rig of redheads
and blackheads and Fulcher carved and fitted the heads to the bodies. The result was a refined and
handsome decoy that reflects the craftsmanship of these Carteret County decoy makers.
Portsmouth Island is the northernmost section of Carteret County. Many brant, goose and duck
decoys were made by Island residents. Ben Salter, Tom Potter, Tom Bragg and Jodie Styron all made
decoys and hunted the productive waters in this region. Documented examples of Portsmouth decoy
makers are difficult to obtain since the Island has been uninhabited for over 10 years and sparsely
populated for over 50 years.
On the Carteret mainland, Judge Lambert Morris of Atlantic made many balsa wood decoys for
his gunning rig. Judge Morris presided over hundreds of cases in Beaufort but his real love was the
water and waterfowl gunning. His decoys have animated head positions and their overall appearance
is graceful and appealing. Morris
made ducks, geese and shorebirds
from the 1920s through the 1950s.
Alvin Harris, another well-known
carver and resident of Atlantic, was
a neighbor of Judge Morris. Harris,
like Morris, used balsa wood to
create a stylish and animated decoy.
He made ducks, brant and geese
and his decoys typically display a
high crest that slops downward to a
finely carved bill. The exaggerated
forehead is a trademark of the
decoys made by Alvin Harris.
Charlie Edwards, Sr. and Charlie
Edwards, Jr. have made decoys
in the fishing and hunting
village of Atlantic since the early
1900s. These two decoy makers
constructed wooden and canvas ducks, geese and swans.
Alvin Harris
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