A Decoy Corner Article
By Bruce Urben, WWA President
An image of the AOG initials found on the bottom of the dcoys
This month I have a different twist on a decoy corner article about a northeast Wisconsin decoy carver. In my continued research on old carvers, I have come across a carver from Oshkosh in the 1930’s reported to be called August O. Guhl. August was stated as the carver of record with the initials “AOG” carved on the bottom of these decoys.
As Paul Harvey would say… here is the rest of the story, as told by relative Audrey Guhl Pomraning.
John and Lydia Guhl moved to Oshkosh, Wisconsin before the turn of the century. Together they had seven children, three daughters and four sons. Two of the sons, Alden and Leo, were avid waterfowlers and are associated with the creation of AOG antique decoys.
Alden Oscar Guhl was born in March of 1899 and died in 1991, while his younger brother was born in 1907 and passed in 2002. I know what you are thinking – it was Alden who carved these decoys. Well…
Leo Guhl decoy
Alden and his wife Ethel lived in a small home on Leonard’s Point on lake Butte des Morts in Winnebago county and he was employed at the Winnebago State Hospital (known as the mental institution) in Oshkosh. His brother Leo lived with his wife Marie and her parents in Van Dyne, WI, not too far from Oshkosh. Leo worked on and off in several part time jobs and eventually went into farming in the 1940’s. During Leo’s part time jobs, he carved at least 36 decoys based on patterns resembling Mason Premier style decoys. The decoys were carved from white cedar, which he obtained from his brother, Alden. The decoys were roughed out with a draw knife and smoothed with a spokeshave. The decoys were all solid bodies, had glass eyes and had the initials AOG carved in the bottom board. Leo used a dowel to attach the head to the body. After Leo completed the decoy carving, he returned the decoys to Alden and arranged to have an (unidentified) patient from the Winnebago State Hospital paint the decoys. It was noted that this person who painted the decoys had great skill with a brush, and must have had familiarity with waterfowl, as the painting was very realistic.
It is unknown at this time why Leo did not have his initials carved in the bottom of the decoys but instead used the initials AOG. Both Leo and Alden hunted over each decoy that was made by them!
Just prior to Alden’s death in 1991, he sold all their decoys to a man in the Reighmoor area of lake Butte des Morts. Evidently, the buyer must have misheard or mistakenly attributed the decoys to an “August” O. Guhl. Yet, there is no such person as August Guhl, and the carving really was not done by Alden Guhl, but by his brother Leo Guhl – an interesting twist indeed!
A pair of Leo Guhl decoys
So, are Guhl decoys valuable you may be asking? Many collectors certainly think so. The Guhl brothers decoys were well cared for, although they were used on a regular basis. The quality of the carving and workmanship is exceptional. The painting was also done by a skilled artist in a very realistic manner. But, perhaps more than anything else, it’s the knowledge of this history that gives the most appeal to collectors.
Now you know the real story about Guhl decoys from the 1930’s. In case you have or find a decoy with AOG carved in the bottom, you now know it was carved by Leo Guhl and is a collector’s dream come true!