Photo courtesy WI Sporting Collectibles
Joe Gigl was born in 1882 and his family relocated to Fremont, Wisconsin when Joe was in his teens. Joe lived in Fremont for the rest of his life. He was a bachelor his whole life, living in his “bachelors nest” as he called it. He served as the Village Clerk in Fremont for over 30 years and was very active in his community. He was an avid waterfowler, guide, fisherman and trapper his whole life. Joe began carving miniature decoys in his spare time for his own amusement, but later found that his full size decoys were in great demand by area waterfowlers. He carved his decoys in two sizes, and his oversized decoys were in greatest demand.
Many of his early decoys were carved in cork but most were carved in pine. Joe carved exclusively with hand tools with painstaking patience and precision. Some of his painting patterns were borrowed from a neighboring carver in Tustin, WI, named Gus Moak (see my previous Decoy Corner article). Joe’s carvings were first painted with two coats of primer, followed by four coats of color paint and one coat of “striping” as he called it, for the fine line touches, which lead to the realism of his decoys. Some of Joe’s early cork bodied decoys were even found to have tin tails!
Joe carved hundreds of decoys a year, which he sold all over the country directly to hunters on order. A newspaper article in February, 1957 listed his decoys at $35-$45 per dozen.
Joe explained that he did not have any formal training or classes on carving or painting from anyone, he learned every part of his work by himself through trial and error. Oh, how we would love to have some of his early mistakes on our mantels now.
His carvings include canvasbacks (his favorite species), mallards, bluebills and geese. He also produced a number of “custom made” plaques and other models of game birds in his career but he was quick to say these were secondary to his decoy production.
You won’t find a single signed Gigl decoy, although you may find some with his initials (JG) carved into the bottom, but his style and the shape of his work is unmistakeable. Joe carved into his late 70’s and passed away in 1962 at the age of 79 in Fremont, WI.
Worman’s Duck Decoys (2006) by Russell Lewis, lists the value of Joe Gigl decoys in the $300-$2000 range, depending on species and condition.
As always, before purchasing a decoy, be sure to seek the help of a qualified collector or dealer for positive identification and provenance.
If you have a Joe Gigl Decoy, keep it in a place of honor on your shelf, it is another Wisconsin Original.