Ken Anger

In the 1930’s, Ken Anger started carving, but received little public attention. The demand for Anger’s decoys erupted in 1941 after he placed an advertisement in the magazine, “Rod and Gun” (Fleming 142). Anger carved decoys with substantial bodies, relief-carved wings and tails and rasped surfaces. In this manner, Anger produced black ducks, scaup, Canada geese, canvasbacks, mallards, mergansers, a few pintails, redheads, wigeon and wood ducks. These are the species he produced on a regular basis; to fill a hunter’s order, Anger could carve anything else. The majority of Anger’s decoys are hollow, crafted of two thick laminated red cedar boards. Anger joined the upper and lower pieces with glue and then drove a wood screw in either side to keep the pieces from shifting while drying. Afterwards, Anger removed the screws, filled in the holes, and inadvertently gave his decoys a unique identity. He fitted his lures with flat bottoms and gave them low chests and high tails. Wings were somewhat stylized with an hourglass shape carved into the center of the back. Anger attached basswood heads, usually in a forward position, though he did do a few with turned heads and alert and content attitudes. Anger’s bill carving portrays detailed mandibles and egg teeth carved into bills with widths adjusted to match the species. However, it was Anger’s surface carving gained him his title as “rasp master.” He covered the textured surfaces with subtle coloration.