Duck Decoy

Q: Awhile ago, I purchased a papier-mache duck decoy made by the General Fibre Co. of St. Louis. The decoy is impressed “General Fibre Co., Ariduk, Reg. U.S. Pat. Off., St. Louis 2, Mo.” There’s a 2 1/4-inch hole on the top of the duck. Why the hole? And what is the decoy worth?

A: Your molded fiber (papier-mache) decoy dates from the mid 1940s or early 1950s. One clue to its age is the postal zone, 2, in the address. Postal zones were first used in 1943. Another clue is the material your decoy is made of. Molded fiber was first used for factory-made decoys in 1939, but it really took off after World War II. Then, in the early 1950s, molded fiber was replaced by Styrofoam and plastics. The hole on the top of your decoy was originally covered with a thin layer of fiber. It was designed to be closed with a wooden plug after the decoy was filled with ballast. Ariduk duck decoys sell for $5 to more than $100, depending on condition, color and type of duck.