Calling The Wild: The History of Arkansas Duck Calls - A Legacy of Craftsmanship and Rich Hunting Tradition - Hardcover

Lewis Mike

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 099735593X ISBN 13: 9780997355932

Publisher: Susan Schadt Press, 2017

Synopsis

Few possessions are as highly prized by duck hunters as their favorite calls. Enabling the hunter to attract waterfowl by mimicking their sounds, the skillfully crafted and highly individualized calls are revered for the craftsmanship and rich history associated with this uniquely American art form.

In Calling the Wild: The History of Arkansas Duck Calls -- A Legacy of Craftmanship and Rich Hunting Tradition, avid Arkansas duck call collector and author Mike Lewis chronicles the history of Arkansas duck call making and captures the spirit of over fifty renowned call makers with enthralling, evocative historical profiles. He recounts how Arkansas artisans dominated the early market and continued to influence the design and refinement of the modern duck call through the vivid combination of images and stories. The four-hundred-page book traces the evolution of call design from 1890 to 2017, featuring the work of call makers whose contributions of handcrafted duck calls are highly regarded as among the most prized in the world. Lewis includes over three hundred call makers and over seven hundred photographs that facilitate identification of the calls in this highly collectable legacy publication.

This photographic journal is an invaluable reference book and collector’s guide, a treasurable accessory to waterfowling, woodworking and folk art enthusiasts and a must for collectors who will assuredly pore over its pages time and time again.

About this title

About the Author

Mike Lewis is a lifelong hunter. A native Arkansan, he lives in an area renowned worldwide for its duck hunting and fine call makers. Lewis began actively collecting duck calls, a uniquely American art form, and documenting the history of early call makers in the mid-1990s. Lewis has accumulated one of the world’s most historically and artistically significant collections of Arkansas-made duck calls. His collection includes approximately two thousand calls dating from 1890 to the present. He lives near White Hall, Arkansas, where he also practices law.

Review

"Calling The Wild is a fascinating and well -researched exploration of the history of the duck call in Arkansas and a tribute to the innovation and craftsmanship of the state’s callmakers. It is important for hunters and conservationists to understand and appreciate the rich artistic tradition of callmaking in America and the role the duck call continues to play as both utilitarian hunting tool and a skillfully crafted folk art." (Dale Hall, Chief Executive Officer, Ducks Unlimited)

"Combined with extensive research and keen appreciation of the craftsmanship and historical significance of Arkansas duck call makers, Calling the Wild is an invaluable guide and keepsake for the call collector community, duck call historians and the hunter sure to be transformed back to that memorable, long-ago hunt. Moreover, Mike Lewis highlights some of the most valuable calls in the country and preserves the personal stories of call makers from 1890 to 2017, chronicling waterfowling history and heritage that is extraordinarily important for future generations." (Since 1984, Guyette & Deeter has sold antique decoys and sporting art at auction and holds world record for auction prices in almost every category of decoys, duck calls and sporting memorabilia.) (Jon Deeter, Guyette & Deeter)

"On the pages of Mike Lewis' book you will see some of the very best representations of calls and call maker profiles that Arkansas has to offer on these beautiful pieces of American history. The skill these backwoods carvers exhibited with a simple pocketknife and only straight blades with a sharp point amazes me and call collectors as well as hunters worldwide." (Howard Harlan is the most widely acknowledged duck call expert of our time. His efforts to authenticate the game call as a unique American Folk Art form has received worldwide recognition. Co-founder of the Callmakers and Collectors Association of America, his books include Duck Calls: An Enduring American Folk Art and The Legacy of the American Duck Call) (Howard Harlan, collector, internationally known championship call maker and author)

"We need historians and we need storytellers alike in this wonderful tradition of duck call artistry. Mike Lewis masterfully combines both as he takes you on a journey through time and tale in the great state of Arkansas. This is a true deep dive into the craftsmen of duck calls of times gone by. A necessary classic for the serious collector, or anyone interested in our great American folk art!" (Rick Milligan, former president of Callmakers & Collectors Association of America and avid outdoorsman)

Edition details

• Publisher: Susan Schadt Press
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 099735593X
• ISBN 13: 9780997355932
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 256