John Holly (1818-1892), Havre de Grace, MD

Early Canvasbcak circa 1840-1850

John "Daddy" Holly lived in Havre de Grace, Harford County, Maryland. Although it is unknown the exact date that Holly arrived in Havre de Grace, the classic 1853 book Sporting Anecdotes by John Krider lists John Holly as one of the most highly respected duck hunters from Havre de Grace. On the day Krider went to Havre de Grace to hunt ducks, he reported that Holly had one of his better shooting days near Devil's Island and killed 119 Canvasbacks - those were the days! Daddy Holly was a market gunner and apparently gunned out of a sinkbox on the Susquehanna Flats from the time it was first introduced some time during the 1830s by New York market hunters. Daddy Holly is

Mid Canvasback circa 1870

 credited for being the originator of the Havre de Grace or Harford County style of decoys around the mid-1830s, whereas John B. Graham is considered to be the originator of the style of decoys that emerged from the Cecil County side of the Susquehanna Flats. It is suggested that he made decoys not only for his own use during this time, but also sold decoys to fellow gunners.  Historians agree that he was making decoys by the early 1850s and continued to produce decoys up until his death. Because of the old age of Daddy Holly decoys, the majority of them originally had iron ballast weights, while some had original poured lead ballast weights. Decoys found with lead weights will sometimes reveal that the two holes for the original iron weight have been filled with putty. Some of his decoys displayed finely carved detail on the bill, face, and tail areas, while other decoys were more basic. Like John Graham, Daddy Holly produced different styles of decoys through the years.

Late Canvasback circa 1880

For example, some early decoys by Holly were made with shelf carving for the head that was similar to the Cecil County style. The typical Havre de Grace style lacks shelf carving for the head and exhibits an upswept tail as opposed to the paddle tail of the Cecil County style - although some exceptions exist. Daddy Holly made mostly Canvasbacks, but also Redheads and   Blackheads. Some of Daddy Holly's earliest decoys have brands such as RECKLESS, CARROLLS ISLAND, and WIDGEON.  Despite all being deceased, Daddy Holly and his three sons James, John Jr., and William were selected as the honorary chairman for the 2000 Havre de Grace Decoy Festival. The Holly family are without a doubt the true innovators of the "Havre de Grace style" of decoy making. Decoys produced by the Holly family remain among the most historically and artistically important to Upper Chesapeake Bay decoy collectors.



Krider's Sporting Anecdotes, Illustrative of the Habits of Certain Varieties of American Game by John Krider and Milnor Klapp 1853, Decoys of the Susquehanna Flats and Their Makers by J. Evans McKinney 1990, Decoys of the Mid-Atlantic Region by Henry A. Fleckenstein, Jr. 1998, "The Hollys of Havre de Grace: The Innovators of the Harford County Style" by C. John Sullivan, Decoy Magazine Jan/Feb 1992, "Like Father, Like Sons? Identifying the Decoys of the Hollys of Havre de Grace, Part 1" by Chris Nelson and Chad Tragakis, The Canvasback Spring 1999, and "The Holly Family of Havre de Grace: Celebrating Their Legacy into the New Millenium" by Chad Tragakis, The Canvasback Spring 2000.