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Turkey Calls --

Henry Gibson -
Born 1848- Died ???

Dardanelle, Arkansas



 

H. C. Gibson
Turkey Caller & Gobbler
Jan. 5, 1897

(click to enlarge)

Henry Gibson was born near Dardanelle, Arkansas in 1848. He grew up on a farm and took a job as a drugstore clerk when he was 20 years old. After several years there, he got married and then returned to farming and took over 400 acres of bottom ground where he continued to make his living. He and his wife raised 3 daughters and 1 son.

Henry is credited with obtaining the first patent for a turkey box caller in 1897. He assigned half of the patent to John Boddie who many speculate was his financial backer.

His call was a simple sawn-and-glued box (there are some examples of dugout calls as well) made preferably of cedar. Although there are no dimensions listed on the patent, Gibson's are generally about 1 1/8" wide and 9 7/8" long along the bottom of the call. Gibson lists cedar as the wood of preference in his patent and the old ads for Gibson's back this up but he may have experimented with other wood types.

The Gibson calls were sold through Simmons Hardware Store in St. Louis, Missouri and J. T. Lloyd Hardware of Little Rock, Arkansas. The Simmons Hardware Store calls are the most common but there are some calls out there with J.T. Lloyd Hardware on them. There were also many personalized Gibson's and calls he made before he applied for the patent.

As with any highly collectable call, be sure and have any call verified by an expert before purchasing one. Depending on condition, I've seen these calls go from around $800 to almost $10,000.

For more information on Henry Gibson, I recommend getting a copy of ""Turkey Calls : An Enduring American Folk Art" by Howard Harlan. He has compiled the most information I've seen anywhere on Gibson and his book has lots of photos of known Gibson calls to aid in identification. You can click on the link above to order a copy from Amazon books.


 

Turkey Calls Produced
(Click on Images to Enlarge)
Years Produced
Description
Unknown

A very early version of the Gibson Turkey Call

Unknown

The Simmon's Hardware calls are the most common and easily verifiable version of the Gibson.

 

 

 

 

 

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