Hans Janner Sr.

Hans Janner was possibly the best of the Great Lakes fish decoy carvers and spear makers. A resident of Mt. Clemens, the self-proclaimed "Capital of Ice Fishing", Janner's fish and duck decoys date from the 1930's.

Hans Janner, Sr. / Rock Bass Decoy
Carved, painted wood with glass eyes and attached metal fins.
Circa 1935

Hans Janner, Sr. / Rock Bass Decoy
Carved, painted wood with glass eyes and attached metal fins.
Circa 1935

As illustrated by these examples from that period, Janner's fish were fancifully shaped, wtih extravagantly curvaceous fins and and highly fluid bodylines.

Hans Janner, Sr. / Rainbow Trout Decoy
Carved, painted wood with glass eyes and attached metal fins..
Circa 1938

Hans Janner, Sr. / Rainbow Trout Decoy
Carved, painted wood with attached metal fins and glass eyes
Length 12". Circa 1935

Hans Janner, Sr. / Bass Decoy
Carved, painted wood with attached metal fins and glass eyes
Length 12". Circa 1936

Janner's fish carvings are unique and are considered the finest examples of the art. They are certainly among the most joyous representations of natural wildlife ever created by an American artist.

Hans Janner, Sr. / Trout Decoy
Carved, painted wood with attached metal fins and glass eyes.
Circa 1940's

Janner was a skilled metalworker and the fins on his creations were typically graced with fancifully curved fins that seem to celebrate each fish's natural lines.

Hans Janner, Sr. / Bass Decoy
Carved Walnut with traces of silver paint Attached metal fins and glass eyes
Length 12", Circa 1934

Hans Janner, Sr. / Bass Decoy
Carved walnut with traces of paint. Glass eyes and attached metal fins.
Circa 1931

Hans Janner, Sr. / Bass Decoy
Carved Wood with attached metal fins and glass eyes
Length 12". Circa 1932

In addition to his skill as a woodworker, Mr. Janner was also a superb metal worker and spearmaker. His ice-fishing spears are widely collected and considered among the very finest examples of the form.

Hans Janner, Sr. & Andy Trombley / Bass Decoy
Carved by Hans Janner, Sr. and painted by Andy Trombley,
Length 12", circa 1943.

Mr. Janner was the father-in-law of Andy Trombley, another prominent carver from the Mt. Clemens area and was the father of both Hans Jr. and Augie Janner, who were both well-known sportmen and carvers.

As illustrated by the example above, collaboration between the carvers was frequent and highly successfully, with some contibuting carved bodies, others fins and leather tails and still others, like Trombley, doing the finishing and painting with extremely sophisticated techniques. Trombley was credited with the discovery of the use of nylon stockings as paint masking devices to replicate the intricate, shimmering appearance of a fish's scales.