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H. C. Gibson
Turkey Caller & Gobbler
Jan. 5, 1897
(click
to enlarge)
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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.
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Turkey
Calls Produced
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(Click
on Images to Enlarge)
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Years
Produced
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Description
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Unknown
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A very early
version of the Gibson Turkey
Call
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Unknown
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The Simmon's
Hardware calls are the most
common and easily verifiable
version of the Gibson.
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