The Shang Wheeler Rattlesnake by Charles "Shang" Wheeler (1872-1949)

Lot 59

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20 Winter Street
Pembroke, MA 02359
United States

Founded in 2005, Copley Fine Art Auctions is a boutique auction house specializing in antique decoys and American, sporting, and wildlife paintings. Over the course of the last two decades, the firm has set auction records for not only individual decoy makers, but also entire carving regions. Copley...Read more

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Set Reminder 2026-02-20 10:00:00 2026-02-20 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : The Winter Sale 2026, Day 1 https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/copley/the-winter-sale-2026-day-1-22120 Lots 1-300 Copley Fine Art Auctions cinnie@copleyart.com

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Lot Description

The Shang Wheeler Rattlesnake
Charles "Shang" Wheeler (1872-1949)
Stratford, CT, c. 1930
16 in. long

"You've heard of the Schaghticoke Rattlesnake club—the brave band of physicians, lawyers, mayors and former mayors, undertakers, druggists, editors, professional swordfishermen, artists and blacksmiths from Bridgeport, especially, and from Derby, South Norwalk, Stratford, New Haven, and New York, who on Sunday of each May leave Bridgeport early in the morning and go straight north into the beginning of the Berkshires to catch Rattlesnakes alive. You must nail the 'varmints' to the ground gently, respectfully with a forked stick up among the rocks until Curator Shang Wheeler comes with his burlap bag at your call—or yell—and help Shang to pick the snake up behind the ears and drop it into the bag." — Vilas County News (Eagle River, Wisconsin), June 9, 1909

The many storied pursuits of "Shang" Wheeler have been chronicled for over a century, yet one compelling chapter of his life has remained largely untold: that of Connecticut's most famous rattlesnake hunter.

There was a thriving population of rattlesnakes on the Schaghticoke Indian Reservation in Kent, CT, in the foothills of the Berkshires. Beginning in 1903, a band of Schaghticoke Rattlesnake Club members from the coast of Connecticut made their annual pilgrimage to the reservation, where they met tribal leaders and embarked on their hunt. After trekking miles into the mountains to find the rocky rattlesnake lairs, these men would catch the live snakes with their bare hands. Within this club, which boasted over one hundred members, Shang was revered as "the most expert of all the Schaghticoke members in deftly gliding the rattlers into the canvas bag," according to a 1909 "New York Times" article. Several articles in popular papers from New York and Connecticut tell tales of these hunters bagging snakes, narrowly avoiding strikes, and sometimes being bitten. In 1908 the "Herald Democrat" documented that Shang himself was bitten in the hand. Luckily, "Rattlesnake Pete" Gruber and Dr. Spencer were close at hand to slash his wound, suck out the venom, and inject him with permanganate of potash. Despite his wounds, Shang reportedly showed up for work the next day.

A newly discovered carving, The Shang Wheeler Rattlesnake adds breadth and history to this already impressive artist. Indeed, no rattlesnakes are shown or mentioned in the Wheeler book; it is even absent in the "Missing Works By Wheeler" list within the volume. Not only is this one of Wheeler's most complex and distinctive creations, but it is difficult to find a finer snake carving in the world of animal sculpture. Sitting in a coiled pose, this giant snake's rattler stands straight while its forked copper tongue flicks at the air, reminiscent of the copper curl feathers found on some Wheeler mallards. Fully unraveled, this rattlesnake would measure nearly seven feet long, and it reaches roughly seven inches in circumference at its thickest. The entire surface is realistically patterned with scratched-paint scales throughout, similar to other Wheeler carvings.

The underside has a rectangular cavity where it appears an inlaid piece was fitted. It is signed "Chas. Shang Wheeler" and faintly inscribed.
Original paint with light even wear.

Literature: "Snake Hunters Bag 24 Rattlers; Easy for 'Shang' Wheeler," The New York Times, May 31, 1909, p. 7. "Schaghtichoke Rattlesnake-Club," Hunter-Trader-Trapper, Volume XIV, Issue 6, September, 1907, p. 27-29. "Annual Snake Hunt Of Famous Rattler Club," The Herald Democrat, May 20, 1908. "The Rattlesnake Club Makes a Good Haul; Third Annual Hunt in Connecticut Nets Six Serpents," The New York Times, May 21, 1906, p. 9. "One Snake Hunter Bitten; Schaghticoke Rattlesnake Club Holds Drive and Bags Twenty Snakes," The New York Times, May 30, 1910, pp 20. Dixon MacD. Merkt, "Shang: A Biography of Charles E. Wheeler," Spanish Fork, UT, 1984, no rattlesnakes included.

Condition

Please refer to the description; if you have additional questions, email colin@copleyart.com.
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