Biography

Taken from Babylon Man Whittles Many Things Down written by Tom Morris for Newsday (Long Island, NY) dated December 12, 1962

Babylon – Buffalo Bill, Longfellow, Ike and Mamie, gargoyles, the evolution of man, pinup girls, Little Boy Blue, trains, FDR, gods, duck and Robert Moses.

Sound like a pretty outlandish combination?  Well, in this case they all have one thing in common – Philip Chabot.  They are just a fraction of the persons, things and concepts represented in the magnificent collection of wood craftsmanship compiled by Chabot, a master in the waning art of whittling, during the course of 50 years.

Parts of the collection have been on public exhibit from time to time but most of it, most of the time, is hidden from view in his cellar in about 25 large, hinged boxes stacked helter-skelter like the stuff in grandfather’s attic.

Chabot, now 63, said he has been whittling for about 50 years, using on a penknife even in the most intricate designs, never a chisel or other tools used by carvers.  He was first exposed to whittling at age 5 at his St. Bernard, Canada, home near a Penobscot Indian reservation.  His maternal grandfather was a full-blooded Penobscot who traveled with Buffalo Bill Cody in his Wild West Shows.

Highlights of his woodcraft collection include an exhibit of every type wild duck, swan and goose in the United States—a 45 piece display shown once at the Southampton Museum where it was valued at “at least $1,000.”  The hand-cut and hand-painted figures are one-eighth of action size.  Another delight is a history of railroad trains, done on a 1/64th inch-to-a-foot scale.  Chabot finished this display in 1935 and rejected the offer of a new car for it from an admirer.  “I would like some day to sell the whole collection mostly intact,” Chabot said, “and not sell off one good piece at a time.”  He believes a museum, business firm or institution might eventually gain control of the work.

As box after box of the collection is opened an amazing array emerges: American eagles, a large plaque (copies from a newspaper photo) which the faces of former Gov. Thomas E. Dewey, New York’s ex-Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia and Robert Moses, wood creations of pinup girls of years ago, animals of almost every sort, various historic and political figures, fairy tale creatures from different lands and gargoyles and other pieces depicting cultures from far-flung areas of the globe.  Chabot speaks three languages and has traveled through most of the world during 12 years as a serum expert for the American Museum of National History.  His home contains many mementos of the days in Africa and India on museum expeditions.

Several of his whittled concepts follow a patriotic theme, such as a 40-inch-wide bas-relief wall figure showing chariot-dragon Columbia leading the United States (half griffin, half buffalo), England (a lion), Russia (a bear) and China (a dragon) to victory in World War II.  Two entire boxes, finished in 1930, contain 108 figures of all the world’s dogs registered as breeds at that time.  There is also a carefully research 40-piece set representing the evolution of man.  Chabot’s work has been done in many kinds of wood, including redwood, oaks, sugar pine, mahogany, olivewood and cedar.  He has spent 300 to 400 hours on one piece at times.

Chabot is also a painter in the primitive school and admits that in recent years much of his creative outlet has gone into the paintings.  He said he sold many for $10 or $15 during the Depression but now gets up to $500 for one.  Most show outdoor scenes, many with wildfowl in marine settings.

The cigar-smoking Chabot declined to estimate the worth of his woodcraft collection.  But an indication of its value is that during World War II thousands of dollars in war bond money was bid for whittled pieces he donated to spur sales.  During the war he also volunteered considerable time to work in various crafts with veterans at Mason General Hospital, Brentwood.

Wearing an old plaid shirt, baggy dungarees and an African field hat with a leopard-skin band as he often does, Chabot might look to the passerby like the local handyman.  But it doesn’t take long to recognize his keen intelligence, scope of experience and abilities.