Copley Fine Art Auctions, The Sporting Sale 2021, The Johnson Collection of American Bird Decoys by Copley Fine Art Auctions

THE JOHNSON COLLECTION OF AMERICAN BIRD DECOYS THE SPORTING SALE 2021 | JULY 9

COPLEY FINE ART AUCTIONS, LLC

Front Cover: Lots 8, 9, 10 Inside Front Cover: Lot 4, 23 Back Cover: Lots 22, 29 Inside Back Cover: Lots 26, 32, 34, 35 Left Schedule of Events: Lot 31 Right Important Notices: Lots 29, 30 Left Table of Contents: Lot 24

SPECIALISTS

CATALOG BY

Stephen B. O’Brien Jr. Fine Art & Decoy Specialist steve@copleyart.com

Stephen B. O’Brien Jr. Cinnie O’Brien Colin S. McNair Leah Tharpe Chelsie Olney Eileen Steward, Photography & Design Brad Beckerman

Colin S. McNair Decoy Specialist colin@copleyart.com Leah Tharpe Fine Art Specialist leah@copleyart.com

Printed in the USA

THE SPORTING SALE SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

AUCTION: JULY 9-10 Day 1: Friday, July 9, 10:00AM Day 1 of The Sporting Sale will begin with the The Johnson Collection, lots 1-67 Followed by lots 68-246 Day 2: Saturday, July 10, 10:00AM Lots 247-507 Live-streamed from Massachusetts; there will be no in-person bidding during the auction.

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS AND AUCTION PREVIEW Please visit copleyart.com for links to view additional images of each lot. You may view objects in our gallery by appointment or contact us to find out if we will be traveling to your area. Our specialists offer personalized video previews; call our office to set up a time.

ABSENTEE & TELEPHONE BIDS To schedule absentee or telephone bids, please use the forms found in the back of this catalog. All bids must be received at least twenty-four hours before the start of the sale. We will be adding additional lines to our popular phone bank; please sign up early.

ONLINE BIDDING Live online bidding will be available through Copley Live (download in your app store), Bidsquare, and Live Auctioneers.

Please review the Terms and Conditions of Sale on page 136 and Important Notices on page 4 of this catalog.

COPLEY FINE ART AUCTIONS, LLC | info@copleyart.com | 65 Sharp Street | Hingham, MA 02043 | 617.536.0030

THE SPORTING SALE IMPORTANT NOTICES 1

lease be advised that all persons wishing to bid at this auction P should read, and be familiar with, the Terms and Conditions of Sale in this catalog prior to bidding.

2 Buyer’s premium A buyer’s premium of 20% (23% for online bidding) of the final bid price up to and including $1,000,000, plus 15% of the final bid price over $1,000,000, will be applied to each lot sold, to be paid by the Buyer to Copley Fine Art Auctions, LLC as part of the purchase price.

9 Additional images

10 Stands Please be aware that stands are not included with items purchased. 11 Condition description of wear or gunning wear

3 Consign to our next sale Copley Fine Art Auctions, LLC is accepting consignments for our Winter Sale 2022. Please contact us by phone at 617.536.0030, or by email at consignments@copleyart.com. 4 Pre-registration Pre-Registration forms are available online, as well as in the back of this catalog. 5 Absentee and telephone bidding If you plan to place absentee bids or to bid by telephone, please make sure that we receive your Absentee/Telephone Bid form at least 24 hours before the start of the sale. It is possible that any bids received after this time may not be accepted. You will receive confirmation of your absentee bid(s) within 24 hours of receipt. If you do not receive confirmation, please call our office at 617.536.0030. 6 Sales tax All bidders holding a valid Massachusetts or out-of-state resale number must provide their certificate, or copy thereof, while registering. Failure to do so will subject the bidder to a mandatory 6.25% Massachusetts sales tax on purchases. 7 Inspection of items offered at this auction All items are sold “as is” and should be inspected either personally or by agent before a bid is placed. Prospective buyers should satisfy themselves by personal inspection as to the condition of each lot. Although condition reports may be given on request, such reports are statements of opinion only. Regardless of whether or not a condition report is given, all property is sold “as is.” The absence of a condition report does not imply that the property is in good condition. Copley Fine Art Auctions, LLC reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to refuse condition requests. 8 Flat art dimensions Please be aware that all flat art dimensions are approximate and are rounded to the nearest quarter inch. Flat art is measured by height followed by width. Three-dimensional works are measured by height, width, and depth.

Please visit copleyart.com for additional images of each lot.

ear or gunning wear may include all types of wear and W damage that can be inflicted, and may be expected, from hunting, handling, use, or time. This may include, but is not limited to, paint wear, flaking, dings, scratches, checks, cracks, craquelure, age lines, dents, chips, rubs, blunts, broken eyes, shot scars, seam separations, raised grain, rust, filler loss, sap, discoloration, and altered rigging, stick holes, and eyes. The condition of the undersides may not be listed. Clear coats, such as varnish, shellac, and oil, may not be listed. Repairs and restorations may include new material. Paint listed as “working” or “old” is likely not original. Repairs and construction features that are original to the work, including but not limited to putty, bungs, plugs, patches, and stabilization, may not be mentioned. Replaced and repaired bills may include touch-up near insertion point and extend through back of head, if applicable. Radiographs, or x-ray images, may be available by request for select lots. Please submit additional condition report requests at least ten days prior to the sale date.

12 Condition description of “As found” The “as found” designation denotes that condition issues are not listed. It is the responsibility of the buyer to determine condition. The item is sold with any faults and imperfections that may exist. 13 Auction results Unofficial auction results will be available online approximately one week after the auction at copleyart.com. 14 Pick up and shipping Buyers wishing to pick up items after the auction at our office may do so only by appointment. If you would like your items shipped, please complete and return the Authorized Shipping Release form found in the back of this catalog. 15

Auction day contact information On site: 617.536.0030 Auctioneer Peter J. Coccoluto MA License #2428

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Schedule of Events

Important Notices

The Johnson Collection of American Bird Decoys

The Sporting Sale | July 9 | 10AM | Lots 1-67

134

Index of Artists and Makers

136

Terms and Conditions of Sale

137

Buyer Pre-Registration Form

138

Absentee/Telephone Bid Form

139

Authorized Shipping Release Form

THE JOHNSON COLLECTION OF AMERICAN BIRD DECOYS

Linda E. Johnson is a non-profit leader who is deeply

branches to include hundreds of off-site locations,

committed to public service; a lifelong athlete and

including schools, homeless shelters, senior centers,

competitor, she is a formidable collector who describes

correctional facilities, and even a laundromat. She recently

herself as an “inquisitive consumer of art and culture.”

merged the Brooklyn Historical Society with the Library to

In short, she is a force of nature — though not comfortable

create the Center for Brooklyn History, and has transformed

being tagged as such. She does freely admit that

BPL from a traditional to a state-of-the-art institution,

“moderation” in any shape, is not her strong suit, and she

offering programs in over thirty languages on multiple

is right! To verify her assessment, one need simply look

platforms, cultural events, author talks, and exhibitions —

at the multifaceted aspects of Linda’s rich and well

all open and available to everyone — and all for free.

curated life. The arts have long been integral to Linda’s career and President and CEO of Brooklyn Public Library (BPL), Linda

personal life and her reach in the arts is as deep as her

heads one of the largest, most innovative public library

professional impact. She currently serves as a director of the

systems in the country. During her tenure, she has

Metropolitan Opera. Additionally, she chairs the Board of

expanded the reach of the institution beyond its sixty-one

Sing for Hope and serves as a trustee of the Curtis Institute of Music. Her interest in the visual and decorative arts has

driven her in recent years to collect modern art, but she has

mother. The relationship between the two is special with

long been deeply influenced by the early Americana she was

a “mutual trust in each other’s visual instincts and taste,

surrounded by as a child growing up in the suburbs of

relying upon each other’s collecting sensibilities above

Philadelphia.

all others.”

She and her late husband Harold “Hal” W. Pote had a home on

While Linda is more of a minimalist than Joan, they

Barnegat Bay in New Jersey and became fascinated by the

touch base before “important purchases.” When Joan

migratory birds of Long Beach Island. As they learned about

says she is thinking about selling or “trading up,” Linda

the life of bay men and the role of the decoy in that area during

almost always encourages her to move forward, saying,

the 19th and early 20th centuries, they became increasingly

“If Joan is even thinking about deaccessioning, I am

enamored with the carvings of the region. They appreciated

sure she should. Conversely, if I find myself on the fence

the connection of the decoy to folk art as well the modern

about an object, Joan is always there urging me to take

craft movement; genres in which they were deeply involved as

the leap.” Linda remembers looking at a table with her

collectors and Hal as a member of the Board of the Museum of

mother at the Philadelphia Antique Show when she was

Arts and Design. Their shared interest in and attraction to the

in her early twenties. “It was a big stretch for me at the

birds ultimately led to the creation of one of the great decoy

time,” recounts Linda. “Joan didn’t hesitate to encourage

collections, particularly noteworthy for its premier shorebird

me and said very earnestly, ‘The cookies only get passed

selections.

around once.’”

When asked about her and Hal’s guiding principles as collectors,

Perennial patrons of the arts in Philadelphia and New

Linda explains their approach as “driven by the form and surface

York, the Johnson family is known for their larger-than-

of an object rather than the name of the maker or the

life personas. Joan was a long-serving trustee of the

geographic region where the piece was carved.” They were

American Folk Art Museum, and is still a trustee of the

committed to collecting birds that were intended to be used or

Philadelphia Museum of Art. Longtime editor of Antiques

“hunted over,” as opposed to purely decorative examples.

and the Arts Weekly and Wunch Award recipient Laura

Relentless in their search for great examples — they successfully

Beach described Victor as “a force in the world of art

sought birds with dry surfaces and artistic and expressive forms.

and antiques.” However, Linda is quick to point out that it is her mother who is the “inveterate and relentless

Collecting is in her DNA; Linda began amassing her first

collector.” Though she cannot remember the source,

collection when she was old enough to walk along the New

Linda recalls a quote from an article about her parents’

Jersey coastline, carefully picking out noteworthy shells from

collection which to this day makes the family smile:

the more common varieties strewn along the sand.

“Joan Johnson believes more is more.”

With Linda, the cliché of the apple not falling far from the tree

From both her parents, Linda learned that quality must

certainly rings true. Her parents, Joan M. and Victor L. Johnson,

always be paramount. She recalls the story of her

assembled one of the great collections of early American art

parents’ hunt for a Peaceable Kingdom by Edward Hicks

and antiques, amassed over a sixty-year period. Joan is still an

when she was a child. Joan and Victor were eager to get

avid collector today and Linda credits her own great “eye” to her

to know the preeminent, legendary, if not eccentric,

THE JOHNSON COLLECTION OF AMERICAN BIRD DECOYS

dealer of Hicks’ work. On an early spring Saturday

Being surrounded by and actually using important objects

afternoon, they received the long-awaited phone call

from the time she was born had an impact on Linda’s eye

from the dealer who summoned them to see a Peaceable

and her aesthetic influences. She reminisces about doing

Kingdom he had in his home, but if they were serious, they

homework at a circa-1800, Lancaster County, PA, painted

would need to come the next day — a Sunday. Not having a

and decorated slant-top desk with interior tulip-carved

babysitter for “the girls” and being certain that bringing an

drops and carvings of vines on the sides: “Living in a home

eleven and nine year old to the meeting would not further

that looked like a museum was all we knew so it did not

the cause, the next afternoon they dropped Linda and her

seem unusual. We understood that, except in the kitchen,

sister off at a nearby Center City, Philadelphia movie

we were never to put a glass on a surface without a coaster,

theater, unchaperoned, for a matinee of a suitably long film:

the dogs were trained not to venture into the main living

Nicholas and Alexander. The girls were left with tickets

areas of the house, we knew better than to rock back in a

in hand, drinks and copious amounts of popcorn, and

chair or to sit on the quilts that covered our beds.” Their

instructed to stay in their seats until their father returned

next-door neighbors, the Irvin and Anita Schorsch family,

for them. The negotiation for the Peaceable Kingdom went

lived in a similar home filled with three boys and American

“swimmingly” — better and more quickly than the elder

antiques. “Tall case clocks chimed in every room of their

Johnsons anticipated. Within an hour they had secured

house,” Linda recounts, “It all seemed very normal to us.”

ownership of their first Hicks and an invitation, with their daughters, for an early supper at the home of the dealer.

Collectors and guests who had occasion to visit the house,

Victor raced back to the theater to retrieve Linda and her

known as Hidden Glen, often assumed the collection

sister. Arriving before the movie was over, he told the girls

evolved after Linda and her sister were older and off at

not to be disappointed that they didn’t see the end because

school — but this was not the case. They were simply

“everyone knows what happens.” What the girls did see

raised not to toss the tennis ball around in the living room.

firsthand that evening, and repeatedly over the course

“The house and its contents were in many ways members

of their childhoods, is that no effort was too great in the

of the family. Each acquisition arrived with its own story —

pursuit of the next masterpiece.

the history of the piece, the artist, and the provenance, as well as the story of how it landed in my parents’ collection,” Linda explains. “Not all of the vignettes are as dramatic as being left alone in a Center City, Philadelphia movie theater at the ripe old age of eleven, but many of our family’s collecting stories are equally amusing.” Linda’s shorebird collecting was influenced by childhood friend David Schorsch, the cousin of her next-door neighbors and the son of close family friends. The first “serious” bird Linda and Hal thought about buying was an egret they saw on the cover of one of David’s early decoy catalogues. Linda saw the catalogue on a Friday and recalls that the price was not included in the mailing. Over the course of the weekend, she and Hal decided they should buy the bird “if the number wasn’t crazy.” They were drawn to the form and it reminded them of the egret that waded in back of their house at dusk — a bird they had nicknamed

“Gil” after the jazz musician Gil Scott Heron. On Monday morning Linda called David to inquire about the piece and was disappointed to learn it was already sold. Though they didn’t get that bird, it had lit a fire. In a manner not dissimilar to her parents, whose collection grew out of a desire to appropriately furnish their Pennsylvania farm house, Linda and Hal discovered their love of shorebirds as a couple experiencing the natural wildlife of the bay that was their “backyard.” A shared interest in wild birds led to a fascination with their wooden counterparts and, in short order, they were ensconced in the world of decoys. At first the carvers of the Barnegat Bay, Tuckerton, and Cape May drew their interest, but soon they had acquired top works from Maine, Nantucket, Long Island, and Cobb Island, Virginia. Possessing her parents’ collecting instincts and her mother’s eye, Linda sought out and acquired many of the finest examples by makers from a variety of regions. At an auction in 2005, Copley owner Steve O’Brien recalls the reaction in the room when she hammered down not one, but two “dust-jacket” turned-head black-bellied plover by Elmer Crowell: “Linda literally turned the heads of all the collectors and dealers in the auction hall when she hammered down two of the most iconic decoys existent. Prior to that auction, she and Hal had been virtual unknowns in the decoy collecting realm. I left the auction that day feeling there was definitely a new sheriff in town.” She would later add the third “dust-jacket” plover, the feeder, thereby successfully reuniting the trio featured on the cover of New England Decoys by Shirley and John Delph. O’Brien continues, “Linda impressed me that day, and the more I learn about her, the more impressed I am by her resumé.” Now this preeminent collector has decided the time has come to share her carved acquisitions with the world. Copley is honored to bring these important works to market, while celebrating the tenacity and conviction that went into curating this stunning collection over the past decades.

Source: Laura Beach. “Victor L. Johnson, 89, Americana Collector and Philanthropist.” Antiques and the Arts Weekly, September 11, 2017. 11

THE JOHNSON COLLECTION OF AMERICAN BIRD DECOYS THE SPORTING SALE 2021 DAY 1 | JULY 9 | 10AM

1 Coffin Golden Plover

Charles F. Coffin (1835-1919) (attr.) Nantucket, MA, c. 1880 8 1/2 in. long

A rare one-piece Coffin golden plover with graceful lines, precise split-tail carving, and bold ochre-colored stippling denoting the species. Original paint with light gunning wear, minor darkening to flakes on right side of head, bill appears to be an old gunning replacement. PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection, acquired from Stephen

O’Brien Jr. Fine Arts, 2005 $4,500 - $6,500

NANTUCKET GOLDEN PLOVER

2 Coffin Golden Plover Trio

Charles F. Coffin (1835-1919) (attr.) Nantucket, MA, c. 1880 9 1/2 in. long

A rare rig by this important Nantucket maker with bright and crisp paint. The bodies are Coffin’s classic tear-drop shape with applied-head construction. The trio represents three of the best examples of this form. Strong original paint with minimal gunning wear. Age lines in bills may be the carvers intent to show mandible separation. PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection

$3,000 - $5,000

2.1

COFFIN GOLDEN PLOVER TRIO

2.2

2.3

3 Plover Pair in Winter Plumage Massachusetts, c. 1900 11 1/2 in. long

An upright rigmate plover pair with broad shoulders and tight stippling patterns. Original paint with light gunning wear. Both birds have some surface discoloration under and around neck. PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection, acquired from Stephen O’Brien Jr. Fine Arts, 1999 LITERATURE: Stephen B. O’Brien Jr., American, Sporting & Western Paintings, Antique American Bird Decoys, 1999 Catalog, Boston, MA, 1999, p. 34, lot 74, exact pair illustrated.

$3,000 - $5,000

3.1

3.2

FRED M. NICHOLS 1854-1924 | LYNN, MA

4 Nichols Feeding Yellowlegs

Fred M. Nichols (1854-1924) Lynn, MA, c. 1890 12 1/2 in. long

An exceptional animated decoy in a feeding posture with raised wings that extend above a thin paddle tail. Nichols’ mastery of carving resides at the apex of working decoy refinement. The surface of this gunning decoy reveals exceptional brushwork. The underside retains a metal sleeve in the stick hole and is branded “N.” Only a handful of Nichols feeding yellowlegs decoys are known to exist from this iconic “N” rig. Fred Melville Nichols is considered among the greatest shorebird makers from any region. As Crowell’s feeding “dust-jacket” shorebirds have come to represent some of the maker’s finest stick-ups, the delicate feeding model is the standard-bearer for this 19th-century North Shore, Massachusetts, maker. Indeed, a related example was chosen for the logo of Ted and Judy Harmon’s Decoy Unlimited Inc. and for the 1982 Massachusetts Waterfowl Stamp. Dr. James M. McCleery selected another related example to be featured in his famous Call to the Sky exhibition. Decoy curator and author Robert Shaw has published McCleery’s bird twice, including in his definitive Bird Decoys of North America book. Shaw writes, “Nichols’ obituary states that he was ‘especially interested in music and birds, giving great attention to the shore-birds.’ Both in form and paint, his handful of surviving whimbrels, willet, yellowlegs, and plovers rank with the finest ever produced.” Shaw’s observation

regarding Nichols’ love of music is notable as his decoys convey a lyrical quality about them. He was a member of the Essex County Ornithological Club, whose first president was the renowned painter and etcher Frank Benson. Original paint with gunning wear. Two-thirds bill tip replacement. Typical sections of tail and right wing tip replaced. PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection, acquired from Stephen O’Brien Jr. Fine Arts, 2004 LITERATURE: Robert Shaw, Call to the Sky: The Decoy Collection of James M. McCleery, M.D., Houston, TX, 1992, p. 9, rigmate illustrated. Robert Shaw, Bird Decoys of North America, New York, NY, 2010, p. 169, rigmate illustrated. John Clayton, Massachusetts Masters: Decoys, Shorebirds, and Decorative Carvings Exhibition Catalog, The Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art, Salisbury University, 2010, p. 21, related example illustrated. Gwladys Hopkins, Massachusetts Masterpieces: The Decoy as Art, Lincoln, MA, 2016, pp. 56-57, related carvings illustrated. Rob Moir and Jackson Parker, “Massachusetts Waterfowl Decoys,” The Magazine Antiques, September 1989, p. 524, pl. XIV, rigmate illustrated. George Reiger, “Humble Masterpieces: Decoys,” National Geographic, vol. 164, no. 5, November 1983, p. 657, rigmate illustrated.

$80,000 - $120,000

NICHOLS FEEDING YELLOWLEGS

4 21

HARRY V. SHOURDS 1861-1920 | TUCKERTON, NJ

5 Robin Snipe

Harry V. Shourds (1861-1920) Tuckerton, NJ, c. 1890 9 in. long

A red knot in bright spring plumage. Robin snipe carvings by this maker are amongst the rarest species that he carved, with the majority of Shourds decoys fashioned as plovers and yellowlegs. Original paint with light gunning wear. PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection LITERATURE: James R. Doherty, Classic New Jersey Decoys, Louisville, KY, 2011, p. 70, related examples illustrated. Jeff Waingrow, “The American Decoy: Folk Sculpture from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Donal C. O’Brien Jr.,” The Clarion: America’s Folk Art Magazine, Fall 1981, p. 31, related decoy illustrated. Robert Shaw, Call to the Sky: The Decoy Collection of James M. McCleery, M.D., Houston, TX, 1992, p. 58, related example illustrated.

$5,000 - $8,000

HARRY V. SHOURDS 1861-1920 | TUCKERTON, NJ

6 Black-Bellied Plover

Harry V. Shourds (1861-1920) Tuckerton, NJ, c. 1890 9 3/4 in. long

A plover in breeding plumage. Strong original paint with light gunning wear. PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection

$3,000 - $4,000

HARRY V. SHOURDS 1861-1920 | TUCKERTON, NJ

7 Rare Feeding Yellowlegs Harry V. Shourds (1861-1920) Tuckerton, NJ, c. 1890 10 in. long

Harry V. Shourds was among the most consistent makers of decoys. This consistency applied to not only his high quality standard, but also his straightforward patterns. The maker’s feeding pattern is almost never seen. Two prized exceptions were owned by James R. Doherty; both of which are boldly featured multiple times in his Classic New Jersey Decoys book. Doherty selected one of his feeders for the front dust-jacket cover of his book. The other one held the most prominent shorebird position on his collection wall. Original paint with even gunning wear and appealing craquelure.

PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection, acquired from Stephen O’Brien Jr. Fine Arts, 2004 LITERATURE: James R. Doherty, Classic New Jersey Decoys, Louisville, KY, 2011, p. front dust-jacket cover and inside flap, pp. 66 and 70, one feeding yellowlegs and one robin snipe illustrated multiple times.

$12,000 - $18,000

“An experienced gunner from North Chatham on the North Breach meadow one day recently, noticed that another gunner not far away was getting all the shooting. After a time the former went across and found out the latter, a Boston sportsman, getting ready to leave with a good bag of shore birds and was carefully packing away his decoys in an elaborate case. Being questioned, he replied, ‘These were made by a man named Crowell, who lives somewhere around here on the Cape, and they are not for sale at any price.” — The Boston Globe, 1914

Shorebird shooting from Long’s journal, 1922.

“Crowell’s reputation rests firmly on his shorebirds. They are without peer, as distinguished as the famous Audubon prints— as natural and as lovingly interpreted.” — Adele Earnest, The Art of the Decoy

“His theory was to attract a flock of birds to alight among them, each decoy should be different from the other in the position of its head and neck.” — The Boston Globe, September 20, 1914

AMERICAN BIRD DECOYS THEIR ORIGINS AS ART

Robert Shaw, past curator of Vermont’s Shelburne

The importance of this pioneering publication cannot

Museum, defines decoys as “the only folk art truly

be overstated. As a New York City architect, Barber’s

indigenous to North America. Unlike quilts, hooked rugs,

contributions were all the more significant, for his

carved trade signs, carousel figures, weather-vanes, and

fascination with decoys was ingrained in their design,

ship carvings—all of which have European precedents—

form, and history. Adding emphasis to this, Barber is not

the roots of the decoy lie deep in the American land and

known to have have been a hunter. He writes, “I have

in its vast natural resources.”

collected old decoys with the idea of writing a book about

them—a sort of a decoy duck omnibus with pictures and The earliest North American decoys ever discovered were found in 1924 during an archaeological expedition in Lovelock Cave, Nevada. Dating back almost

stories.”4 Barber’s purpose in writing Wild Fowl Decoys was to record, or perhaps more accurately report on, a phenomenon that was well under way.

2,000 years, the decoys consisted of a rig of painted canvasbacks fashioned out of reeds found in a grass

Some of the earliest documented decoy collectors

carrying basket. The manner by which the waterfowl

gravitated towards the work of A. Elmer Crowell (1862–

were hunted remains a mystery. It is likely that these

1952). They included Harry Vinton Long (1857–1949),

early hunters gathered the birds either by bow and arrow

Charles Ashley Hardy (1874–1929), Dr. John Charles

or by means of using a hollow reed as a snorkel, sneaking

Phillips (1876–1938), and Dr. John Henry Cunningham

up on rafting flocks and grabbing the birds by their feet.

(1877–1960), among others. Their identification of Crowell

Whatever the method used, decoys were apparently

as a national treasure is not surprising, especially in the

employed to lure the birds within close range of the

case of Harry V. Long, as one of Long’s core missions in

hunter.

life was the preservation of Americana. Long served as

director of the museum of the Society for the Preservation It is uncertain exactly when decoys were first identified as art. Many believe that by the mid-nineteenth century, market gunners, admiring decoys for their artistry, began retiring their favorite gunning blocks to a prominent place upon the mantel as a reminder of a glorious past day’s shoot. This practice occurred simultaneously in small regional pockets and flyways throughout North

of New England Antiquities (now Historic New England) in 1919. Photographs from his journal reveal that by the 1920s Long was placing decoys as decorative objects inside his home alongside Audubon prints, Windsor chairs, and Pilgrim chests. It is known that Long retired three “dust jacket” shorebirds to the mantel, likely in the late 1920s as the laws on shorebird hunting were passed.

America. Over time, certainly by 1900, the appreciation of these utilitarian objects as forms of art had taken root.

With great patrons like Phillips, Hardy, and Long, Crowell’s

Although by no means a common occurrence, decoy

market ascent was rather swift; by 1932 even Long

collecting in the modern sense had begun.

had to wait in line for Crowell commissioned works. A testament to Long’s foresight, Crowell’s work has virtually

Decoy collectors often point to the groundbreaking publication of Joel Barber’s 1934 Wild Fowl Decoys

never waned in popularity in over one hundred years of collecting.

as the start of the modern era of decoy collecting.3

An interior shot of White Head, Harry V. Long’s Cohasset estate, including a Pilgrim chest, Windsor chairs, an Audubon print, and two famous Crowell Canada geese, 1920. 30

THE “DUST-JACKET” MONIKER

Of the thousands of decoys that William J. Mackey Jr. owned in his lifetime, he selected just three birds for the cover of his early and influential volume American Bird Decoys, published in 1965. They were a trio of elaborately carved and painted black-bellied plover by A. Elmer Crowell. It was from collectors referencing this iconic book that the term “dust-jacket” plover came into being. John and Shirley Delphs’ 1981 book, New England Decoys, went on to feature the Waring plover trio (lots 8-10) on its dust jacket, along with an early turned-head wood duck by the same maker. The Delphs’ choice further cemented the moniker for this elite shorebird group. A third trio recently graced the front cover of Copley’s Sporting Sale 2019 which was solely dedicated to the Harmon Trio. The Waring plover are the only three to remain together, having been reunited in the Johnson Collection, bird by bird.

The Mackey-O’Brien turned-head plover, made famous on the dust jacket of American Bird Decoys.

THE DUST JACKETS

The Mackey-O’Brien turned-head plover, made famous on the dust jacket of American Bird Decoys.

The front dust-jacket cover of Mackey’s book featuring three related examples.

The front dust-jacket cover of the Delphs’ book featuring lots 8, 9, and 10.

1861–1865 American Civil War

1887 Harwich Train Station built

1912 The Commonwealth of Massachusetts bans the sale of migratory birds

1862: born on December 5th in East Harwich, Massachusetts

1898: works for the “Three Bears” at their Pleasant Lake hunting stand

1874: receives his first shotgun, a twelve-gauge, from his father

Late 1890s: rigs electronically operated cage doors for his live decoys

1876: receives twenty-four painting lessons at age fourteen

1900: Dr. Phillips hires Crowell to be the gunning stand manager at his Wenham Lake camp

1876: sets up his own gunning stand on Pleasant Lake and uses live and wooden decoys to shoot nearly one hundred black ducks

1900: the first federal conservation law, the Lacey Act of 1900, targets the commercial plume trade

1890: marries his first wife, Laura 1901: begins carving decoys for hunters he meets through Phillips 1891: Cleon, Elmer’s only child, is born 1890s: sells game to Boston and New York markets via the Cape Cod Railroad

1905: becomes the gunning stand manager at Phillips’ Oldham Lake camp 1910: still identifies himself as a cranberry farmer on the U.S. Census

1895: his only brother, Everett, commits suicide at age twentythree

A. ELMER CROWELL

1862-1952 | EAST HARWICH, MA

1914–1918

1929

World War I

U.S. Stock Market Crash & the beginning of the Great Depression

1939–1945

1900–1915: creates many of his finest carvings

1925: Elmer’s first wife, Laura, dies

1910: carves and initials the Long open-bill gunning yellowlegs

1927: Elmer marries his second wife, Betty

1912: begins working full-time as a decoy carver

1927: price for a Crowell decoy is approximately $2.00

1913: William Temple Hornaday publishes Our Vanishing Wildlife: Its Extermination and Preservation 1918: Congress passes the Migratory Bird Treaty Act ending the commercial hunting of migratory bird species 1918: Cleon joins the U.S. Army, but barely survives the Spanish Influenza he contracted during training camp 1920s: the Crowells create business cards and sell decoys in Boston sporting goods stores

World War II

1933: price for a Crowell decoy is approximately $6.00 1940s: rheumatism gradually prevents him from holding a knife 1947: writes “Cape Cod Memories,” his only known autobiographical work 1950: Elmer’s second wife, Betty, dies 1952: the carver passes away in his East Harwich home

A. ELMER CROWELL 1862-1952 | EAST HARWICH, MA

“Seasoned hunters will tell you how block decoys—those zipped out from a bandsaw without a personality—will frighten a flock rather then tempt them to alight. Once a hunter himself, Mr. Crowell has observed this time and time again. As a matter of fact, he really got into this decoy designing business because of the poor showing of the block birds, which forced him to turn out his own.“ — Cape Cod Standard-Times, 1940 Born in East Harwich, Massachusetts, Elmer Crowell

decoys from this early period are some of the most

possessed an early fascination with ornithology and

desirable bird carvings ever made.

hunting. These passions led to a career as a market gunner in the late 1800s. In 1898 Dr. John C. Phillips Jr., a sportsman who was also a prominent member of Boston society and a prolific author, asked Crowell to manage his Wenham Lake hunting camp. Upon seeing Crowell’s masterful carvings, Phillips and the camp’s affluent guests persuaded Crowell to make decoys for them. The resulting

Widely credited with being the father of American bird carving, Elmer Crowell’s influence on all future carvers cannot be overstated. One of the most famous carvers in the world, Crowell’s meticulous workmanship and exquisite painting have never been surpassed.

The brief period during which he carved these animated working decoys was just prior to the passing of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, which outlawed nearly all shorebird shooting. Fortuitously for patrons and collectors, this shorebird gunning period coincided with Crowell’s greatest carving years, which are generally regarded as 1900-1915. Known for their variety of forms, exceptional paint patterns, grand scale, and beautifully carved primaries, Crowell took tremendous care in carving these early “dust-jacket” decoys. The efforts that he imparted in carving these birds was simply too timeconsuming and he rather quickly abandoned the model all together. In fact, this wing-tip treatment, which virtually disappears from all of his work by 1920, acts as a marker for his stylistic changes.

Crowell is believed to have made approximately three “dust-jacket” plover rigs, with each rig consisting of roughly one dozen decoys. Approximately twenty examples from these early Crowell shorebird hunting rigs are thought to exist today. Remarkably, most of the “dust- jacket” plovers that survived still retain their original paint; a theory being that even the hunters that used them appreciated Crowell’s craftsmanship and took added care with them in the field, during transport, and in storage.

Throughout his life, Crowell held many jobs to make ends meet. Market gunner, live decoy keeper, camp manager, hunting guide, and decoy carver are some of his wellknown titles; however, Elmer was also gainfully employed at different times during his life as a cranberry farmer1, a poultry breeder, a deputy fire warden, and even a brown-

Photograph of Crowell holding a four-gauge shotgun, 1920. Long’s description reads: “Elmer Crowell. Oldham Pond. So [South] Hanover.”

tail moth eradicator2. Although Crowell worked as a hunting camp manager during many fall seasons and shot birds for market whenever he could, cranberry farming would remain his main source of income until 1912.

Shober & Carqueville Lithograph Co., The Grand Pacific Hotel Twenty-Ninth Annual Game Dinner, 1884. Illinois River market gunners of the late 19th century shot millions of birds and sold them to fancy restaurants, such as the Chicago Grand Pacific Hotel. In 1884 the hotel’s twenty-ninth annual game dinner featured twenty species of game birds, including plover.

A stanza from a 1906 poem in Phillips’ Wenham Lake

Since Crowell worked for Phillips for over a decade, it is

hunting log reads, “And Crowell...is not on deck, Rigged out

fitting that his decoy-making career blossomed at the

in shooting toggs, He had to stay down on Cape Cod, And

Wenham Lake gunning stand. A 1926 Cape Cod Magazine

nurse his berry bogs.”

article documents the maker’s decision to start creating

wooden decoys: “While he was connected with a private Crowell’s carving, which started out as a hobby, gradually evolved into his full-time occupation. Two major factors launched his decoy-making career at the turn of the century. The first was his proximity to affluent hunters

camp one time, there was trouble with the decoys. They didn’t seem to decoy. The ducks refused to take them seriously. ‘I can make better decoys than those,’ said Mr. Crowell, and he did.”4

through Phillips and others. The second factor was the advent of state and federal game laws which prohibited

In Cape Cod Ahoy, Arthur W. Tarbell recalls, “...at the

market gunning and diminished the use of live decoys.

request of some Harvard students with whom he was

These restrictions propelled Crowell to seek out a

gunning at the time he tried his hand at something better,

new source of income and created the need for more

and was shortly turning out a decoy that deceived even an

convincing wooden decoys.

occasional Nimrod who banged away at it for

“...to make others more realistic and artistic would be to produce a more expensive article. Nevertheless, he determined to make a few ‘just to see how they would go.’ So, in filling one order from a wealthy customer, he let himself go. He made ducks with their heads turned backward, as ducks do turn their heads, when preening their feathers…He painted them with eyes which were more than round blobs of paint. And when he shipped that order to the wealthy customer, he explained what he had done, why he had done it, and why the amount of his bill was considerably greater than his former bills had been. And the result was that, almost immediately, he received orders for more decoys of that kind from that customer and more and still more from that customer’s friends. His decoy-making business grew from a mere ‘side line’ to a steady occupation, occupying all his working time. He gave up gunning, except as a sport, and kept on cutting and carving and painting.”5 — Joseph C. Lincoln, Cape Cod Yesterdays

Even top patrons like Harry V. Long were made to wait, as he laments in the photograph’s caption written in his 1932 journal: “Elmer Crowell at work, he promised me that winter [yellowlegs] on the right four years ago—‘just a dream.’”

A. ELMER CROWELL 1862-1952 | EAST HARWICH, MA

the real thing.”6 As hunting most frequently occurred when

The maker’s natural ability, coupled with his patience

Phillips brought his friends to the camp on weekends,

and high personal standards, enabled him to create

Crowell had downtime to carve during the week in between

the paint surfaces which subsequently became known

his daily gunning stand tasks.

as the ‘Crowell’ style. “Yet Crowell did not overdo the lifelike effect.” notes Adele Earnest, “He sensed that

The decoys Crowell made as a camp manager were promptly employed at the camp. “These were so skillfully

abstraction was necessary in all art, and he did not strain to paint and carve every feather.”8

executed that the gunners who used the decoys asked to keep them. It was the success of these models that started

When viewing his “dust-jacket” birds, one has the

Mr. Crowell carving not only ducks, but shorebirds and

sense that Crowell was either looking right at the real

the many variety of songbirds that throng the Cape every

bird as he painted, or that he had handled so many that

spring and summer,” relates a 1941 article. In a short time,

their shapes and feather patterns were etched in his

the maker was asked to sell decoys to several hunters.

memory.

These important, early connections would eventually bring many other customers to Crowell’s workshop.

Virtually all who have written of Crowell have praised his paint. “His [Elmer’s] control was incomparable;” proclaims Robert Shaw, “he seems to have been able to make the brush do whatever he wanted it to—pounce, dab, spot, blend.” Crowell exhibitor tag from the 1927 New England Sportsmen’s Show. Courtesy of Heritage Museums & Gardens, Sandwich, MA.

“Elmer Crowell at his best. These Black-bellied Plovers combine his detailed carving of wing and tail feathers with the bold, true paint pattern that made him a master. Though the decoys are in fine condition, the scattering of shot holes is proof of their baptism by fire.” — William J. Mackey Jr. discussing his trio in American Bird Decoys

Arthur Burdett Frost (1851–1928), Bay Snipe Shooting (detail), 1900, watercolor and gouache en grisaille, 16 ¼ x 25 ½ in. Hunting for the vast majority of shorebird species was outlawed in 1918 in the United States. Ten years later, plover and yellowlegs were added to the protected species list. Today, only Wilson’s snipe and woodcock are still legal to hunt.

It is quite fitting that one of the greatest decoy collectors of all time, William J. Mackey Jr. of New Jersey, chose New England masterworks for the cover of his book. Mackey, discussing his trio, points out with pride that “though the decoys are in fine condition, the scattering of shot holes is proof of their baptism by fire.”

A Crowell business card displaying a phone number with a combination of letters and digits.

“DUST-JACKET” PLOVER IN MUSEUMS AND THE MARKETPLACE

With its bountiful hunting grounds and highly skilled

museum curators have considered them among the

craftsmen, New England produced a great number of decoy

finest American sculptures ever made. Illustrating this

makers. Dozens of talented carvers were known to have

point, a “dust-jacket” plover in the collection of the

worked within a 150-mile radius of Boston during Crowell’s

American Folk Art Museum was recently exhibited in the

lifetime. Top makers, such as William Folger (1820–1895),

American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in

Augustus Aaron “Gus” Wilson (1864–1950), Joseph

New York City.

Whiting Lincoln (1859–1938), Lothrop Turner Holmes (1824–1899), Charles “Shang” Wheeler (1872–1949), and

Nine “dust-jacket” plovers dominate Decoy Magazine’s

George H. Boyd (1873–1941), all produced exceptional

“100 All-Time High Prices at Decoy Auctions” list. These

working decoys during the same time period, yet none of

shorebirds hold more of the top one hundred positions

these carvers are as well known as Crowell.

than any other decoy maker’s entire showing. Additionally, Crowell holds twenty-eight of the top spots

As decoy collecting has evolved from primarily a region-

with Nathan Cobb Jr. (1825-1905), who was born two

al pursuit, top acquisitors from across the country have

towns north of Crowell, next on the list with eight. A

flocked to Crowell’s work above all others. Due to his

very closely related “dust-jacket” feeding plover from the

tremendously varied output of working decoys, decoratives,

collection of Paul Tudor Jones is the top shorebird on the

and miniatures, many in animated poses, the maker’s birds

list, selling for $830,000, the second highest price ever

can be found in seemingly every state in America. While

paid for a decoy at auction.

many other decoy makers have historically gone in and out of fashion, the demand for Crowell’s work has virtually

In 2019 the Harmon trio were a main attraction at the

never wavered. For over one hundred years, collectors and

exhibition American Decoy: The Invention, curated by

curators have lauded the carver’s prized works.

Randy Root and Zac Zetterberg at the new Peoria Riverfront Museum, in Peoria, Illinois. Later that year, the

A. E. Crowell’s “dust-jacket” plovers have long been viewed by Americana and decoy collectors not only as the gold standard for the maker’s working shorebirds, but some of the finest gunning decoys ever produced. Additionally,

trio tallied $1.14 million at auction.

“The plumage achieved a unique feeling of soft, deep feathers—an effect for which he is justly famous. His birds probably look better now than when he first painted them. Age and weather often enhance the beauty of painted wood surfaces. Fading produces color tones not found in a paintbox. Blacks become soft rusts and blue-grays, and white mellows. In places where the paint was thinly applied, wear begins to reveal the warm tones of the wood underneath.” — Adele Earnest, The Art of the Decoy

NOTES

American Bird Decoys | Their Origins as Art 1. 2. 3. 4.

Robert Shaw, “The Art of Decoys,” The Great Book of Wildfowl Decoys, ed. Joe Engers (San Diego, CA: Thunder Bay Press, 1990), pp. 13-14. Donna Tonelli, “The Lovelock Cave Decoys,” Decoy Magazine, March/April 2007, p. 34; Joe Engers, ed., The Great Book of Wildfowl Decoys (San Diego, CA: Thunder Bay Press, 1990) p. 13. Joel Barber, Wild Fowl Decoys (Garden City, NY: Garden City Publishing, 1937). Ibid.,3.

A. Elmer Crowell Biography 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Crowell refers to himself as a cranberry farmer from 1890 until 1910 according to the 1890, 1900, and 1910 United States Federal Censuses. According to the 1911 Harwich Town Report, Crowell was paid a $15.40 bounty by the town of Harwich for catching brown-tail moths because they were destroying trees. John C. Phillips, Wenham Lake Shooting Record and the Farm Bag, 1897 to 1925 (Privately printed, 1926), p. 103. Kay Kingsley, “The Bird-Maker of Harwich,” The Cape Cod Magazine, August 16, 1926, p. 10. Joseph C. Lincoln, Cape Cod Yesterdays (Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1935), p. 141. Arthur Wilson Tarbell, Cape Cod Ahoy (Boston: A. T. Ramsay, 1933), p. 283. “Cape’s Greatest Craftsman Has ‘Carved Birds’ 30 Years,” Barnstable Patriot, August 8, 1941, p. 1. Adele Earnest, The Guennol Collection, Vol. 2, 1982.

A. ELMER CROWELL 1862-1952 | EAST HARWICH, MA

“These must be about the best decoys by any carver known.” — Shirley and John Delph discussing lots 8, 9, and 10 in New England Decoys 8 The Waring Skyward-Gazing Dust-Jacket Plover A. Elmer Crowell (1862-1952) East Harwich, MA, c. 1910 11 in. long

Believed to be a one-of-a-kind form, this exact decoy is featured on the front dust-jacket cover of New England Decoys by John and Shirley Delph. Anthony Waring (1928-2021) of Swansea, Massachusetts, was a pioneering decoy collector in addition to being a sportsman and an architect. This profession made him aptly suited to appreciate the confluence of form, beauty, and function in bird decoys. Waring’s collecting began in the 1950s, a time when the only reference book available was Wild Fowl Decoys by a fellow architect Joel Barber. Waring is known to have scoured the Atlantic Coast for decoy discoveries and to have traded with the other top collectors of the day, including Donal C. O’Brien Jr., William J. Mackey Jr., Dr. James McCleery, and Dr. Peter J. Muller Jr., among others. Waring’s often-repeated oral history of this plover trio was that they were first found in his corner of Massachusetts on the Westport River after the historic New England hurricane of 1938. Discussing Waring, Decoy Magazine reported, “His home was filled with decoys that would make today’s collectors envious.” Unlike the aforementioned early collectors, Waring sold his decoys directly to other collectors and, thus, the scope of his collection has been obscured. Today, book and magazine references, along with some recorded provenance for other standouts such as a Shang Wheeler sleeping black duck and the Muller Dudley canvasback, are what remains of this important early collection. The form of this grand decoy is striking, with the head not only turned ninety degrees to the left, but also cocked to the side as if inquisitively gazing into the sky. In order to execute this special design, Crowell was forced to utilize an applied head atop the extended neck. The body has all of the features found in the maker’s best shorebirds, including a tail arching gracefully downward, completing an “S” curve along the bird’s lower profile. The carving is finished with raised wings and deeply incised primaries, which measure six inches in length along the lower edges of the wings. The raised delineation of each wing is carved all the way around and resolves with a pronounced and exceedingly rare hollow between the two wing tips.

The paint surface displays the artist’s early signature feather blending with incredible attention to feather groups. The maker employed a dynamic freestyle paint application to capture the high-contrast edge which transverses from the reaching neck along the belly to the rear flank. This gunning decoy retains four pieces of shot from its time in the line of fire. Outstanding original paint with light gunning wear. PROVENANCE: Anthony Waring Collection Michael and Julie Hall Collection, acquired from the above, circa 1985 The Johnson Collection, acquired 2004 LITERATURE: John and Shirley Delph, New England Decoys, Exton, PA, 1981, front dust-jacket cover and pp 118-119, exact decoy discussed and illustrated (image reversed on p. 119). Stephen B. O’Brien Jr. and Chelsie W. Olney, Elmer Crowell: Father of American Bird Carving, Hingham, MA, 2019, pp. 220-221, exact decoy illustrated. Kate Beckerman, “A. Elmer Crowell: Celebrating Cape Cod’s Master Carver,” Antiques and the Arts Weekly, August 17, 2018, exact decoy illustrated. Guyette and Schmidt, North American Decoys at Auction, April 22 & 23, 2004, Boston, MA, 2004, front cover and lot 68, exact decoy illustrated. Ronald S. Swanson, “The Decoy as Folk Sculpture,” Cranbrook Academy of Art Exhibition Catalog, January 1987, p. 16, fig. 22, exact decoy illustrated. Brian Cullity, The Songless Aviary: The World of A. E. Crowell & Son, Hyannis, MA, 1992, p. 49, pl. II, and p. 59, related plover illustrated. Robert Shaw, Bird Decoys of North America, New York, NY, 2010, p. 160, related plover illustrated. John Clayton, Massachusetts Masters: Decoys, Shorebirds, and Decorative Carvings, The Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art, Salisbury University, 2010, p. 86, related plover illustrated. Frank Maresca & Roger Ricco, American Vernacular, New York, NY, 2002, p. 33, related plover illustrated. William J. Mackey Jr., American Bird Decoys, New York, NY, 1965, p. 64, pl. III, and front dust-jacket cover, related plover illustrated. Loy S. Harrell Jr., Decoys: North America’s One Hundred Greatest, Iola, WI, 2000, p. 98, related plover illustrated. Joe Engers, ed., The Great Book of Wildfowl Decoys, San Diego, CA, 1990, p. 53, related plover illustrated. EXHIBITED: Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, The Decoy as Folk Sculpture,

Cranbrook Academy of Art, January 27–February 22, 1987. $300,000 - $500,000

THE WARING SKYWARD-GAZING DUST-JACKET PLOVER

A. ELMER CROWELL 1862-1952 | EAST HARWICH, MA

9 The Waring Turned-Head Dust-Jacket Plover A. Elmer Crowell (1862-1952) East Harwich, MA, c. 1910 11 1/4 in. long

This exact decoy is featured on the front dust-jacket cover of New England Decoys by John and Shirley Delph. The form of this grand decoy is striking with the head turned almost entirely around. This design is believed to be unique among Crowell shorebirds. This degree of turn is more closely related to the maker’s most celebrated ducks and goose. In addition to its rigmate featured in this catalog, only one other turned-head comparable is known. That carving hails from the Harmon plover trio. These Crowell plover account for three of the four turned-head shorebirds on the “top one hundred” decoys at auction list. The fourth is a curlew by Thomas Gelston (1850-1924), illustrated on the front of Quintina Colio’s, American Decoys. This Long Island carving set a world record for the maker when it sold for $467,000 over a decade ago. This special design forced Crowell to utilize an applied head atop the extended neck. The body has all of the features found in the maker’s best shorebirds, including a tail arching gracefully downward, completing an “S” curve along the bird’s lower profile. The carving was finished with raised wings and deeply incised primaries which measure six inches in length along the lower edges of the wings. The raised delineation of each wing is carved all the way around and resolves with a pronounced hollow between the two wing tips. The paint surface displays the artist’s exceptional early feathering with incredible attention paid to feather groups and their seamless integration with his lively forms. The maker employed a dynamic freestyle paint application to capture the high-contrast edge which transverses from the reaching neck along the belly to the rear flank. Outstanding original paint with light gunning wear. Tight V-shaped age line at back of slightly loose neck seam.

PROVENANCE: Anthony Waring Collection Michael and Julie Hall Collection, acquired from the above, circa 1985 The Johnson Collection, acquired 2004 LITERATURE: John and Shirley Delph, New England Decoys, Exton, PA, 1981, front dust-jacket cover and pp 118-119, exact decoy discussed and illustrated (image reversed on p. 119). Stephen B. O’Brien Jr. and Chelsie W. Olney, Elmer Crowell: Father of American Bird Carving, Hingham, MA, 2019, pp. 220, 221, and 278, exact decoy illustrated. Kate Beckerman, “A. Elmer Crowell: Celebrating Cape Cod’s Master Carver,” Antiques and the Arts Weekly, August 17, 2018, exact decoy illustrated. Guyette and Schmidt, North American Decoys at Auction, April 22 & 23, 2004, Boston, MA, 2004, lot 69, exact decoy illustrated. Ronald S. Swanson, “The Decoy as Folk Sculpture,” Cranbrook Academy of Art Exhibition Catalog, January 1987, p. 16, fig. 22, trio mate illustrated. Brian Cullity, The Songless Aviary: The World of A. E. Crowell & Son, Hyannis, MA, 1992, p. 49, pl. II, and p. 59, related plover illustrated. Robert Shaw, Bird Decoys of North America, New York, NY, 2010, p. 160, related plover illustrated. John Clayton, Massachusetts Masters: Decoys, Shorebirds, and Decorative Carvings,” The Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art, Salisbury University, 2010, p. 86, related plover illustrated. Frank Maresca & Roger Ricco, American Vernacular, New York, NY, 2002, p. 33, related plover illustrated. William J. Mackey Jr., American Bird Decoys, New York, NY, 1965, p. 64, pl. III, and front dust-jacket cover, related plover illustrated. Loy S. Harrell Jr., Decoys: North America’s One Hundred Greatest, Iola, WI, 2000, p. 98, related plover illustrated. Joe Engers, ed., The Great Book of Wildfowl Decoys, San Diego, CA, 1990, p. 53, related plover illustrated. EXHIBITED: Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, The Decoy as Folk Sculpture,

Cranbrook Academy of Art, January 27–February 22, 1987. $300,000 - $500,000

“He started out in his teens as a market hunter and a pioneering keeper of live waterfowl. These passions helped him to develop an intrinsic knowledge of waterfowl and other birds. His familiarity with bird behavior and anatomy enabled the master carver to create wood sculptures that bear exceptional likeness to species.” — Stephen B. O’Brien Jr. and Chelsie W. Olney, Elmer Crowell: Father of American Bird Carving 46

THE WARING TURNED-HEAD DUST-JACKET PLOVER

A. ELMER CROWELL 1862-1952 | EAST HARWICH, MA

10 The Waring Feeding Dust-Jacket Plover A. Elmer Crowell (1862-1952) East Harwich, MA, c. 1910 11 in. long

Believed to be one of four feeding dust-jacket plovers known, this exact decoy is featured on the front dust-jacket cover of New England Decoys by John and Shirley Delph. Crowell captures this rare pose perfectly, demonstrating his familiarity with the species. The arched back extends to a tapered neck and round head that is engaged with the space below it, suggesting the pulling of a morsel from the tidal flats. True to the pose, the wing tips and tail are accurately drawn together more closely, in contrast to the flared tails of its rigmates. The incised primaries extend six inches in length along the lower edges of the wings. The raised delineation of each wing is carved all the way around and resolves with a pronounced hollow between the two wing tips. Crowell’s exquisite paint techniques laid atop this masterful sculpture create an illusion of realism unrivaled by any other decoy maker. The bird’s surface is finished with Crowell’s best high-contrast marbleized paint along the lower sides with the back, showcasing his signature wet-on-wet paint throughout the mottled feather groups. The Crowell feeding black-bellied plover form is among the most popular in all of decoy collecting. Three of these have anchored iconic trios, including Mackey, Harmon, and this Waring trio. The fourth feeder resides in the The Paul Tudor Jones Collection. The Jones decoy holds the world record for any shorebird decoy, selling for $830,000 at auction. Included with this lot is a copy of New England Decoys and American Bird Decoys. Outstanding original paint with light gunning wear, a few spots of minimal touch-up to black flakes under head, on flank and edge of wings, small flake to bill.

PROVENANCE: Anthony Waring Collection Michael and Julie Hall Collection, acquired from the above, circa 1985 The Johnson Collection, acquired 2007 LITERATURE: John and Shirley Delph, New England Decoys, Exton, PA, 1981, front dust-jacket cover and pp. 118-119, exact decoy discussed and illustrated (image reversed on p. 119). Stephen B. O’Brien Jr. and Chelsie W. Olney, Elmer Crowell: Father of American Bird Carving, Hingham, MA, 2019, pp. 220-221, exact decoy illustrated. Kate Beckerman, “A. Elmer Crowell: Celebrating Cape Cod’s Master Carver,” Antiques and the Arts Weekly, August 17, 2018, exact decoy illustrated. Guyette and Schmidt, North American Decoys at Auction, St. Charles, Il, April 2007, front cover and lot 136, exact decoy illustrated. Ronald S. Swanson, “The Decoy as Folk Sculpture,” Cranbrook Academy of Art Exhibition Catalog, January 1987, p. 16, fig. 22, trio mate illustrated. Brian Cullity, The Songless Aviary: The World of A. E. Crowell & Son, Hyannis, MA, 1992, p. 49, pl. II, and p. 59, related plover illustrated. Robert Shaw, Bird Decoys of North America, New York, NY, 2010, p. 160, related plover illustrated. John Clayton, Massachusetts Masters: Decoys, Shorebirds, and Decorative Carvings, The Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art, Salisbury University, 2010, p. 86, related plover illustrated. Frank Maresca & Roger Ricco, American Vernacular, New York, NY, 2002, p. 33, related plover illustrated. William J. Mackey Jr., American Bird Decoys, New York, NY, 1965, p. 64, pl. III, and front dust-jacket cover, related plover illustrated. Loy S. Harrell Jr., Decoys: North America’s One Hundred Greatest, Iola, WI, 2000, p. 98, related plover illustrated. Joe Engers, ed., The Great Book of Wildfowl Decoys, San Diego, CA, 1990, p. 53, related plover illustrated. EXHIBITED: Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, The Decoy as Folk Sculpture,

Cranbrook Academy of Art, January 27–February 22, 1987. $300,000 - $500,000

“To those who knew him and were his neighbors, Elmer Crowell was more than a craftsman. He became a legend during his lifetime. For half a century Elmer Crowell dominated the sporting scene on the Cape. Truly, he was America’s one indispensable decoy maker.” — William J. Mackey Jr., American Bird Decoys

THE WARING FEEDING DUST-JACKET PLOVER

A. ELMER CROWELL 1862-1952 | EAST HARWICH, MA

Plover decoy from the maker’s earliest known shorebird rig, c. 1895.

Black-bellied plover, c. 1918.

The Harmon “dust jacket” black-bellied plover, c. 1910.

Black-bellied plover, c. 1920. Lot 25.

In addition to being an artist and craftsman, Crowell was

The most elaborate shorebird decoys, the “dust jacket”

an innovator and businessman, able to carve birds at

models (B and C), were made for his top patrons. They

different price points. To this end, he created works with a

feature bold bodies with thinner necks, carved primary

high degree of variation, as demonstrated by his black-

feathers, elaborate paint, and a variety of poses. On the

bellied plover carvings. The earliest known rig of plover,

other side of the spectrum were stout, more modest

circa 1895, shows a promising decoy carver striving to

decoys that were less prone to breakage (G). Between

capture the likeness of species in both form and paint (A).

these later carvings and the early “dust jackets,” Crowell

PLOVER | C. 1895-1930

“Dust-jacket” black-bellied plover, c. 1910.

Black-bellied plover, c. 1925. Crowell’s smallest model of this species.

Running black-bellied plover on carved clamshell, c. 1912.

Black-bellied plover, c. 1930.

made many highly accomplished gunning birds

typically feature the most challenging carved detail and

(E and F).

a thicker paint application (D). Later decoratives tend

Due to the banning of all shorebird hunting in 1928,

to exhibit less carving and a more standardized paint

the maker’s decorative plover were made over a longer period of time than his plover decoys, and thus display a distinctive evolution in style. Early decorative works

application (H). As the seasoned artisan gained more confidence in his painting system, he cut down the time spent on laborious carving.

A. ELMER CROWELL 1862-1952 | EAST HARWICH, MA

1894

1934

“Elmer Crowell, B. B. Nickerson, J. P. Nickerson and other gentlemen…are making preparations to greet the feathered flocks which are due to arrive in that vicinity next week; this locality is also a good one for partridges and quail...”

“Mr. Crowell is a well known figure on Cape Cod, celebrated as a carver and painter of game birds. His present work is the direct outcome of many years spent in Massachusetts gunning and decoy making. In his work one finds a full expression of the American fowler’s art.”

BOSTON GLOBE

1914

BOSTON GLOBE

“Master Decoy Maker: Elmer Crowell of Harwich Turns Out Decoys and Models of Birds That Both Hunters and Artists Admire”

“A. Elmer Crowell[‘s]…carving places him in the front rank of all decoy makers…”

JOEL BARBER

DAVID S. WEBSTER & WILLIAM KEHOE

Wild Fowl Decoys

Decoys at Shelburne Museum

1949

“Mr. Crowell makes life-size models of all kinds of birds for practical use by sportsmen and they are so true to nature that connoisseurs have in many cases pronounced them the best decoys ever produced by hand in any workshop.”

1961

1971

“A. E. Crowell of East Harwich was among the pioneers in birdcarving.”

ALLEN H. EATON

Handicrafts of New England

“He became a legend in his lifetime and dominated the sporting scene on the Cape. Every year more people admire and collect his work...His painting and brushwork command the most loyal and discerning following accorded any decoy maker of the past... the skill with which they [Crowell decoys] were executed, make his work among the best known of any of the carvers.” WILLIAM J. MACKEY JR. & MILTON C. WEILER Classic Shorebird Decoys

A CENTURY OF COMMENDATIONS

1991

1981 “The trio of black-bellied plovers were made in 1913 by Crowell. They were found washed up on shore after the 1938 hurricane. These must be about the best decoys by any carver known.”

SHIRLEY & JOHN DELPH

“Elmer Crowell did it all – and did it well! There is no question that he carved some of the finest shorebird decoys known. His decoys possessed naturalness and have superb detail; his painting can only be described as masterful.”

JOHN S. DUMONT

“Decoys” in Sporting Classics

ROBERT SHAW

Shorebirds: The Birds, The Hunters, The Decoys

1992

“Most collectors, after comparing Crowell’s work with his contemporaries and later decoy models, can recognize his superior ability. The results: higher and higher prices...Elmer Crowell created Americana at its best. I doubt he will ever be surpassed.”

“Anthony Elmer Crowell...is widely recognized as the greatest of all decoy makers…Few works of American craft are as well made as a turn-of-the-century Crowell decoy.”

JOHN M. LEVINSON & SOMERS G. HEADLEY

New England Decoys

1987

2010

Bird Decoys of North America

2019

“The Crowell ‘look’ has probably been the most imitated in the twentieth century and the record smashing prices for the carvings are legendary. It can truly be said that decorative bird carving was invented in the humble workshop in East Harwich and has been the predominant influence on that art throughout the twentieth century.”

BRIAN CULLITY

The Songless Aviary

“Crowell epitomized the New England style of shorebird, split tail and expressive, and set a high-water mark extending from Cape Cod to Cobb Island, Virginia. Working decoys and those to ride the mantle were always carved of the highest caliber, with paint that is consistently unmatched. He set the standard for those of us who followed.”

MARK S. MCNAIR, carver Craddockville, VA

APPENDIX A

APPENDIX B

CROWELL’S CARVINGS IN SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

American Folk Art Museum, New York, NY Centerville Historical Museum, Centerville, MA Cincinnati Museum of Natural History and Planetarium, Cincinnati, OH Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn, MI Heritage Museums & Gardens, Sandwich, MA Milwaukee Public Museum, Milwaukee, WI Museum of American Bird Art at Mass Audubon, Canton, MA

“Against the Grain—100 Years of the Bird Carver’s Art,” Cincinnati Museum of Natural History and Planetarium, Cincinnati, OH, March 1–April 24, 1983 “Decoys and Mantel Birds,” Peabody Museum of Salem, Salem, MA, March 8, 1987 “Whistling Wings, Whittled Ducks and Wetlands,” Milwaukee Public Museum, Milwaukee, WI, 1996 “Tollers and Tattlers: Massachusetts Waterfowl Decoys, 1840s–1940s,” Peabody Museum of Salem, Salem, MA, 1989–1992 “A. E. Crowell: Artist, Hunter, Naturalist,” Centerville Historical Society Museum, Centerville, MA, June 2–July 19, 1989 “The Songless Aviary: The World of A. E. Crowell & Son,” Heritage Plantation of Sandwich, Sandwich, MA, May 10–October 25, 1992

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA

“A. Elmer Crowell: Master of Decoys & More,” Museum of American Bird Art at Mass Audubon, Canton, MA, Sept 27, 2008–May 10, 2009

Peabody Essex Museum (formerly the Peabody Museum of Salem), Salem, MA

“A Bird in the Hand: The Carvings of Elmer and Cleon Crowell,” Heritage Plantation of Sandwich, Sandwich, MA, 2008–2011

Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, VT

“Massachusetts Masters: Decoys, Shorebirds and Decorative Carvings,” Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art, Salisbury University, LeMay Gallery, Salisbury, MD, October 1, 2010–January 23, 2011

Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art, Salisbury University, LeMay Gallery, Salisbury, MD Wendell Gilley Museum, Southwest Harbor, ME

“Massachusetts Masterpieces: The Decoy as Art,” Museum of American Bird Art at Mass Audubon, Canton, MA, May 5–September 15, 2013 “Celebrating A. Elmer Crowell and the Harwich Story,” Brooks Academy Museum, Harwich, MA, June 16–October 12, 2013 “Elmer Crowell, Father of American Decorative Bird Carving,” Heritage Museums & Gardens, Sandwich, MA, April 18–October 15, 2015 “Birds of a Feather,” Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, VT, Nov 21, 2015– June 19, 2016 “American Decoy: The Invention,” Peoria Riverfront Museum, Peoria, IL, February 9–April 28, 2019

Shorebird hunting over Crowell decoys from Long’s journal, 1922.

One of the only photographs known of Crowell “dust-jacket” plover being gunned over. The location is Bassing Beach next to White Head, Cohasset Harbor, 1922. Image from the journals of Harry V. Long. 56

O’BRIEN VERITY RUNNING PEEP

OBEDIAH VERITY

1813-1901 | SEAFORD, LONG ISLAND, NY

11 O’Brien Verity Running Peep Obediah Verity (1813-1901) Seaford, Long Island, NY, c. 1880 7 1/2 in. long

A racy beach bird with excellent form and all of the strong features collectors prize in a Verity, including a wellproportioned body, carved eyes, raised S-wing carving, V-shape primary carving, and excellent stippled paint. Obediah Verity’s carving and painting prowess have long been heralded as the apex of the Seaford school. Original paint with even gunning wear.

PROVENANCE: Donal C. O’Brien Jr. Collection The Johnson Collection, acquired from the above, 2005 LITERATURE: Robert Shaw, Call to the Sky: The Decoy Collection of James M. McCleery, M.D., Houston, TX, 1992, p. 43, related example illustrated. William J. Mackey Jr., American Bird Decoys, New York, NY, 1965, p. 102, pl. 85, related example illustrated.

$18,000 - $24,000

O’BRIEN VERITY PLUMP PLOVER

12 O’Brien Verity Plump Plover Obediah Verity (1813-1901) Seaford, Long Island, NY, c. 1880 10 in. long

Among Verity plovers, this rotund model stands out. The body has a circumference of nearly eleven inches and it exhibits excellent wing carving and the maker’s classic stippled paint. Original paint with even gunning wear. Some touch-up to small patches of flaked paint including on left wing edge and top of head.

PROVENANCE: Donal C. O’Brien Jr. Collection The Johnson Collection, acquired from the above, 2005 LITERATURE: The Ward Museum, The Decoys of Long Island, Salisbury, MD, 2010, p. 31, related example illustrated. Robert Shaw, Call to the Sky: The Decoy Collection of James M. McCleery, M.D., Houston, TX, 1992, p. 43, related examples illustrated. William J. Mackey Jr., American Bird Decoys, New York, NY, 1965, p. 102, pl. 85, related decoys illustrated.

$7,000 - $10,000

TIEGER LONG-BILLED CURLEW

13 Tieger Long-Billed Curlew Thomas H. Gelston (1850-1924) Quogue, Long Island, NY, c. 1880 18 3/4 in. long

Thomas Gelston shorebird decoys in original paint are prized by collectors. In fact, among all of the exceptional shorebirds and waterfowl from Long Island, it is a Gelston curlew that holds the region’s auction record. This grand long-billed curlew displays a high and uplifted head and raised wings.

Original paint with light gunning wear, several areas of touch-up including back of head, neck crack, top of back and right wing. Wear to left wing tip. Replaced bill. PROVENANCE: David Tieger Collection The Johnson Collection, acquired from the sale of the above LITERATURE: Harvey Kahn, et al., Spiritually Moving, New York, NY, 1998, item number 46, exact decoy illustrated. Quintina Colio, American Decoys, Ephrata, PA, 1972, p. 54, Mackey-O’Brien example illustrated. William J. Mackey Jr., American Bird Decoys, New York, NY, 1965, p. 47, pl. 82, Mackey-O’Brien example illustrated.

$18,000 - $24,000

13 61

THOMAS C. WILSON 1865-1936 | IPSWICH, MA

14 Nina Fletcher Little Wilson Yellowlegs Thomas C. Wilson (1865-1936) Ipswich, MA, c. 1890 12 1/2 in. long

This brilliant yellowlegs was discovered by Nina Fletcher Little in 1951 as part of a group of a dozen waterfowl and shorebird decoys. The vast majority of Little’s discovery was put on exhibition in Tollers and Tattlers, a three-year exhibition at the Peabody Museum of Salem, Massachusetts, October 1989-1992. Examples ended up in distinguished collections, including those of Winsor White and Donal C. O’Brien Jr. The son of a shipbuilder, Wilson was a market gunner early in his life. In 1910 he was a state officer for the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game. Later in life, he moved to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where he managed a gunning camp and guided other sportsmen. As a steadfast hunter and observer of shorebirds and ducks, Wilson’s ability to capture species’ attitudes and nuances was quite astute. This grand snipe shows the intricate stipple and loop feather paint that Wilson is known for. The work of Wilson is closely related to that of Fred Nichols (1854-1924), another of the North Shore’s

most talented makers. This is one of the finest Wilson decoys to ever be offered at auction. The underside of the tail retains Little’s early typed collector’s note. Excellent original paint with minimal wear and a tight age line along the left side. PROVENANCE: Nina Fletcher Little Collection, acquired 1951 The Johnson Collection LITERATURE: Ronald S. Swanson, “The Decoy as Folk Sculpture,” Cranbrook Academy of Art Exhibition Catalog, January 1987, p. 27, fig. 40, exact carving illustrated. Hal Sorenson, Decoy Collector’s Guide, Burlington, IA, 1965, p. 12, rigmate pictured on the wall in a photograph of Winsor White’s home in Duxbury, Massachusetts. Decoy Magazine, Lewes, DE, September/October 1989, cover and pp. 21-27, rigmates illustrated and discussed. Copley Fine Art Auctions, The Sporting Sale 2010, Plymouth, MA, July 22-23, 2010, lot 665, rigmate illustrated.

$6,500 - $8,500

LITTLE RIG WILSON YELLOWLEGS

MACKEY-MCCLEERY WIND-BIRD WILLET

15 Mackey-McCleery Wind-Bird Willet Massachusetts, c. 1900 12 in. long

This featherweight bird is hollowed out from the bottom, with wood also removed from the neck and tail. This graceful form was meant to balance on a stick and dance in the breeze. Stamped “McCLEERY” on the underside. Original paint with even gunning wear. PROVENANCE: William J. Mackey Jr. Collection Dr. James M. McCleery Collection The Johnson Collection

$3,000 - $5,000

LITERATURE: Sotheby’s and Guyette and Schmidt, American Waterfowl Decoys: The Distinguished Collection of Dr. James M. McCleery, New York, NY, January 22–23, 2000, lot 319, exact decoy illustrated. William J. Mackey Jr., American Bird Decoys, New York, NY, 1965, p. 42, pl. 20 (middle), exact decoy illustrated. John Clayton, Massachusetts Masters: Decoys, Shorebirds, and Decorative Carvings Exhibition Catalog, The Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art, Salisbury University, 2010, p. 15, rigmate illustrated.

16 Calling Black-Bellied Plover Virginia, c. 1900 11 in. long

An outstanding Southern decoy with S-curve wing carving and an uplifted head with oval eyes. Original paint with light gunning wear, including some flaked paint, mostly to white on left side. Touch-up to old neck crack. PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection, acquired from Stephen O’Brien Jr. Fine Arts, 2005 LITERATURE: Copley Fine Art Auctions, The Sporting Sale 2009, July 15–16, 2009, lot 209, rigmate illustrated.

$6,500 - $8,500

DANIEL LAKE LEEDS 1852-1922 | PLEASANTVILLE, NJ

17 Black-Bellied Plover

Daniel Lake Leeds (1852-1922) Pleasantville, NJ, c. 1890 9 1/2 in. long

Describing a rigmate and its maker in Classic Shorebird Decoys: A Portfolio of Paintings, William J. Mackey Jr. writes, “Jeremiah Leeds, keeper of the salt flats, left one descendant, Dan Lake Leeds, who carved bird decoys including sanderling, plover, yellowlegs, turnstones, and curlew. His own rig, numbering over fifty snipe, came to light a few years ago. It was probably the greatest single find of its kind in New Jersey decoy history. The Dan Leeds birds have a stylized exaggeration that has an artistic appeal. The black-bellied plover have heads that indicate their local name, ‘bull heads,’ the sanderling have a slimness that suggests their speed before the advancing waves. Paint patterns are bright and adequate, and the technique is unusual; Dan used thick oily paint and laid it on instead of brushing it out. This viscous coating made a durable finish, and the rig was found in mint condition. The old gentleman

lavished great care on his decoys during their years of service. They stand on their own merit and have little in common with their New Jersey contemporaries.” A raised-wing beetle-head displaying Leed’s signature wet lively paint with tight stippled mottling. Original paint with light gunning wear, minor working touch-up to white patches on front, replaced bill. PROVENANCE: Lloyd Johnson Collection The Johnson Collection LITERATURE: Robert Shaw, Bird Decoys of North America, New York, NY, 2010, p. 190, similar decoy illustrated.

$3,000 - $5,000

Shorebird hunting from a beach blind, Northhampton County, Virginia, c. 1900

J. TAYLOR JOHNSON

1853-1929 | POINT PLEASANT, NJ

18 Yellowlegs

J. Taylor Johnson (1853-1929) Point Pleasant, NJ, c. 1900 11 1/2 in. long

An exemplary yellowlegs with an elegant thin neck and refined head. The body shows Taylor Johnson’s telltale log-split lines and a screw-eye under the tail used for carrying the bird into the field. Original paint with light gunning wear, reset age line through neck. Minor chips to top of bill insertion and to tip of bill. Minor age lines in head.

PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection LITERATURE: Gene and Linda Kangas, Decoys: A North American Survey, Spanish Fork, UT, 1983, p. 168, pl. 354, related decoy illustrated. Robert Shaw, Bird Decoys of North America, New York, NY, 2010, p. 190, rigmates illustrated.

$3,000 - $5,000

TRUEX TRIO

19 Truex Trio

Levi Rhodes Truex (1860-1934) Atlantic City, NJ willet is 12 in. long

A black-bellied plover, yellowlegs, and willet by this wellknown New Jersey maker. All three represent the maker’s best work. All are in original paint with light gunning wear. The yellowlegs has a blood drip on the back left side. PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection LITERATURE: Gene and Linda Kangas, Decoys: A North American Survey, Spanish Fork, UT, 1983, p. 174, pl. 382 & 383, related decoys illustrated.

$1,000 - $2,000

19.1

19.2

19.3

NATHAN ROWLEY HORNER 1882-1942 | WEST CREEK, NJ

20 Rare Dowitcher

Nathan Rowley Horner (1882-1942) West Creek, NJ, c. 1915 10 1/2 in. long

An exceedingly rare shorebird by this New Jersey master, showing the clean lines and stippled paint common in his waterfowl decoys. Widely recognized as New Jersey’s master carver, Horner is believed to have only made a single rig of dowitchers. Original paint with light gunning wear, some restoration to head, and patch of wax fill on lower right side. PROVENANCE: Fred Ellenberg Collection The Johnson Collection LITERATURE: Henry A. Fleckenstein Jr., New Jersey Decoys, Exton, PA, 1983, p. 168, pl. 403 (top bird), exact decoy illustrated. Joe Engers, ed., “Jim Allen: A Champion for New Jersey Decoys,” Decoy Magazine, May/June 2017, p. 9, rigmate illustrated.

$1,800 - $2,400

21.1

21.2

21.3

21 Rig of Five Yellowlegs Atlantic Coast, c. 1870 11 1/2 in. long

A lively rig of shorebirds with large bellies and split tails. Each decoy works on an individual design basis and collectively they form a grand presentation. Each bird was finished with a tight dot feather pattern. Original paint with mixed gunning wear, including patches of rubs, flaking to the wood, age lines, and chips to tails. PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection, acquired from Stephen O’Brien Jr. Fine Arts, 2004

$12,500 - $17,500

21.4

21.5

THE BIBBER LONG-TAILED DRAKE

“Bibber’s birds are the best carvings on the coast.” — John Dinan, The Great Book of Wildfowl Decoys

ORLANDO “OS” BIBBER 1882-1970 | SOUTH HARPSWELL, ME

“[Bibber was] a sophisticated man who worked as a chief engineer on steamships that ran from Portland to New Brunswick and often as far south as Cuba. Known as Os or Ollie, he made decoys that are atypical of the Maine coast...He was apparently a fastidious man who, unlike Huey, made decoys only for his own use and devoted considerable time to their making.” — Robert Shaw, Bird Decoys of North America

THE BIBBER LONG-TAILED DRAKE

22 The Bibber Long-Tailed Drake Orlando “Os” Bibber (1882-1970) South Harpswell, ME, c. 1910 16 3/4 in. long

This singular long-tailed drake is not only the finest known Bibber decoy, but also second-to-none among representations of this species by any maker. Additionally, this masterwork is considered one of the pinnacle decoys produced in the state of Maine. The head carving and overall crispness of this decoy show similarities with his peer Joseph Lincoln’s (1859-1938) famous examples. However, it departs from Lincoln dramatically by having a long and wide body, finished with elegant elongated lines. Bibber’s deceptively simple paint pattern is astutely executed, creating one of the great minimalist presentations in all of Americana. Original paint with light gunning wear.

PROVENANCE: Private Collection, Maine The Johnson Collection, acquired at auction from the above, 2005 LITERATURE: Guyette & Schmidt Inc., North American Decoys at Auction, July, 2005, front cover and lot 345, exact decoy illustrated. Joe Engers, ed., The Great Book of Wildfowl Decoys, Lewes, DE, 1990, pp. 33-35. related decoy illustrated. Guyette & Schmidt Inc., North American Decoys at Auction, St. Michaels, MD, July 29 and 30, 2006, lot 83, p. 29, related example with touch-up to flaking illustrated. Robert Shaw, Bird Decoys of North America, New York, NY, 2010, pp. 62, 145-146, related example illustrated and discussed. Copley Fine Art Auctions, The Sporting Sale 2010, Plymouth, MA, July 22-23, 2010, lot 726, related hen illustrated.

$150,000 - $250,000

THE GREAT LONG-TAILED DRAKES

Canvas-Covered Swimming Long-Tailed Drake Lothrop Holmes (1824-1899) Kingston, MA, c. 1870 Sold for $218,500 in 2011

The O’Brien Long-Tailed Drake Joseph W. Lincoln (1859-1938) Accord, MA, c. 1900 Pair sold for $360,000 in 2018 (hen not illustrated)

The Bibber Long-Tailed Drake (Lot 22)

Orlando "Os" Bibber (1882-1970) South Harpswell, ME, c. 1910 Sold for $162,300 in 2005

LOTHROP T. HOLMES 1824-1899 | KINGSTON, MA

23 The Aitken Holmes Feeding Yellowlegs

Lothrop T. Holmes (1824-1899) Kingston, MA, c. 1890 13 1/4 in. long

This decoy hailed from the famous Russell B. Aitken Collection. Aitken was something of a Holmes aficionado, owning four of the 19th-century maker’s finest works, including this yellowlegs, a merganser pair, and a plover. A closely-related rigmate feeder was a part of the McCleery collection. Excellent original paint with light gunning wear, replaced bill. PROVENANCE: Joy Piscopo Collection Russell B. Aitken Collection The Johnson Collection LITERATURE: Christie’s, The Russell B. Aitken Collection of Wildfowl Decoys, January 2003, lot 1111, exact decoy illustrated. Robert Shaw, Bird Decoys of North America, New York, NY, 2010, p. 154, McCleery example illustrated. Robert Shaw, Call to the Sky: The Decoy Collection of James M. McCleery, M.D., Houston, TX, 1992, p. 29, McCleery example illustrated.

$35,000 - $45,000

THE AITKEN HOLMES FEEDING YELLOWLEGS

24 Important Greater Yellowlegs Pair Massachusetts, c. 1890 13 1/4 in. long

This grand pair is an exceptional representation of the classic New England shorebird. Long coveted by collectors, two examples were collected by the Cincinnati Art Museum and pioneer collector Adele Earnest. Attesting to the form of this dynamic pair, Earnest chose a closely related carving with no paint for the cover of her iconic book, The Art of the Decoy.

PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection LITERATURE: Adele Earnest, The Art of The Decoy: American Bird Carvings, New York, NY, 1965, cover, related example illustrated, p. 50, related example illustrated. Robert Bishop, American Folk Sculpture, New York, NY, 1985, p. 304, pl. 569, related examples illustrated.

$22,000 - $28,000

The full bodies were constructed with three-piece lamination. Each sculpture was finished with lyrical paint patterns from a well-trained hand. These are the two best examples of this unknown maker’s work to ever hit the market. Original paint with gunning wear, including flaking.

A. ELMER CROWELL 1862-1952 | EAST HARWICH, MA

25 Outstanding Black-Bellied Plover A. Elmer Crowell (1862-1952) East Harwich, MA, c. 1920 9 1/2 in. long

This plump plover has been widely published, appearing in two important early books. Original paint with light gunning wear. PROVENANCE: Stephen Tyng Collection The Johnson Collection, acquired from Stephen O’Brien Jr. Fine Arts, 2005 LITERATURE: John and Shirley Delph, New England Decoys, Exton, PA, 1981, p. 143, exact example illustrated. Henry A. Fleckenstein Jr., Shore Bird Decoys, Exton, PA, 1980, color plates XXV and XXVI, exact decoy illustrated twice. Stephen B. O’Brien Jr. and Chelsie W. Olney, Elmer Crowell: Father of American Bird Carving, Hingham, MA, 2019, pp. 218-219, related carvings illustrated.

$8,000 - $12,000

GREAT BLUE HERON

26 Great Blue Heron

New England, c. 1900 40 1/2 in. long, 40 in. tall on base

True working heron decoys are difficult to obtain, with surviving decoys by known makers nearly non-existent. Heron carvings were often used as confidence decoys for other species and lore has it that some of the old baymen collected them as tablefare. These waders were additionally hunted for their plumage until they received full legal protection under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. Herons’ use as confidence decoys was not adopted in most areas and most makers never added one to their rigs. This grand carving measures over forty inches from tip to tail and has a circumference of over thirty-one inches. Similar to the geese of Charles Safford and John Tax, the large hollow body was made with multi-piece construction. Unlike a Safford, it is hollow and has numerous wood patches, mostly around the end grain. The head is turned and slightly cocked, and features its original wooden crest. Complementing the high head is a long flowing tail, which has been hollowed out from below.

The underside has two original rectangular holes for legs which reach into the hollow cavity. It fits securely on a custom Aarne Anton black steel base and stands at a total height of forty inches. One related example is held in a private New England collection. Mix of old paint with heavy wear and working repairs. A single modern fastener has been added to secure the head. Some scattered touch-up. PROVENANCE: Private Collection, New England The Johnson Collection LITERATURE: William J. Mackey Jr., American Bird Decoys, New York, NY, 1965, chapter IV, herons discussed and illustrated.

$20,000 - $30,000

“When well conceived and endowed with the awkward grace of the great bird itself, a heron decoy can take command of almost any collection. Their variety runs the entire gamut from the most primitive forms to beautifully carved and painted examples.” — William J. Mackey Jr., American Bird Decoys

NATHAN ROWLEY HORNER 1882-1942 | WEST CREEK, NJ

“[Horner] was much less prolific than Shourds, but his duck, brant, and goose decoys are among the most refined made on the New Jersey shore, with spare, elegant lines and subtly blended paint.” — Robert Shaw, Bird Decoys of North America

19 87

NATHAN ROWLEY HORNER 1882-1942 | WEST CREEK, NJ

27 Conover-O’Brien Horner Goose Nathan Rowley Horner (1882-1942) West Creek, NJ, c. 1930 21 1/4 in. long

An exceptional and rare Horner goose made with the maker’s signature tucked-head style found is his best waterfowl decoys. The full and hollow body is finished with a shoulder groove behind the neck and the maker’s patterned, stippled, and blended paint. This decoy is one of only four known with this form. Two others are held in esteemed private collections and the fourth is a part of the Shelburne Museum collection. Original paint with minimal gunning wear, touch-up to reset neck and to rub on left side.

PROVENANCE: Jack Conover Rig and Collection Donal C. O’Brien Jr. Collection The Johnson Collection, acquired from Stephen O’Brien Jr. Fine Arts, 1999 LITERATURE: Stephen B. O’Brien Jr., American, Sporting & Western Paintings, Antique American Bird Decoys, 1999 Catalog, Boston, MA, 1999, front cover, exact decoy illustrated.

$20,000 - $30,000

CONOVER-O’BRIEN HORNER GOOSE

FOLGER FAMILY NANTUCKET, MA

28 O’Brien Folger Golden Plover Folger Family Nantucket, MA, c. 1880

In the early 1800s, Nantucket Island was a stopover for the seasonal migration of golden plover. The birds were so numerous that early gunners, with primitive black-powder firearms, routinely brought down several with a single shot. Later during that century when the number of birds drastically declined, most hunters assumed their flight path had changed with the immense flocks veering further out to sea. These plover were a staple of a coastal New Englander’s seasonal diet. This highly refined hollow shorebird decoy with incised wing definition is one of the best plover examples from the famous Folger rig which consisted of Eskimo curlew and these goldens. This example features a forward reaching, almost running, posture. The Folger rig is considered to be the most important group of decoys to have been carved on the island and are a vital part of Nantucket and migratory bird history. The surface is finished with a suite of paint techniques highlighted by golden and green stippling along the dark back. As a testament to the fine craftsmanship of this hollow two-piece decoy, the body seam shows no separation. Another subtle hallmark of this rig is the original brass bushings that line the stick holes. Original paint with light gunning wear.

PROVENANCE: William Folger Rig Franklin Folger (1842-1923) Collection, by descent in the family Franklin Folger Webster, by descent in the family Donal C. O’Brien Jr. Collection, acquired from the above, circa 1968 The Johnson Collection, acquired from the above LITERATURE: Robert Shaw, Call to the Sky. The Decoy Collection of James M. McCleery, M.D., Houston, TX, 1992, p. 13, rigmate illustrated. James Reginato, “Folk Art’s Old Guard,” Town & Country, January 1990, p. 161, rig illustrated.

$18,000 - $24,000

O’BRIEN FOLGER GOLDEN PLOVER

O’BRIEN WEBSTER GOLDEN PLOVER

MR. WEBSTER NANTUCKET, MA

29 O’Brien Webster Raised-Wing Golden Plover

Mr. Webster Nantucket, MA, c. 1850 9 3/4 in. long

Early collectors Donal C. O’Brien Jr., William J. Mackey Jr., and Adele Earnest all believed that the plover from this rig were among the finest works of American folk art they had ever come across. Collectable Old Decoys specialist Dick McIntyre concurs: “Crowell’s, Bunn’s, Nichols’, and Cobb’s all have their artistic eminence. These spread-wing golden plovers by Mr. Webster, go beyond any of the boundries set by his contemporaries... They are purely folk art.” Mackey and O’Brien hunted down and acquired fifteen of the seventeen examples that surfaced. Of these only four have the highly coveted raised wings with the majority of the smoothwing examples still held in the O’Brien collection. The group, while cohesive in its paint, which depicts breeding plumage, appears to have been made without a pattern. This free-hand approach produced a lively flock with no two birds exactly alike. The head of this decoy was applied, as was the norm for this maker and others on Nantucket. The inquisitive turn to the side is far less common. The O’Brien-Muller Webster plover set the record for any Nantucket decoy when it sold last year. This O’Brien-Johnson example offers shorebird, decoy, and Americana collectors a rare opportunity to acquire this nearly unobtainable form. Original paint with even gunning wear and a three-quarter inch replacement to tip of bill.

PROVENANCE: Franklin Folger Webster Collection, Nantucket, Massachusetts Donal C. O’Brien Jr. Collection The Johnson Collection, acquired from the above, 2005 LITERATURE: Milton C. Weiler, The Classic Decoy Series: A Portfolio of Paintings, New York, NY, 1969, pl. 2, rigmate illustrated. William Doyle Galleries, Waterfowl and Shorebird Decoys, New York, NY, April 15, 1981, back cover and p. 61, lot 76, rigmate illustrated twice. Joe Engers, “Dr. Peter J. Muller: Bringing a good eye and an artistic approach to decoy collecting,” Decoy Magazine, January/February 2008, p. 8, rigmate illustrated. Robert Shaw, Call to the Sky: The Decoy Collection of James M. McCleery, M.D., Houston, TX, 1992, p. 13, related example illustrated. Richard A. Bourne Co., Inc., Very Rare and Important American Bird Decoys from the Collection of the late William J. Mackey Jr. of Belford, New Jersey, Hyannis, MA, 1973, Session III, lot 320, rigmate illustrated. Jeff Waingrow, "The American Decoy: Folk Sculpture from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Donal C. O’Brien Jr.,” The Clarion: America’s Folk Art Magazine, Fall 1981, p. 30, closely related rigmate illustrated. Jackson Parker, “O’Brien Classic Decoys on Display at Museum of American Folk Art,” North American Decoys Magazine, Spring/ Summer 1982, p. 34, rigmate illustrated. Laurence Sheehan, The Sporting Life, New York, NY, 1992, p. 79, two O’Brien rigmates illustrated. Copley Fine Art Auctions, The Donal C. O’Brien Jr. Collection of Important American Sporting Art and Decoys, Sessions I-II, July 27, 2017, inside front cover, six rigmates illustrated in O’Brien’s living room.

$80,000 - $120,000

O’BRIEN WEBSTER RAISED-WING GOLDEN PLOVER

MR. WEBSTER NANTUCKET, MA

30 O’Brien Webster Golden Plover Mr. Webster Nantucket, MA, c. 1850 9 1/2 in. long

This decoy represents one of the very best of the smooth-wing decoys from this rig. Created in an upright calling posture, the swooping lines of this example are on full display. Early collectors Donal C. O’Brien Jr., William J. Mackey Jr., and Adele Earnest all believed that the plover from this rig were among the finest works of American folk art they had ever come across. Indeed, Mackey and O’Brien hunted down and acquired fifteen of the seventeen examples that surfaced. The majority continues to reside in the O’Brien collection and one can be seen in Mackey and Weiler’s Classic Shorebird Decoys portfolio. The group, while cohesive in its paint, which depicts breeding plumage, appears to have been made without a pattern. This free-hand approach produced a lively flock with no two birds exactly alike. Original paint with even gunning wear. PROVENANCE: Franklin Folger Webster Collection, Nantucket, Massachusetts Donal C. O’Brien Jr. Collection The Johnson Collection, acquired from the above, 2005

LITERATURE: Milton C. Weiler, The Classic Decoy Series: A Portfolio of Paintings, New York, NY, 1969, pl. 2, rigmate illustrated. William Doyle Galleries, Waterfowl and Shorebird Decoys, New York, NY, April 15, 1981, back cover and p. 61, lot 76, rigmate illustrated twice. Joe Engers, “Dr. Peter J. Muller: Bringing a good eye and an artistic approach to decoy collecting,” Decoy Magazine, January/February 2008, p. 8, rigmate illustrated. Robert Shaw, Call to the Sky: The Decoy Collection of James M. McCleery, M.D., Houston, TX, 1992, p. 13, related example illustrated. Richard A. Bourne Co., Inc., Very Rare and Important American Bird Decoys from the Collection of the late William J. Mackey Jr. of Belford, New Jersey, Hyannis, MA, 1973, Session III, lot 320, rigmate illustrated. Jeff Waingrow, “The American Decoy: Folk Sculpture from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Donal C. O’Brien Jr.,” The Clarion: America’s Folk Art Magazine, Fall 1981, p. 30, rigmate illustrated. Jackson Parker, “O’Brien Classic Decoys on Display at Museum of American Folk Art,” North American Decoys Magazine, Spring/ Summer 1982, p. 34, rigmate illustrated. Laurence Sheehan, The Sporting Life, New York, NY, 1992, p. 79, two rigmates illustrated. Copley Fine Art Auctions, The Donal C. O’Brien Jr. Collection of Important American Sporting Art and Decoys, Sessions I-II, July 27, 2017, inside front cover, six rigmates illustrated in O’Brien’s living room.

$15,000 - $25,000

O’BRIEN WEBSTER GOLDEN PLOVER

30 97

29 98

31 Flying Meadowlark

c. 1890 9 1/4 in. long, 13 1/2 in. wingspan

An elaborately carved songbird with incised feathering, especially across the back and wings. A screw eye is fitted for a hanging presentation. Also included is a professionally-made custom stand. The wings are not attached and are removeable. Original paint with light wear. PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection

$5,000 - $8,000

100

32 Flock of Swallows Pennsylvania, c. 1880 3 in. to 5 3/4 in. long

A flock of eleven birds carved in varying sizes to create a depth-of-field perspective. Each bird has a metal pin on its reverse side for attachment to a wall or board. Original paint with light wear and some chips to bill tips, wings, and tails. PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection

101

33 Rig of Four Feeding Shorebirds Atlantic Coast, c. 1900 14 1/4 in. long

Four distinct feeding greater yellowlegs decoys showing subtle genius as they were made without bills. Of the hundreds of shorebird makers during the 19th century, virtually all added bills. In contrast, weighing the impact of birds noticing this missing feature while on the wing versus the breakage factor that affected most shorebird rigs, this carver felt they were simply not needed. Two have collection stamps, one Mackey and one Hillman. Original paint with gunning wear.

PROVENANCE: William J. Mackey Jr. Collection (one bird) John Hillman Collection (one bird) The Johnson Collection LITERATURE: Quintina Colio, American Decoys, Ephrata, PA, 1972, p. 62, rig with one exact Mackey decoy illustrated. Richard A. Bourne Co., Inc., Very Rare and Important American Bird Decoys from the Collection of William J. Mackey Jr. of Belford, NJ, Session III, August 21, 1973, lot 146, rigmate illustrated.

$3,000 - $5,000

102

BRIGANTINE LONG-BILLED CURLEW

34 Brigantine Long-Billed Curlew Brigantine, NJ, c. 1900 21 in. long

An impressive long-billed curlew from a group of only three known examples in private hands and one in the Shelburne Museum collection. According to past Shelburne curator Robert Shaw, none retain a full original bill. These may be the largest shorebirds decoys known, with a circumference of nearly fifteen inches. The bodies are made with vertical lamination and are finished with two-tiered raised-wing carving and split wing tips. The maker of these “Brigantine Curlew” remains one of the greatest unnamed talents from the state of New Jersey. Early working paint with even gunning wear, including minor chipping to wing tips, tight age line in right side of neck, patch of gunning fill at base of bill. One-and-one-half inches of bill is original.

34 104

PROVENANCE: Lloyd Johnson Collection The Johnson Collection LITERATURE: Ronald S. Swanson, “The Decoy as Folk Sculpture,” Cranbrook Academy of Art Exhibition Catalog, January 1987, p. 27, fig. 40, rigmate illustrated. Robert Shaw, Bird Decoys of North America, New York, NY, 2010, p. 190, rigmate illustrated.

$18,000 - $24,000

BRIGANTINE ESKIMO CURLEW

35 Brigantine Eskimo Curlew Brigantine, NJ, c. 1900 13 in. long

By the same carver as the previous lot, this is the only Eskimo curlew to have been identified by the Brigantine maker. Old working paint with gunning wear, with some flaking including on the head. PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection

$3,500 - $4,500

105

OBEDIAH VERITY

1813-1901 | SEAFORD, LONG ISLAND, NY

36 O’Brien Verity Peep

Obediah Verity (1813-1901) Seaford, Long Island, NY, c. 1870 8 in. long

An excellent Verity runner with strong provenance and stippling which includes red-phase plumage. The underside bears the serifed “J.B.” brand. Original paint with light gunning wear. Three small areas of touch-up in front of wing and a one-inch spot of touch-up to left wing.

PROVENANCE: Donal C. O’Brien Jr. Collection The Johnson Collection, acquired from the above 2005 LITERATURE: Adele Earnest, The Art of The Decoy: American Bird Carvings, New York, NY, 1965, pp. 48 & 53. William J. Mackey Jr., American Bird Decoys, New York, NY, 1965, pp. 102-103.

$10,000 - $15,000

106

OBEDIAH VERITY

1813-1901 | SEAFORD, LONG ISLAND, NY

37 O’Brien Verity Black-Bellied Plover Obediah Verity (1813-1901) Seaford, Long Island, NY, c. 1880 10 3/4 in. long

A superb full-bodied “beetle-head” with three distinct iterations of stippling expertly applied. Old Verity paint with gunning wear. PROVENANCE: Donal C. O’Brien Jr. Collection The Johnson Collection, acquired from the above, 2005

$5,000 - $8,000

107

ORLANDO “OS” BIBBER 1882-1970 | SOUTH HARPSWELL, ME

38 Red-Breasted Merganser Pair Orlando “Os” Bibber (1882-1970) South Harpswell, ME, c. 1910 19 3/4 in. long

An exceptional and exceedingly rare rigmate merganser pair with turned heads and original horse-hair crests. A well documented duo, each of the elegant hollow bodies is fitted with its original chamfered bottom board. According to John Dinan, author of the marine chapter in The Great Book of Wildlife Decoys, Bibber only made decoys for his own use, going on the say that this maritime chief engineer’s “birds are the best carvings on the coast.” Original paint with even gunning wear. Each has some old glue residue and age lines around neck seams. Drake has a replaced bill. Hen has tight age lines and two drips marks on breast. Original crests.

108

PROVENANCE: Frank Schmidt Collection Michael and Julie Hall Collection, acquired from the above The Johnson Collection, acquired from the above LITERATURE: Ronald S. Swanson, “The Decoy as Folk Sculpture,” Cranbrook Academy of Art Exhibition Catalog, January 1987, p. 12, fig. 13, exact carvings illustrated. EXHIBITED: Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, The Decoy as Folk Sculpture,

Cranbrook Academy of Art, January 27–February 22, 1987. $25,000 - $35,000

THE HALL MERGANSER PAIR

109

GEORGE R. HUEY 1866-1937 | FRIENDSHIP, ME

39 Huey Mergansers

George R. Huey (1866-1937) Friendship, ME, c. 1880 18 3/4 in. long

Two long, sleek-bodied, “Down East” sea duck decoys displaying the maker’s hallmarks, including inletted heads, one being slightly turned, and elliptically carved eyes. The undersides are as racy as the topsides with recessed line ties and poured weights. Each is signed by the maker, who also added his peninsular hometown of “Friendship, Maine,” on one. Original paint with even gunning wear and appealing craquelure. One bird has a hairline crack in neck, the other has a minor ding to tail.

110

PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection LITERATURE: John and Shirley Delph, New England Decoys, Exton, PA, 1981, pp. 34 & 38, related example illustrated. Robert Shaw, Call to the Sky: The Decoy Collection of James M. McCleery, M.D., Houston, TX, 1992, p. 4, related example illustrated.

$12,000 - $18,000

111

40 Rig of Two Dozen Golden Plover A rig of twenty-four plover made with applied sides and presented on a custom stand. As found. PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection

112

113

WILLIAM A. “BILL” HARRIS 1862-1912 | ATLANTIC CITY, NJ

41 Black-Bellied Plover

William A. “Bill” Harris (1862-1912) Atlantic City, NJ, c. 1890 12 in. long

A “Brigantine Bullhead” from the Conover collection and so stamped. Original paint with even gunning wear, chipping to very tip of bill, small hole in belly. PROVENANCE: Jack Conover Collection The Johnson Collection LITERATURE: James R. Doherty, Classic New Jersey Decoys, Louisville, KY, 2011, pl. 380, p. 173, two Conover rigmates illustrated.

$1,800 - $2,400

114

42 Feeding Yellowlegs Atlantic Coast, c. 1900 12 3/4 in. long

A feeding greater yellowlegs carved from a one-and-onehalf-inch board with an applied head in a deep feeding pose. Original paint with gunning wear, including some flakes to back, tight age lines at base of neck, one very small patch of touch-up on neck, replaced bill. PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection

$1,500 - $2,500

115

DELANCEY NICHOLS

1890-1977 | JAMAICA BAY, LONG ISLAND, NY

43 Dowitcher Pair

Delancey Nichols (1890-1977) Jamaica Bay, Long Island, NY, c. 1900 11 in. long

A perfectly matched pair of rigmates. Appears to be mostly original paint with old touch-up to shot holes. PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection

$2,000 - $3,000

116

44 Golden Plover

45 Dowitcher

Authors Cap Vinal and William Mackey published segments of Herbert Hatch’s diary in which the gunner describes buying decoys from his hunting partner Joseph Lincoln as well as creating his own. Original paint with minimal gunning wear.

Original paint with even gunning wear, roughness to edge of tail, age line in top of head, replaced bill.

Herbert F. Hatch (1877-1951) Marshfield, MA, c. 1898 10 in. long

PROVENANCE: Herbert F. Hatch Rig

Barkalow Family Forked River, NJ, c. 1900 9 1/2 in. long

PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection

$300 - $500

The Johnson Collection

LITERATURE: Cap Vinal, Joseph W. Lincoln, Rockland, MA, 2002, pp. 58-59, related decoys illustrated. William J. Mackey Jr., American Bird Decoys, New York, NY, 1965, pp. 86-87. Richard A. Bourne Co., Inc., Very Rare and Important American Bird Decoys from the Collection of the late William J. Mackey Jr. of Belford, New Jersey, Hyannis, MA, 1973, Session III, lot 225, related decoys illustrated.

$1,000 - $2,000

117

CLARK C. MADARA 1883-1953 | PITMAN, NJ

46 Black Duck

Clark C. Madara (1883-1953) Pitman, NJ, c. 1910 17 in. long

An excellent black duck by the maker with exaggerated features, including a humped back, pinched breast, very thin neck, and deep eye-groove carving. The large hollow body is finished with flocked paint, which was popular among Jersey hunters for its flat finish. Joel Barber was so taken by this form that he reproduced the head numerous times, including in an instant-classic bronze series. Of his bronze facsimile, he writes: “My jackknife copy of this head reproduced in bronze was sold by art galleries over a period of several years and in considerable numbers. I have always considered the unknown original maker a real artist. Even though he lived and worked, unknown on the Jersey barrens, his Black Duck head has been perpetuated. The feather of accomplishment does not belong to me. I merely whittled what he conceived. After a fashion, however, it vindicates my interest in the art of decoy making. The decoy

Joel Barber bronze of a Madara decoy head.

118

itself is now a highly prized item of my collection. After my coveting it for several years, the former owner, Mr. J. H. Phillips of Babylon, gave it to me for my records of Barnegat Bay.” In old Madara paint with gunning wear, including flaking mostly to end grain on back of head and on breast. PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection LITERATURE: Joel Barber, Wild Fowl Decoys, Garden City, NY, 1937, p. 131, pl. 99, related example illustrated. James R. Doherty, Classic New Jersey Decoys, Louisville, KY, 2011, p. 163, related example in Lem Ward paint illustrated.

119

47 Curlew

Cape May, NJ, c. 1900 13 1/2 in. long

Original paint with gunning wear, replaced bill, crack in neck, and age line in top of head. PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection

48 Yellowlegs

William Seneno (1896-1962) Abescon, NJ, c. 1915 12 in. long

A folky yellowlegs with ingenious construction. From the outside, it is a two-piece body with a vertical seam, exceedingly thin neck, and a metal bill. A look inside reveals the metal rod continues through the neck and into the body to give the bird steel-frame rigidity. Original paint, with old working paint on the white, some seam separation, and a small knot cavity in back. PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection, acquired from Stephen O’Brien Jr. Fine Arts, 2002 LITERATURE: John M. Levinson and Somers G. Headley, Shorebirds, Centreville, MD, 1991, p. 89, exact decoy illustrated. Stephen B. O’Brien Jr. Fine Arts, American, Sporting & Western Paintings, Antique American Bird Decoys, 2002 Catalog, Boston, MA, 2002, lot 46, exact decoy illustrated.

120

49 Mackey-McCleery King Red Knot Joe King (1835-1913) Manahawkin, NJ, c. 1870 9 3/4 in. long

The underside of this early rarity is stamped for both the Mackey and McCleery collections. Appears to be original paint with heavy gunning wear, crack in head has been secured with two countersunk nails. PROVENANCE: William J. Mackey Jr. Collection James M. McCleery Collection The Johnson Collection LITERATURE: Sotheby’s and Guyette and Schmidt, American Water-

fowl Decoys: The Distinguished Collection of Dr. James M. McCleery, New York, NY, 2000, lot 604, exact decoy illustrated. William J. Mackey Jr., American Bird Decoys, New York, NY, 1965, p. 135, exact decoy, illustration appears to have been altered to enlarge eye.

121

50 Dovetailed Dowitcher Massachusetts, c. 1900 9 3/4 in. long

This charming dowitcher was made by one of the greatest of the unknown makers, the same carver as the dovetailed geese and other exceptional shorebirds.

Four rigmates are held in the Shelburne Museum in Vermont. Original paint with even gunning wear and two drips of blood on the underside.

Referring to a rigmate plover in Massachusetts Masterpieces, author and curator Gigi Hopkins writes, “...its meticulously crafted dovetail joint which allows the head to be slipped on and off...this was a cabinetmaker enjoying his art.”

PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection

The body and head of this little decoy are joined by a dovetail. This elaborate construction would allow the decoy to be disassembled when not in use, in order to help protect the bill and neck from breakage. The joint currently has movement, but not a full range of motion. The form features incised wings, a long mortise-and-tenon bill, and concave carving under the tail.

122

LITERATURE: Adele Earnest, The Art of the Decoy, West Chester, PA, 1965, p. 104, pl. 93, related examples illustrated. Gwladys Hopkins, Massachusetts Masterpieces, Lincoln, MA, 2016, p. 54, pl. 20, related examples illustrated.

$12,000 - $16,000

DOVETAILED DOWITCHER

123

51 Metal Silhouette Shorebird Trio Atlantic Coast, c. 1900 12 1/4 in. long

Three sheet-metal shorebirds mounted on stakes with a flexible joint. Original paint with gunning wear, including flaking.

52 Standing White Dove 17 1/2 in. long

Original paint with wear. PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection

PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection

124

125

53 Bird Handle Cane

54 Dove

A bird cane carved from a single piece of wood. The bird fits nicely in the hand and it is turned from tip to tail. Original paint with even wear.

A stylized full-bodied dove carving with its head craning to the left. This carving appears to have served as an outdoor decorative for some time. Old, possibly original, paint with some overpaint and weathered wear, each wing is reset and left wing tip has a three-quarter-inch repair.

c. 1900 bird is 6 1/4 in. long, cane is 37 in.

c. 1930 13 in. long

PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection

$4,000 - $6,000

PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection

126

127

55 Rooster Weathervane 24 1/2 in. long and 17 1/2 in. tall

A calling full-bodied cock made from soldered metal sheets. Mounted on a custom metal base. As found. PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection

56 Crow Trio

15 in. long and 12 in. tall

A Charles-Perdew-style murder of crows. As found. PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection

128

129

THE GUN-STOCK CHECKERED FISH DECOY

130

57 The Gun-Stock Checkered Fish Decoy

62 Frog Fish Decoy

An exceptional decoy with a superb contoured cross-hatched pattern. This rare, if not unique, treatment on a fish seamlessly spans from side to side. The front of each diamond is deeply incised, giving the carving a rich surface.

Original paint with light fishing wear and touch-up to small flake by right foot.

c. 1920 10 1/2 in. long

The underside has a hole that has been added so that it can be used for display on a rod. Original paint with fishing wear, including an old chip to top of caudal fin. PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection LITERATURE: Steven Michaan, American Fish Decoys, Pound Ridge, NY, 2003, p. 25, Irwin fish with light hatching illustrated.

$30,000 - $50,000

58 Trout

Oscar W. Peterson (1887-1951) Cadillac, MI, c. 1930 7 in. long

Original paint with fishing wear, varnish line on right side. PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection

59 Two Trout

Oscar W. Peterson (1887-1951) Cadillac, MI, c. 1930 9 in. and 6 in. long

Original paint with fishing wear.

c. 1930 5 1/4 in. long

PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection LITERATURE: Steven Michaan, American Fish Decoys, Pound Ridge, NY, 2003, p. 201, related decoy illustrated.

63 Two Fish Decoys

c. 1930 6 3/4 in. and 6 1/4 in. long

A port and starboard fish duo. Original paint with fishing wear. PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection

64 Fish Decoy with Blue Dots c. 1930 10 1/2 in. long

A large fish with electric blue dots. A hole in the underside has been added for display on a rod. Original paint with moderate fishing wear, worn chips to caudal fin, red paint appears be working addition, probable touch-up removed from pectoral fins. PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection

65 Green and Orange Fish Decoy c. 1930 5 3/4 in. long

PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection

A thin fish with exceptional decoration and face paint. Original paint with fishing wear.

60 Yellow Perch

PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection

Oscar W. Peterson (1887-1951) Cadillac, MI, c. 1930 7 in. long

Original paint with heavy fishing wear. PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection

61 The Sax Grayling c. 1930 11 3/4 in. long

66 Gold-Scaled Fish Decoy c. 1930 4 3/4 in. long

A green-and-white fish with excellent scratch scaling, revealing the golden undercoat. Original paint with even fishing wear and a scar in right side, gold paint on lower sides is working addition. PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection

A rare grayling with a slight S-curve carved in front of the broad caudal fin. Original paint with fishing wear. PROVENANCE: Stanley Paul Sax Collection The Johnson Collection

67 One Dozen Fish Decoys As found. PROVENANCE: The Johnson Collection

131

133

INDEX BY LOT

Barkalow Family: 45 Bibber, Orlando “Os”: 22, 38

is pleased to announce the publication of

Coffin, Charles F. (attr.): 1, 2 Crowell, A. Elmer: 8-10, 25 Folger Family: 28 Gelston, Thomas H.: 13 Harris, William A. “Bill”: 41 Hatch, Herbert F.: 44

ELMER CROWELL Father of American Bird Carving

Holmes, Lothrop T.: 23 Horner, Nathan Rowley: 20, 27 Huey, George R.: 39 Johnson, J. Taylor: 18 King, Joe: 49 Leeds, Daniel Lake: 17 Madara, Clark C.: 46 Nichols, Delancey: 43 Nichols, Fred M.: 4 Peterson, Oscar W.: 58-60

featuring

Masterworks from The Thomas M. Evans Jr. Collection by Stephen B. O’Brien Jr. and Chelsie W. Olney

Seneno, William: 48 Shourds, Harry V.: 5-7 Truex, Levi Rhodes: 19 Verity, Obediah: 11, 12, 36, 37

$100

Webster: 29, 30 Wilson, Thomas C.: 14

“A masterful presentation befitting America’s finest bird carver...” –Joe Engers, editor, Decoy Magazine

Over 300 pages and 420 color illustrations.

To order your copy of this definitive book, please visit copleyart.com or call the gallery at 617.536.0536.

A.E. Crowell | $1,140,000

J. Lincoln |

Dovetailed Goose |

$810,000

$360,000

selling the world’s finest DECOYS AND SPORTING ART

A.E. Crowell | $661,250

J. Graham |

$216,000

Ward Brothers | $252,000

A.B. Frost |

$180,000

COPLEY FINE ART AUCTIONS, LLC | INFO@COPLEYART.COM | 617.536.0030

Denotes world record for the artist

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Bids will not be accepted without a completed form, including your signature. Your signature denotes that you have read and agree to be bound by the Terms and Conditions of Sale issued by Copley Fine Art Auctions, LLC for The Sporting Sale 2021.

To be sure that bids will be accepted and delivery of lots not delayed, bidders who do not have an account with Copley Fine Art Auctions, LLC are requested to supply a bank reference prior to bidding.

All bidders holding a valid Massachusetts or out-of-state resale number must provide their certificate or a copy thereof while registering. Failure to do so will subject the bidder to a mandatory 6.25% Massachusetts sales tax on purchases.

I authorize you to contact the references below to provide you with any information in their possession including any business or credit experience with me, and I further agree to accept the cost of any charges such references may incur providing such information.

FINANCIAL REFERENCES

AUCTION REFERENCES

Name of Bank(s):

1. Name of Company:

Address of Bank(s):

Contact Name:

Account Number(s):

Name of Account Officer(s): Bank Telephone: Bank Fax:

Telephone Number: 2. Name of Company: Contact Name:

Telephone Number:

137

please check one of the following:

ABSENTEE

TELEPHONE

1 All bids must be received at least 24 hours before the start of the sale. We cannot guarantee that bids placed after this time will be accepted. A Copley representative will send you an email to confirm receipt. If you have not received confirmation within 24 hours, please call 617.536.0030. Bids will not be accepted without your signature on this form. 2 This service is offered as a convenience at no charge; however, Copley Fine Art Auctions, LLC will not be held responsible for error or failure to execute bids. Copley staff will try to purchase these lots for the lowest possible price taking into account the reserve and other bids. 3 All bids are subject to the Terms and Conditions of Sale listed in this auction catalog. Further, it is the responsibility of the bidder to check with Copley staff whether a sale room notice relates to any lot which they have listed. LOT #

138

a Absentee bids: Absentee bids are executed alternately in competition with phone and internet bidders. It is possible, due to the variations in bidding patterns, that a lot may be won by the audience for the same amount authorized by the absentee bidder. A (+) sign to the right of the bid amount will authorize the absentee bidder to bid one additional bid increment. In the event of identical bids, the first bid received will take precedence. b Telephone bids: If bidding by telephone, the bidder accepts the inherent risks associated with bidding over the telephone. 4 Payment: If successful, you will be contacted. Payment is due immediately upon notification unless arrangements have been made with Copley prior to bidding. A buyer’s premium of 20% of the final bid price up to and including $1,000,000, plus 15% of the final bid price over $1,000,000, will be applied to each lot sold, to be paid by the Buyer to Copley Fine Art Auctions, LLC as part of the purchase price.

CATALOG DESCRIPTION

BID PRICE US$

Print Name:

Signature:

(required)

OUT-OF-STATE DELIVERY AND AUTHORIZED SHIPPING RELEASE FORM I tem(s) will not be released without a signed authorization form from the invoiced Buyer. You may include this form with your payment or fax it to 617.266.4896. Payments of cash, check, or bank transfer must be posted to your account before property is released. If Copley Fine Art Auctions, LLC (Copley) is required to deliver the items to a purchaser outside of Massachusetts, the sale is exempt from Massachusetts Sales Tax under MGLA 64H §6(b) . 1

Copley is obligated to deliver the items out of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Copley is obligated to deliver the items to an interstate carrier as noted below.

Title will pass upon delivery to the out-of-state destination.

4 Please be aware that packing and the payment for shipping is the responsibility of the successful Buyer. Upon making the item(s) available for shipping to the Buyer or its Agent, Buyer shall be responsible for the care and packaging of the item(s). The Buyer shall bear the risk of loss from and after Copley making available such item(s) to the interstate carrier, including the insurance of the item(s) against all risks of loss including without limitation, fire, theft, or any other damage to the item(s). 5

Shipping can take up to four weeks and is processed in the order in which payment is received.

6 At your option, you may contact one of the interstate carriers listed below, or one of your choosing, to arrange for shipping. Carriers pick up frequently at our offices.

SHIPPING OPTIONS:

The UPS Store #4423 A.J. Yanakakis, Wakefield, MA 781.224.2500 or store4423@theupsstore.com

Boston Pack and Ship 781.849.8696 or 1.800.400.7204 info@bostonpackandship.com

Scott Cousins/North South Art Transfer Hand delivery service 978.491.9353 or scottcousins22@aol.com

Print name:

U.S. Art* 781.986.6500 or 1.800.872.7826 *Specializing in high-value art, large works, and specialty items

Place and Manner of Delivery:

(as invoiced)

To an Interstate Common Carrier for delivery out of state:

Shipping Address:

I authorize:

to pick up my items(s) (Please specify Name of Common Carrier) Sale Date:

Lot #s :

Phone: Email:

Signature: (required)

Internal use only Received by: Signature:

Print Name:

Date:

139

COPLEY FINE ART AUCTIONS, LLC | INFO@COPLEYART.COM | 617.536.0030

Copley Fine Art Auctions, The Sporting Sale 2021, The Johnson Collection of American Bird Decoys

Articles inside

Terms and Conditions of Sale

The Johnson Collection of American Bird Decoys

Schedule of Events

Important Notices