North American Decoys at Auction - July 23 & 24, 2019

Guyette & Deeter, Inc. North American Decoys At Auction July 23 & 24, 2019

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Guyette & Deeter, Inc.

North American Decoys At Auction Sheraton Harborside Hotel 250 Market Street Portsmouth, New Hampshire 603-431-2300 50 Table Dealer Show July 22, 23 & 24

Monday, July 22, 2019

Preview 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM Join us for complimentary cocktails and hors d’oeuvres

Monday, July 22, 2019

Tuesday, July 23, 2019 Preview 8:00 AM - 10:45 AM Auction 11:00 AM

Wednesday, July 24, 2019 Preview 8:00 AM - 9:45 AM Auction 10:00 AM

For questions during the auction call 410-745-0485

Some of the featured decoys from the new exhibit “The Surgeon & the Explorer-Naturalist: The Shorebird Decoys of Clarence Gardner & Newton Dexter” will be on display at the Guyette and Deeter preview reception on July 22. Don’t miss this opportunity to view some of the best known Gardner Dexter decoys, including the famed dowitcher pair from the collection of Jane and Ron Gard, formerly of the James McCleery Collection.

Curator Gigi Hopkins and museum director Amy Montague will be available to discuss the museum exhibition and new research on the makers.

Catalog $45. Out of Country $54 Absentee, Phone & Online Bidding accepted call 410-745-0485 for arrangements For Free Decoy Appraisal Contact: Gary Guyette | Gary@guyetteanddeeter.com | 410-745-0485 Jon Deeter | jdeeter@guyetteanddeeter.com | 440-610-1768

Important Notices: ■ Unofficial prices realized information will be available five business days after the auction. Official prices realized list will be available online approximately two weeks after the auction.

■ If you would like to consign decoys to our next auction, please contact; Gary Guyette 410-745-0485 gary@guyetteanddeeter.com or Jon Deeter 440-543-1416 jdeeter@ guyetteanddeeter.com. Free appraisals are available with no obligation to consign, and all correspondences are strictly confidential.

■ Under no circumstances will we be responsible for damage to frames or glass, or damages caused by them. Under no circumstances will we be responsible for damage to fragile decoratives. These items are marked in the catalog with an *.

■ Auctioneer James D. Julia, Fairfield, Maine.

■ Stands are not included with the decoys or weathervanes unless specified in catalog. Plexiglass cases are not included with shotgun shell boxes.

■ NO SALES TAX. ■ All duck calls have condition reports, but are sold “As Is”.

■ Trade Up Program - A limited numer of decoys purchased may be paid

for by consigning decoys to the next Guyette & Deeter. auction. Ask Gary or Jon for Details.

Guyette & Deeter Harbor Cruise

Portsmouth Harbor Cruises - July 23 at 5:15 pm Guyette & Deeter will be hosting a harbor cruise for auction attendees who are staying at the Sheraton. The cruise departs at 5:15 and returns at 6:30. Cash bar will be provided. Space is limited!

Only 49 passenger capacity. Call Guyette & Deeter at 410-745-0485 and reserve your complimentary ticket.

UPCOMING GUYETTE & DEETER, INC. DECOY AUCTIONS November 6 & 7, 2019

Talbot County Community Center Easton, Maryland

In Conjunction with the Easton Waterfowl Festival Featuring the collection of Sam Dyke 50 Dealer Show

April 2020

Pheasant Run Resort St. Charles, Illinois

In Conjunction with Midwest Decoy Collectors’ Show To consign, Contact: Gary Guyette | gary@guyetteanddeeter.com | 410-745-0485 Jon Deeter | jdeeter@guyetteanddeeter.com | 440-543-1416

We are fortunate to have Robert J. Koenke on staff as our Sporting & Wildlife Art expert.

Feel free to contact him for an appraisal or consignment to one of our auctions: 410-758-1644, rjkoenke@verizon.net

Guyette & Deeter, Inc.

Dale & Gary Guyette PO Box 1170 St. Michaels, MD 21663 Tel: 410-745-0485 Fax: 410-745-0487 gary@guyetteanddeeter.com

Jon & Leigh Ann Deeter 7980 Darbys Run Chagrin Falls, OH 44023 Cell: 440-610-1768 Fax: 440-543-5405 jdeeter@guyetteanddeeter.com

Zac Cote Weekly Auction Manager Freeport, Maine Tel: 207-321-8091 zcote@guyetteanddeeter.com

Mike Stevenson Graphic Designer & Photography St. Michaels, Maryland Tel: 410-745-0485 michael@guyetteanddeeter.com

Ed Kenney Merchandise Manager & Shipping St. Michaels, Maryland Tel: 410-745-0485 shipping@guyetteanddeeter.com

Lynda Brooks PO Box 1170 St. Michaels, MD 21663 410-745-0485 www.guyetteanddeeter.com

Office Manager St. Michaels, Maryland Tel: 410-745-0485 lynda@guyetteanddeeter.com

Denise Jarrell

Bookkeeper St. Michaels, Maryland Tel: 410-745-0485 billing@guyetteanddeeter.com

Featuring Decoys From The Collections Of: Jonathan & Virginia Chua Bruce Collins Lillian Colodny Jim & Diane Cook Dick Cowan Jim & Joan Deevy Ginny & Gordy Hayes Lynwood Herrington

Dr. Lloyd Newberry Jim Karsnitz Don Kirson Robert Laurent Doug & Ellen Miller Dick Stephenson Ron Swanson Carl Wallman

Ginny and Gordy Hayes My parents, Ginny and Gordy Hayes, were decoy collectors from Buffalo, New York. They were meticulous about the details they recorded for each of their purchases and sales that began in the late 1950s. My mother wrote in print form and my father scripted his notes. They matched almost word for word. Anecdotes were included such as Ginny’s acknowledgment of her mistake of removing the paint from their first decoy, a scaup that they paid $2 for in 1957, and was proud to record “paint not removed” from their second scaup… and each additional piece.

Over the next 40 years, they collected, bought, and sold over 270 birds from carvers and collectors from Long Point, Ontario to North Carolina to New England.

As their eyes widened, they expanded into items that caught their interest including fish decoys, butter molds, weathervanes, and brass lions. Their notebooks included detailed descriptions, and purchase and sale amounts, along with the dates of over 190 pieces.

For example, a cast iron eagle “was outside of a building on the Erie Canal at Brockport, NY.” They kept receipts and “thank you” notes. When duplicates existed, such as in the Bath Maritime Museum, they noted it. If articles were written about similar pieces, like in Maine Antique Digest, they clipped and saved it. It seems like they kept every piece of correspondence in the envelopes, (remember four and five cent stamps?), from the carvers and dealers they knew.

Listed #1 in the non-decoy album is Bellamy Motto Eagle “Don’t Give Up the Ship,” with a recorded wing span of 36”. It was “bought for $350 on July 17, 1962 from Mrs. Wilcoxsen, Henniker, NH - who said she would buy it back at any time.”

Number 45 in the log book is listed as a Running Deer Weathervane - 36” - see Fiske catalog - circa 1880. It was a gift to my parents.

My brother Gordon and I traveled with them on most vacation trips. I vividly recall Ken Anger’s small studio with wood shavings about three inches deep on the floor, and blue, red, and white ribbons covered, as well as the window, in sawdust. Bill Mackey’s house was something. His expansive farmhouse had decoys displayed throughout the first floor, and the basement had decoys stacked in boxes everywhere. Somehow he seemed to know where everything was and had a story for each.

They both very much enjoyed surprising the other. One of them would purchase a piece, then hide it until a birthday or Christmas, generating a common question, “Where did you get this?” or “When did you get it?” Sometimes the gifts would come out more than half a year later.

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Richard (“Dick”) Alan Cowan, Sr. 1937 – 2014 East Marion and Mahopac, NY Noted Long Island Decoy Authority Dick Cowan grew up in East Marion at the tip of Long Island’s north fork. He graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in Philosophy and went on to enjoy a 30 year teaching career. His interests included duck hunting and wetlands conservation. He was an avid bird watcher and an active and enthusiastic member of the Audubon Society. His real passion, however, was collecting and documenting the rich history of Long Island’s cork decoys and their makers. He, along with friend Dick LaFountain, published three different articles on this subject in Decoy Magazine, and he lectured locally on the subject. Cowan and LaFountain also co-authored the definitive book on Wildfowler decoys. It is hard to imagine that anyone had a deeper knowledge base on Long Island cork and their makers, and his own collection contained some of the rarest and finest examples of their work.

Dick Cowan

Robert Laurent 1890 - 1970 Robert Laurent was a well-known sculptor who was born in Brittany, France, and moved to the United States as a youth. He was adopted by noted art patron and collector Hamilton Easter Field and was Field’s heir. Laurent’s works are carried in many major museums, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art , the Brooklyn Museum , and Atlanta’s High Museum . His work has been featured in numerous exhibits, most recently in “A New American Sculpture, 1914-1945” (along with Lachaise, Nadelman, and Zorach), a 2017-2018 exhibit that traveled among the Portland Museum of Art, the Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Ft. Worth, and the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1970. He was married to Marie (“Mimi”) Caraes, also of Brittany, France. He was survived by two sons, John and Paul, both of whom are now deceased.

Laurent was also a noted art collector, primarily of early 20th century art, American folk art, and art from the Ogunquit, Maine area , where Field founded an art school and where Laurent ultimately retired. Folk art from his collection was exhibited most recently at the American Folk Art Museum in 2015 in the “Folk Art and American Modernism” exhibit.

The cigar store Indian was from Laurent’s collection of folk art.

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Lynwood Herrington Daddy had always had an infatuation with ducks, their beauty, flight patterns, migration, etc. He told us once that he had always been in love with ducks from an early age. My sister and I have our own memories of ducks in our backyard on Hampton Avenue.

J. Lynwood Herrington, MD

My father grew up in Waynesboro, Georgia, a very small agricultural town located in the south central eastern region of the state, where he enjoyed a great childhood dove and quail hunting, and fishing coastal ponds. He left Waynesboro in 1939 to attend Vanderbilt University in Nashville. There, he studied medicine where he earned his medical degree and went on to become a Clinical Professor of Surgery at Vanderbilt, and attending surgeon in private practice at St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville. His career and accomplishments as a surgeon, teacher, and mentor to residents was unparalleled. He published over 300 articles in major surgical journals, wrote textbooks, and participated in approximately 150 visiting professorships during his 40 years in practice.

He met my mother, Mary Alene Edwards, who also attended Vanderbilt.

They married and had seven children – three boys and four girls.

Outside of the numerous surgical organizations to which he was a member, he was most proud serving as President of The Southern Surgical Society in 1993. Their annual meeting was held at The Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia. His Presidential address to the membership was entitled, “The Art of the Knife,” which captured the art of surgery, as a comparative to carving waterfowl. My mother, who went

by Mamie – an artist herself – created a depiction of his presentation… my father on one side, and the Ward Brothers on the other. The print rather resembles a duck stamp print.

My father was an avid duck hunter as well, and began hunting on the Mississippi Flyway during medical school in 1943 on Reelfoot Lake in northwest Tennessee. He mentioned many times, due to the War, they would have to pool gas ration coupons in order to make the 4-5 hour drive from Nashville.

The “duck room” in the Herrington home.

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He continued hunting this area throughout his life, primarily hunting the Obion River Bottoms which consisted mainly of green timber mallard hunting. Also, many years were spent hunting as a family with his three sons in Hillman, Arkansas, home of some of the finest mallard timber hunting in the country.

His interest in decoy collecting and travel to the Eastern Shore of Maryland began around 1970.

Although he always read about the area, and studied books on waterfowl flight and habits (“Prairie Wings,” for example), his first trip to World Championship was in 1971, the inaugural year. His interest was primarily centered on decorative birds, and he never purchased any of the cherished working rigs so highly sought after. Throughout the years, he attended the world championship, and became very good friends with many, many of the accomplished carvers and their families. I remember traveling to the Championship where we met and spent time with both Lem and Steve Ward in the early 70s. He also met one of the Wards’ close friends, Norris Pratt. We visited his modest home in Delaware where we viewed his collection of approximately 150 Wards, and purchased a few.

Other notable carvers who were close friends include Oliver Lawson, Joe “Buckeye” Wooster, Pat Godin, Jim Foote, Ron Tepley (Birds of Prey), Tan Brunet, Jim Vizier, and Eldridge Arnold. These families visited our home in Nashville on numerous occasions. Throughout the years, he had these artists commission carvings for him, and also actively pursued birds with auction houses. One of the greatest forms of viewing his wonderful collection was in the wing he built onto his house in 1981, The Duck Room.

My mother, Mamie – an artist herself – and father became very close with many families on the Eastern Shore, and traveled extensively with these friends… frequently to Nashville. They became very close to The Ward Museum, and, in fact, were benefactors to the museum. They actually donated one of the two known Ward Brothers swans to the museum. They spent many years going back and forth to visit. I remember the curator at the time, Ken Basil, visiting our home in Nashville on several occasions.

In March 1986, The Ward Museum publicly dedicated The Herrington Gallery Room at the museum.

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Guyette & Deeter Online Auctions

Tom Shumate Sold! $4772

Ian McNair | Sold! $535

We e k ly O nline Au c t ions End ing E ve r y T hu r sd ay N ig ht G u a r a nt eed co n d i t i o n re p o r t s , m ul t i p l e p hot os , q u i ck s h i p p i n g , g reat d eal s o n q ual i t y i t e m s Edgar Sherman Sewell Sold! $604

For questions, contact: 207-321-8091

zcote@guyetteanddeeter.com

William Gibian Sold! $1213

PO Box 159, Freeport, Maine 04032 www.decoysforsale.com

Recent Sales

Session One

Tuesday, July 23, 2019 11:00 am Lots 1 - 275B

Session Two

Wednesday, July 24, 2019 10:00 am Lots 276 - 496

Contemporary 1 - 12 13 - 17 Shorebirds 18 - 39 Miniatures 40 - 44 New England Midwest 45 - 55A 56 - 64 Ward Brothers Decoratives 65 - 82 Contemporary 83 - 92 Maine 93 - 108 Sporting Art Pennsylvania & New Jersey 109 - 118 Items of Interest 119 - 138 Midwest 139 - 143 Shorebirds 144 - 156 Ward Brothers 157 - 166 Fish Decoys 167 - 181 Virginia 182 - 191 Miscellaneous Decoys 192 - 195 Pacific Coast 196 - 197 Sporting Art 198 - 215 Long Island, New York 216 - 235 Contemporary 236 - 238 Items of Interest 239 - 240 Duck Calls 241 - 247 Miniatures 248 - 266 Hurley Conklin 267 - 275B

Decoratives 276 - 297 New England 298 - 305 Shorebirds 306 - 310 Ward Brothers 311 - 321 New York 322 - 334 Maryland 335 - 344 Shorebirds 345 - 353C 353D - 353G Louisiana Elmer Crowell Decoratives 354 - 365 Factory 366 - 381 Massachusetts 382 - 397 397A - 413 New Jersey New England 414 - 433 Canada 434 - 456 Decoratives 457 - 461 Etchings & Prints 463 - 483 Shorebirds 484 - 489 Decoratives 490 - 496

Please read conditions of sale in the back of catalog

SESSION ONE

Tuesday, July 23, 2019 - 11:00 am

Cameron McIntyre New Church, Virginia

Cameron McIntyre was born in Beaufort, South Carolina in 1968. He grew up in a house filled with antique decoys from notable makers such as Ben Holmes, John Dilley, Nathan Cobb, Lee Dudley, Joe Lincoln, Alvirah Wright, the Caines Brothers, Lem and Steve Ward, and Ira Hudson. Cameron was enthralled with decoys from the start and tried his hand at decoy carving in 1977 at the age of nine. He went on to study art at the University of South Carolina and, later, life drawing, figure, and landscape painting at the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, South Carolina, where he studied under notable southern artist William McCullough. He also studied briefly with Russell Chatham, who has been called the “greatest living landscape painter in America.”

Cameron moved to Virginia’s Eastern Shore in 1989 and set an early goal to try and create birds that exhibit the same sense of craftsmanship, form, paint, and patina that he admired on the many great antique birds he has studied. He also made a point to visit as many great collections as possible and has traveled all over the United States and Canada, visiting such collectors as Bud Ward, James McCleery, Lloyd Griffith, Donal O’Brien, Joe Tonelli, Vance Strausburg, William Purnell, Bruce Malcolm, Paul Brisco, Henri Wedell, Henry Stansbury, Don Kirson, Sam Dyke, and others.

Now, Cameron has been carving full-time for 30 years. His decoys are known for their mastery of form and patina, freely combining elements from all the decoys he has so passionately studied. He is proud that his creations can be found in many of the finest collections in the US and Canada, displayed alongside some of the greatest decoys ever carved.

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Pair of full size standing mallards, Cameron McIntyre, New Church, Virginia. Carved in 2019. Hollow carved. “CTM” carved in the underside of each base. Drake stands 13” tall. Drake has relief wing carving and slightly turned head. Open mouth, calling hen has raised wings that are carved from the same piece of wood as the body. Hen also has slightly turned head with open bill. Very good and original.

(5,000 - 8,000)

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Hissing Canada goose, made in the St. Clair Flats tradition, Cameron McIntyre, New Church, Virginia.

Carved in 2019. Hollow carved with .25” bottom board. “CTM” carved in the underside. Head is held on with square peg. Good form. 25.5” long.

Very good and original.

(2,500 - 3,500)

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Brant carved with a North Carolina influence, Cameron Mcintyre, New Church, Virginia. Carved in 2019. “CTM” carved in underside.

Raised “V” wingtip carving. 22” long. Was carved while visiting Mattamuskeet, North Carolina. According to Cameron it was made to look like it was forgotten in a boat shed for 100 years. This is the exact bird Cameron carved in the documentary film “From The Marsh” by Jim Talone and J.P. Hand, 2019. Original paint that has been aged with significant wear; structurally good. (2,000 - 3,000)

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3A. Primitive curlew carved with a North Carolina influence, Cameron McIntyre, New Church, Virginia. Carved in 2019. “CTM” carved under tail. Splined oak bill.

16” long. Original paint that has been aged with wear; lightly hit by shot.

(1,000 - 1,400) 3B.

3A 3B

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Golden plover, Cameron McIntyre, New Church, Virginia. Carved in 2019. “CTM” carved under the tail.

11.5” long. Shoebutton eyes. Good paint detail. Decoy comes with its original base. One of only six ever made by Cameron. Very good and original.

(750 - 950)

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Curlew carved in the Walter Brady style, Cameron McIntyre, New Church, Virginia. Carved in 1994. Initials “CTM” are carved in the underside. Carved eyes and raised “V” wingtips. 14.5” long. Original paint that has been aged; structurally good.

(950 - 1,250)

Wood duck drake, Cameron McIntyre, New Church, Virginia. Carved in 2007. “CTM” carved in underside. Relief wing carving and carved eyes. Near mint original paint; structurally excellent.

(2,000 - 3,000)

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Pair of pintails, Cameron McIntyre, New Church, Virginia. Carved in 2002. Hollowed with relief carved wings and slightly raised wingtips. Hen in preening pose and drake with slightly turned head.

“CTM” carved in the undersides. Measure 18.5” and 15.5” long. Minor wear on the extremities by the artist; otherwise excellent and original.

(3,000 - 4,000)

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Widgeon drake, William Gibian, Onancock, Virginia. Signed. In preening pose with lifted wingtips. 14” long. Very slight paint shrinkage on underside, otherwise excellent and original.

(1,400 - 1,800)

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Preening wood duck drake, William Gibian, Onancock, Virginia. Signed. Lifted wing and extended wingtips. 13” long. Very good and original.

(1,400 - 1,800)

Penguin carved by Frank Finney, Cape Charles, Virginia. 28” tall. Reproduction of a Charles Hart penguin. Signed “A Charles Hart Bird, Emperor Penguin by Frank Finney,” on underside of base. Original paint that has been aged; small crack in breast.

(1,500 - 2,500)

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Large pair of sickle billed curlew, William Gibian, Onancock, Virginia. Signed.

Relief wing carving with raised wingtips. Left is 12.5” long.

(1,250 - 1,750)

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11. Long billed curlew, William Gibian, Onancock, Virginia. A large carving with an alert, slightly turned head pose. Relief carved wings and raised wingtips. “Gibian” carved in the underside. Measures 19.75” long. Very minor separation at back of neck seat, otherwise excellent and original.

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Provenance: From an early Connecticut collection of Gibian shorebirds.

(950 - 1,250)

12. Hudsonian godwit, yellowlegs, and dowitcher, William Gibian, Onancock, Virginia. All with relief wing carving and raised wing tips.

All with “Gibian” carved in the underside. Yellowlegs in feeding pose with slightly turned head. Measure from 10” to 15.5” long. Minor paint rubs and sap bleed, otherwise very good and original.

Provenance: From an early Connecticut collection of Gibian shorebirds.

(1,200 - 1,800)

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Eli Doughty

1846 - 1923 Hog Island, Virginia

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Rare curlew, Eli Doughty, Hog Island, Virginia. Raised “V” wingtip carving and flared head. Carrying hole drilled through tail. 15.5” long. Structurally good with original paint; good patina and minor wear; rough areas on both sides of the body where decoy was used to hammer the shorebird stakes; lightly hit by shot.

Provenance: Formerly in the collection of Bus Humphries. Found by Humphries in the mid 1940s on Ocracoke Island.

Literature: “Southern Decoys,” Henry Fleckenstein, Jr.

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(32,500 - 37,500)

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Eli Doughty with family members in front of his home in Willis Wharf, Virginia.

Elizabeth, Eli, Ethel, Albert, Rosa, Nelson, and two others.

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Golden plover in transitional plumage, John Dilley, Quogue, Long Island, New York, last quarter 19th century. Good paint detail. 10” long. Several tiny dents, otherwise very good and original.

Provenance: Formerly in the collection of Joe French.

(6,000 - 8,000)

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Black bellied plover from the Rodgers rig, Jamaica Bay, New York. Carved eyes. 10.25” long. Originally used as a stick up but later converted to a floating decoy.

Weight covers the stick hole. Original paint with minor wear; moderate wear on one lower side; structurally good.

(4,000 - 6,000)

John McAnney

1866 - 1949 New Gretna, New Jersey

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Exceptional ruddy turnstone, John McAnney, New Gretna, New Jersey, last quarter 19th century. 9.5” long. Strong original paint; structurally good.

Provenance: Formerly in the Hillman collection.

Literature: “Classic New Jersey Decoys,” James Doherty, Jr. “New Jersey Decoys,” Henry Fleckenstein, Jr. “Decoy Collectors Guide 1968 Annual, South Jersey Shorebirds,” Russell G. Hoist, p. 46, similar example shown. (7,500 - 9,500)

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“One night in 1893, Cobb Island was literally wiped from the face of the earth when a tidal wave swept over it. Next morning, not a building remained. The inhabitants who survived moved to the mainland. The “good old days” were gone forever. But decoys were made to float, and most of those that still survived were picked up adrift after the storm and used again, their fame increasing through the years that followed. Following the 1893 storm, a gradual return to the island began, and some rebuilding took place. In 1933, however, the island was again swept bare and today it remains a sandy waste.”

-William J. Mackey, Jr.

“American Bird Decoys,” William J. Mackey, Jr., page 154, exact decoy. Mackey stated in his book that a decoy like this may date as early as 1860.

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17. Exceptional running curlew from Cobb Island, Virginia, last quarter 19th century. 19” long. Carved eyes and raised “V” wingtip carving. A large “B” is carved in the underside near the stick hole. Most of the paint is missing; two hand forged nails have been added many years ago to the lower side to keep a crack in the side from opening more; bill is possibly a very early working replacement.

Provenance: Formerly in the collection of Bill Mackey, Jr. Sold October 20, 1973 at the Mackey Auction, catalog #263. Mackey collection stamp on underside.

Literature: “Southern Decoys,” Henry Fleckenstein, Jr. (25,000 - 35,000)

Exact decoy exhibited at the IBM Gallery of Arts and Sciences Decoy Exhibit put on by William J. Mackey, Jr. in 1966.

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Miniatures

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18. Pair of miniature mallards, Charles Perdew, Henry, Illinois. Drake is a little over 4” long. Both have raised wingtips.

Drake has slightly turned head, hen is in preening pose. Very good and original.

(3,500 - 4,500) 19.

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Very rare standing puffin, George Boyd, Seabrook, New Hampshire. 4” tall. Very tiny amount of paint shrinkage on face, otherwise excellent and original. (3,000 - 4,000)

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Very rare miniature cormorant, George Boyd, Seabrook, New Hampshire. Relief wing carving and turned head. Tack eyes and carved wooden crest. 6.5” long. Near mint original paint; structurally excellent.

Literature: “Finely Carved and Nicely Painted,” Jim Cullen.

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Miniature godwit, George Boyd, Seabrook, New Hampshire. In running pose with split tail carving. Measures 4.75” long. Excellent and original.

(2,000 - 3,000)

(2,750 - 3,250)

Elmer Crowell

1862 - 1952 East Harwich, Massachusetts

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Miniature spotted sandpiper, Elmer Crowell, East Harwich, Massachusetts. Mounted on wooden base with rectangular stamp. 2.5” tall. Excellent and original.

(1,750 - 2,250)

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Miniature sandpiper, Elmer Crowell, East Harwich, Massachusetts. 3.75” long. Crowell’s rectangular stamp in underside. Very good and original.

(2,000 - 3,000)

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Miniature least sandpiper, Elmer Crowell, East Harwich, Massachusetts. Mounted on wooden base with rectangular stamp. 2” tall. Excellent and original.

(1,750 - 2,250)

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Miniature American merganser hen, Elmer Crowell, East Harwich, Massachusetts. Crowell’s round ink stamp on underside. Very good and original.

Provenance: Colodny collection.

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Miniature yellowlegs, Elmer Crowell, East Harwich, Massachusetts. Mounted on wooden base with rectangular stamp. Split tail. 3.75” tall. Excellent and original.

(1,750 - 2,250)

(1,500 - 2,000)

27. Miniature American merganser drake, Elmer Crowell, East Harwich, Massachusetts. Traces of Crowell’s circular ink stamp on underside. Very good and original.

(1,500 - 2,500) 25

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Pair of miniature woodcocks, A.J. King, North Scituate, Massachusetts. Signed on base. Good paint and carving detail. Very good and original.

(2,000 - 3,000)

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Pair of miniature pintails, AJ King, North Scituate, Massachusetts. Signed. Both have raised carved wingtips, drake has slightly turned head. 4.5” long. Very good and original.

(2,000 - 3,000)

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Pair of miniature canvasbacks, A.J. King, North Scituate, Rhode Island. Signed on the base. Both have fine paint and carving detail. Base is 4” long. Very good and original.

(2,000 - 2,500)

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Pair of miniature gadwalls, A.J. King, North Scituate, Rhode Island. Signed on the base. Fine paint and carving detail. Base is 4” long. Very good and original.

(2,000 - 2,500)

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Pair of miniature redheads, A.J. King, North Scituate, Rhode Island. Signed on the base. Good paint and feather carving detail. Base is 4.25” long. Very good and original.

(2,000 - 2,500)

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Pair of miniature cinnamon teal, A.J. King, North Scituate, Rhode Island. Signed on the base. Both have fine paint and feather carving detail. Base is 3.25” long. Very good and original.

(2,000 - 2,500)

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Pair of miniature bluewing teal, A.J. King, North Scituate, Rhode Island. Both have good feather carving and paint detail. Signed on the base. Base is 3.125”. Very good and original.

(2,000 - 2,500)

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Pair of miniature Canada geese, A.J. King, North Scituate, Rhode Island. Signed on the base. Both have fine paint detail and raised extended wingtips. Base is 4.75” long. Very good and original.

(2,000 - 2,500)

36. Half size mallard hen, Bert Graves, Peoria, Illinois. 9.25” long. Original paint with good patina; small tail chip repair; several tiny dents in head.

Provenance: From an estate in Illinois. (1,750 - 2,250)

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Miniature bluebill drake, Joseph Lincoln, Accord, Massachusetts. 3.25” long. Very good and original.

(2,000 - 2,500)

38. Miniature Canada goose, Elmer Crowell, East Harwich, Massachusetts. Traces of Crowell’s circular ink stamp on underside of base. 5.75” long. Several small spots of touchup, otherwise very good and original.

Provenance: Colodny collection.

(1,500 - 2,500)

39. Miniature redhead drake, Elmer Crowell, East Harwich, Massachusetts. 4.5” long. Very good and original.

Provenance: Colodny collection.

(1,250 - 1,750) 27

Elmer Crowell

1862 - 1952 East Harwich, Massachusetts

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“When only the best will do...”

It was a fortunate series of events that led Elmer Crowell to make the transition from cranberry grower to the premier carver of decoys in America.

Sport hunting began in earnest after the Civil War Certainly men and women from all classes of society pursued this activity, including the wealthy and elite of Massachusetts society. These people were highly educated, often society’s elite members, who made their reputation as doctors, stockbrokers, engineers, landscape architects, and business leaders. They had the finances and cultural background to enjoy the very best in life as evidenced by their avocations as ornithologists, patrons of the opera, golfers, writers, and early conservationists.

These men were investors and built private golf courses and hunting clubs.

Members of this segment of society would seek out Crowell as a live bird handler and carver of decoys to provide them the level of quality and enjoyment to which they were accustomed. Familiar names such as Drs. John C. Phillips and John H. Cunningham, stockbrokers such as Harry Long and Charles Ashley Hardy, businessmen and architects such as G. Herbert Windeler and Loring Underwood were among Crowell’s earliest and most influential patrons. Hardy,

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Windeler, and Underwood ran the “Three Bears Stand” on Cape Cod, Phillips and Cunningham shot on private estates north of Boston, and Long’s home was south of Boston in Cohasset. It was for these and similar clients that Crowell produced his early and very finest decoys.

The pintail offered here was once owned by Stanley W. Smith of Boston and Orleans on Cape Cod. Like Long and Hardy, he too was involved in the stock market and, along with his brother Albert, had Crowell produce custom decoys for them, designed around others used

So called compass brand used by Stanley W and Albert P on their Crowell gunning rig decoys.

by John Ware Willard. It is very likely that he acquired this decoy directly from Crowell as a gift or he may have purchased it simply for its artistic merit to be enjoyed on his mantel. Pintails, as a species, would have been considered a rarity on Cape Cod so very few decoys for them were ever produced. There are only 4-5 early Crowell pintails known. One, a similarly painted preener, sold for $803K at the Guyette & Deeter/Christie’s sale in 2003.

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From “New England Decoys,” John and Shirley Delph. Page 119, exact decoy pictured.

40 Detail

40.

Exceptional and important pintail drake, Elmer Crowell, East Harwich, Massachusetts. Fine form with slightly lifted and turned head. Detailed, carved, crossed wingtips and extended tail sprig.

Crowell’s oval brand is on the underside. 18” long. Made as a presentation piece for Stanley Smith, Orleans, Massachusetts, circa 1912. Fine feather paint detail. Superb original paint; structurally excellent; tip of tail, approximately 1” from the end, was cracked and reset with the original piece.

Literature: “The Songless Aviary,” Brian Cullity. “New England Decoys,” John and Shirley Delph, p. 119, exact decoy pictured. “Great Book of Decoys,” Joe Engers, editor.

(275,000 - 325,000)

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41. Greenwing teal drake, Elmer Crowell, East Harwich, Massachusetts. Crowell’s rectangular stamp is in underside twice. Slightly turned head and fluted tail. 12” long. Near mint original paint; crack in underside.

(3,000 - 4,000)

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42. Canvasback drake, Elmer Crowell, East Harwich, Massachusetts, last quarter 19th century. Carved tail with crossed wingtips. Exaggerated side pocket and turned head.

From a rig that was used in North Carolina, and a rigmate to the canvasback sold in the Mackey sale, which was featured on the dust jacket cover of “American Bird Decoys.” 15.25” long. Paint is a mix of old original and newer strengthening, probably done in the 1960s; structurally good.

(3,000 - 4,000)

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43.

Swimming merganser hen from Massachusetts, last quarter 19th century. Carved wooden crest. 17” long. Appealing old in use repaint; minor roughness to one edge of tail.

(5,000 - 8,000)

44.

Sleeping goldeneye drake, Elmer Crowell, East Harwich, Massachusetts. Fluted tail. Unpainted underside with rectangular stamp. 13” long. Original paint with very minor wear; a few dents.

(4,000 - 5,000)

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Midwest Robert Elliston 1849 - 1915 Bureau, Illinois

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45. Very rare bluewing teal drake, Robert Elliston, Bureau, Illinois, last quarter 19th century. Branded “Dennis” on underside. 12.5” long.

According to Joe Tonelli there are less than five or six drakes in existence. Original paint; teal blue paint has faded slightly on head and wing patch; several rubs to bare wood; rough area edge of tail.

(12,000 - 15,000)

45 Detail

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46. Pintail drake, Robert Elliston, Bureau, Illinois, last quarter 19th century. 17.5” long. Retains original Elliston weight. Original paint with good detail and minor to moderate flaking; a few tiny dents; small amount of in painting around worn area at edge of bill.

Literature: “Decoys of the Mississippi Flyway,” Alan Haid.

(6,000 - 9,000)

46 Detail

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47. Pair of bluebills, Tom Schroeder, Detroit, Michigan. Signed and dated 1960. Composite bodies with wooden heads and bottom boards. 12.5” long.

Wingtip carving. Very good and original.

(1,000 - 1,400) 48. Pair of mallards, Frank Cummings, Detroit, Michigan. Both have slightly turned heads and relief wingtip carving. Original paint with minor wear; hen has a thin crack through the neck.

(800 - 1,200) 49.

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Preening redhead drake, Ted Vandenbossche. Branded “R. Johnson.” Old in use repaint; structurally good.

(500 - 800)

50. Mallard drake, Charles Perdew, Henry, Illinois. Perdew weight on underside. Original paint with minor to moderate flaking and wear.

(1,000 - 1,400) 51. Pintail drake, George Cunningham, Henry, Illinois. 16.5” long. White area has second coat of paint; the rest is original with moderate shrinkage and wear; thin crack through neck.

Literature: “Decoys of the Mississippi Flyway,” Alan Haid.

(650 - 950)

52.

Greenwing teal hen, similar to William Finkle, Lake St. Clair, Michigan. 10” long. Original and good.

(1,000 - 1,400)

Charles Perdew 1874 - 1963 Henry, Illinois

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53. Wood duck drake, Charles Perdew, Henry, Illinois, circa 1950. Round body style with carved crest and raised wingtips.

Well executed paint pattern by Charlie, with detailed feathering. 11.5” long. Strong original paint; two plugs in underside covered by an original coat of varnish.

Provenance: “581” on the underside indicates that this decoy was purchased directly from Charles Perdew by Joe French in 1958.

Literature: “1964 Decoy Collectors Guide,” artilce by Joe French, p. 12, exact decoy pictured.

(8,500 - 10,500)

53 Detail

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54 Detail

Ferdinand Bach 1888 - 1967 Detroit, Michigan

When hunting the unpredictable waters that prevail in the days of November on Lake St. Clair, carver Ferdinand Bach found that his particular design of large, full body, solid decoys met his expectations for imitating the look of the migrating canvasbacks. Bach was a student of design, employed as a draftsman at both Dodge and Chrysler, he was a perfectionist. His meticulous care and practice of placing each decoy in its own individual bag helped to maintain the pristine condition of his decoys from season to season.

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54.

Classic canvasback drake, Ferdinand Bach, Detroit, Michigan. “F. Bach” carved in the underside. Relief carved wingtips and fluted tail. Near mint original paint; a few tiny dents.

Literature: “Fish and Fowl of the Great Lakes,” Donna Tonelli.

(17,500 - 22,500)

55. Canvasback drake, Ferdinand Bach, Detroit, Michigan. 16” long. Original paint with minor wear; a few small dents.

(2,500 - 4,500)

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55A. Bluebill drake from the Kankakee marshes, last quarter 19th century. 14” long.

Slightly turned head. Original paint with minor wear; a few tiny dents.

Provenance: This bluebill was in the original burlap bag given as a gift from Trinosky to the family that helped him clean out his barn. From the same gunning rig as the Kankakee marsh high neck pintails in this sale, lots 139 and 140.

(1,500 - 2,500)

55A

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Decoratives by the Ward Brothers Crisfield, Maryland

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56.

Standing full size greenwing teal hen in unusual preening pose with bill tucked under dropped wing, Ward Brothers, Crisfield, Maryland. Both wings are slightly lifted, with one dropping down to act as the third point to give the decoy stability when standing. Approximately 9” tall x 10.5” long. Signed and dated 1945. Some of the wing feathering is made with peach basket staves. Very good and original.

Provenance: From a home in Mardela Springs, Maryland.

(16,000 - 20,000)

57.

Very rare wood duck drake, Ward Brothers, Crisfield, Maryland. Inscription on underside reads, “To me, Lem Ward, this is the best wood duck my hand has ever accomplished 1968. for Gov. McKeldin for Christmas.” Head is slightly turned. Carved tail is fanned and elevated, with cocked head and protruding breast. 13” long. Excellent original paint; area of minor crazing on front of breast.

Provenance: Herrington collection.

(5,000 - 8,000)

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58. Brant, Ward Brothers, Crisfield, Maryland, 1971.

Inscription on underside reads “Made special for a special friend, Norris Pratt. Lemuel Ward counterfeiter in wood since 1918.” Turned head with protruding breast. Feather texture on head and neck created by shallow carving marks. Raised wingtips and extended carved tail. 16” long. Strong original paint; structurally very good.

Provenance: Herrington collection.

(5,000 - 8,000)

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Very rare hooded merganser drake, Ward Brothers, Crisfield, Maryland. Painted in bold spring plumage with fanned and carved crest. Head that is slightly turned. Raised carved wingtips executed in a style similar to those by master carver Elmer Crowell. Carved muscle structure throughout body. Underside is dated 1967 with inscription “To me, Lem Ward, this the best hooded merganser my hand has ever accomplished. For Jim West.”

15” long. Excellent original paint; tiny amount of wear at tip of two tail feathers.

Provenance: Herrington collection.

60.

Old squaw drake, Ward Brothers, Crisfield, Maryland, 1968. Signed and dated on underside. Inscription reads “One of two winter plumage”. Head is lifted and slightly turned. Protruding breast with side pocket and wing outline. Carved wingtips with two inset wooden sprig tail. 19.5” long. Strong original paint; structurally good.

Provenance: Herrington collection.

(5,000 - 8,000)

(5,000 - 10,000)

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Pair of shovelers, Ward Brothers, Crisfield, Maryland. Underside reads, “Special made for Roy Bull’s collection. Lem Ward 1967.”

Hollow cedar. Both have slightly turned heads. Perfectly executed bill carving that reflects the tear drop shape bill this species is known for. Carved wingtips and tail. 15” long. Excellent original paint; slight crazing to a few small areas; tiny rub near rear on hen’s back.

Provenance: Herrington collection.

(10,000 - 15,000)

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Rigmate pair of shooting stool model bluebills, Ward Brothers, Crisfield, Maryland, circa 1960-1970. Both have slightly turned heads. Drake has stippled paint on back. Very detailed feather painting on both, more so than most birds from this time period. Inscription on underside of hen reads, “To William Redd Taylor, artist. Signed Lem and Steve,” with a poem that reads, “ I know my cares are many and hours of toil are few; there is not time enough on earth for all I’d like to do; but, having lived and having toiled I’d like the world to find some little touch of beauty that my soul has left behind.” Underside of drake, “To William Redd Taylor, a real young artist with a great big future. To his wife Gail whose devotion throughout the years deserves a greater tribute,” “on the 7th day god asked himself whom have I on earth to speak for me, I must create another species, one part I will call him artist, his will be the task to bring meaning and beauty to the world.” 14” long. Very good and original.

Provenance: Herrington collection.

63.

Pair of hollow carved bluebills, Ward Brothers, Crisfield, Maryland. Signed and dated 1967. Both have turned heads. 14” long. Very good and original.

(4,000 - 6,000)

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(3,000 - 5,000)

64. Very rare pair of goldeneye, Ward Brothers, Crisfield, Maryland. Underside reads, “For John Hopkins collection. Lem Ward 1966. Special made.” Drake has puffed breast with nestled head and neck. Highly detailed carved head, wingtips, and fanned tail. Hen has similar carving on head which is slightly turned. Carved wingtips and extended fanned tail. 14.5” long. Strong original paint; hen has bottom board separation on one side of body.

Provenance: Herrington collection.

(10,000 - 15,000)

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Marty Hanson

Hayward, Wisconsin

Marty Hanson has been building gunning decoys and carving folk art as a profession for 43 years.

All of his decoys and creations are traditionally made... “handmade one at a time with hand tools, oil paints, and traditional woods harvested by the maker.� His inspirations have always come from his love of nature and hunting combined with the respect for quality construction.

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Canada goose, in swimming pose, Marty Hanson, Hayward, Wisconsin. Carved in 2010. “MH” carved in underside. Made in the style of George Warin from white cedar,hollow with bottom board. Hanson has only made two in this style, lot 67 and this one. Both were made to hunt but were not hunted. Toronto, Ontario.

Good paint detail. 25” long. Very good and original.

(2,000 - 2,500)

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66.

Pacific brant, Marty Hanson, Hayward, Wisconsin. Carved in 2017. “MH” carved in underside. Hollow carved from white cedar with root head, bill is fashioned with a one piece mortice and tenon and made from white oak. 17” long. Original paint that has been aged; structurally good.

(2,000 - 2,500)

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67.

Canada goose in resting pose, Marty Hanson, Hayward, Wisconsin. Carved in 2010. “MH” carved in underside.Made in the style of George Warin from white cedar,hollow with bottom board. Hanson has only made two in this style, lot 65 and this one. Both were made to hunt but were not hunted. Toronto, Ontario. Good paint detail. 24” long. Very good and original.

(2,000 - 2,500)

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Jim Schmiedlin

1945-2015 Bradfordwoods, Pennsylvania

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Exceptional greenwing teal hen with tucked head and puffed breast, Jim Schmiedlin, Bradfordwoods, Pennsylvania. In rare low head pose with turned head. Relief wing carving. Signed and branded. With statement, “Upper body, cyprus wood from Brewers, dated 2009.” Branded JAS on underside.

Extra fine carving detail. Upper body carved from 100+ year old cypress reclaimed from the Iron City Brewery fermenting tanks and noted on underside. Excellent and original.

(4,000 - 6,000)

69. Eider drake with mussel in mouth carved in the style of Gus Wilson, Mark McNair, Craddockville, Virginia. Signed. Carved bill, eyes, and wings. Inlet head. Original paint that has been aged; small crack in lower breast and in lower neck seat.

(2,000 - 3,000)

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70. Old squaw drake, Mark McNair, Craddockville, Virginia. Signed. Very slightly turned head. Inserted hardwood tail.

Decoy is 16” long. Original paint that has been aged; structurally very good.

(2,000 - 3,000)

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71.

Pair of American mergansers, Bob White, Tullytown, Pennsylvania. Signed. Bob White weight is on the underside of each. Both have slightly turned heads and carved in the Delaware River tradition. 18” long. Very good and original. (1,400 - 1,800)

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72. Pair of mergansers carved in the style of John English, Bob White, Tullytown, Pennsylvania. Carved wooden crests and fluted tails. Original paint that has been aged; small defect in underside of drake, otherwise structurally good.

(1,250 - 1,750)

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Pair of oversize preening gadwall, George Strunk, Glendora, New Jersey. Signed. Hen has open mouth.

Both have raised wingtips and fluted tails. Hen is 20” long. Very good and original.

(800 - 1,200) Pair of oversize preening pintails, George Strunk, Glendora, New Jersey. Signed. Fluted tails and raised wingtips. Very good and original.

(800 - 1,200)

75. Emperor penguin with chick nestled between feet. 21” tall. Original paint that is weathered and worn; small cracks.

(1,250 - 1,750) 76. Large stick up Canada goose, George Strunk, Glendora, New Jersey. 32” long. Signed. Hollow carved with crossed wingtips and fluted tail slightly turned head with open mouth. Very good and original.

(650 - 950)

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Assateague Island style shorebird, Lloyd Cargile, Baltimore, Maryland. “LC” carved in the underside.

Relief wing carving. Very good and original.

(450 - 650)

78.

Large swan, Reggie Birch. 30 - 40 years old. 39” long. Old paint appears to be original; numerous cracks and worn areas to wood.

(450 - 650)

79.

Greenwing teal drake, Ian McNair. Signed. Original paint that has been aged; structurally good. (600 - 900)

80.

Hollow carved reproduction of a Nathan Cobb black duck, Frank Finney, Cape Charles, Virginia. Inlet head, raised “V” wingtips carving, and serifed “N” carved in underside. Original paint that has been aged; thin crack through neck.

(650 - 950)

81.

Preening whimbrel, Mark McNair, Craddockville, Virginia. Signed. Relief wing carving. Original paint that has been aged; structurally good.

(800 - 1,200)

82.

Pair of miniature egrets, Mark McNair, Craddockville, Virginia. Removable heads. Signed on pin that holds the heads on. 7.5” long. Original and good.

(1,400 - 1,800) 51

Gus Wilson

1864 - 1950 South Portland, Maine

Monhegan Island, Maine Located about ten miles off the coast of Maine, Monhegan is a small island measuring about only 1.7 miles long by .7 miles wide. Its shoreline exemplifies the traditional “rugged, bold coast” of Maine and the ocean cliffs along its eastern edge are among the tallest of any found in New England. There is only one small harbor on the western (landward) side which provides mariners some shelter and access to the mainland, most notably Port Clyde, at the southern tip of the St. George Peninsula.

The island was occupied as a fishing station by Europeans well before the settlement of Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts. Monhegan Island does have some good (albeit rocky) agricultural land, but fishing, especially lobstering, remains a vital industry on the island. The island has a unique local tradition which dictates that the lobstering season will begin on the first good day after December 1 depending on sea conditions but holds to the practice of “nobody goes until everybody goes.”

Beginning in the mid-1800s, the island’s natural beauty began to attract artists and the “Monhegan School of Painting” has flourished to this day. The island has never had any sizable population and many question if few, or any, of the decoys attributed to the island were actually carved there.

Historically, the “locals” have commonly referred to the nearby small mainland harbors as “Monhegan” and this may be the source of the confusion.

The St. George Peninsula is conveniently located on the central Maine coast and has a number of vibrant harbors and the land supports a variety of industries in addition to fishing. Many towns in this section of the coast were home to a number of recognized carvers. The well known Gus Wilson worked as a lighthouse keeper at various locations along the Maine coast, both to the north and south of the St. George and Port Clyde shorelines, and it is very conceivable that some of his early, stylistic forms were located in this area, thus accounting for their early attribution as “Monhegan style.”

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Monhegan Island style merganser hen, Gus Wilson, South Portland, Maine. 17” long. Inlet head with tack eyes and carved crest. Relief wing carving. Original paint with good patina and minor wear; small amount of paint shrinkage on front of neck; small amount of discoloration on center of back.

Provenance: Robert Laurent estate.

Literature: “New England Decoys,” John and Shirley Delph. “Great Book of Decoys,” Joe Engers, editor.

(65,000 - 95,000)

83 Detail

Sold April 2006

Sold April 2006

Early fisherman’s home, Monhegan – note two ducks hanging to left of doorway

Sold April 2016

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Robert Laurent 1890 – 1970 Concarneau, France and Cape Neddick, Maine Laurent was born in Brittany, the grandson of a fisherman and a weaver. He and his parents were invited to come to America by Hamilton Easter Field, who had gone to their village to paint. He became their American host for three years, as well as Laurent’s lifelong friend, second father, and teacher. After briefly returning to France with his family, Laurent accompanied Field to Rome in 1907, where he began his art training. He also studied drawing at the British Academy and carving as an apprentice to a framemaker. Returning with Field to America in 1910, Laurent began making frames for Childe Hassam and Robert Henri and, subsequently, graduated to carving reliefs.

When Field died in 1922, he left his entire estate, including his property at Ogunquit, Maine, to Laurent and his wife and child. They spent summers there until Laurent retired to Cape Neddick, Maine. Laurent was a modernist who pioneered direct carving in the United States. Nature and abstraction blended in his works. By the 1940s, Laurent had executed several large public sculptures and his work in wood, alabaster, marble, bronze, and aluminum was widely exhibited. Goose Girl (1932), at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, is his bestknown commission. He taught sculpture at the Ogunquit School from 1911 to 1961, served as a visiting instructor at Vassar, Goucher College, and the Corcoran School of Art, and became a professor of art at Indiana University in 1942.

Without a doubt, Laurent’s trained eye, understanding of, and appreciation for form, drew him to understand and appreciate the sculptural works of Gus Wilson. The decoys offered here are directly from his estate and have never before been offered for sale to the public.

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Incredibly well sculpted scoter, Gus Wilson, South Portland, Maine. His Monhegan Island style with inlet head relief wing carving and carved eyes. 16” long. Original paint with very minor wear; two small cracks in tail; small knot in one side; small shot scar on top of tail; small dent in one side.

Provenance: Robert Laurent estate.

(27,500 - 32,500)

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85.

Pair of goldeneye, Gus Wilson, South Portland, Maine. Both have inlet turned heads. Carved eyes and relief wing carving. 16” long. Original paint; minor discoloration and wear; small cracks and dents.

Literature: “New England Decoys,” John and Shirley Delph.

(5,000 - 8,000)

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86. Scoter, Gus Wilson, South Portland, Maine. Monhegan Island style with extra long neck. Also has inlet head, relief wing carving, and carved eyes.

18.5” long. Old in use repaint; several small rough spots.

(2,500 - 3,500)

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87. Large black duck, Gus Wilson, South Portland, Maine. Turned inlet head.

Relief wing carving. 18” long. Slight roughness to the neck base where the original filler has started to come out.

(2,500 - 3,500)

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Merganser hen, Gus Wilson, South Portland, Maine. His oversize Monhegan island style with relief wing carving, inlet head, carved eyes, and carved crest. 17” long. Paint has been restored in the Wilson style; lightly hit by shot; small chip on one side of tail; larger chip on other side. (2,500 - 3,500)

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Leigh Floyd Witherspoon 1889 – 1971 North Haven, Maine

Leigh Witherspoon was born and spent his entire life in the area of Pulpit Harbor on North Haven Island, Maine. North Haven and its adjacent neighbor, Vinalhaven, are located on the mid-coast of Maine in the center of Penobscot Bay, approximately 12 miles NE of the port of Rockland. Like other island families, his father, Willis, was a fisherman and “master of private yachts.” As a young man, Leigh found employment as a farm laborer but, like his father, was soon lured to sea as a fisherman. In 1914, he married Nettie B. Brown, and the couple had four children.

In addition to fishing and farming, the island’s economy relied on the large influx of summer tourists and summer home owners. In his later years, Leigh was quick to seize upon this opportunity and, for over 20 years, in addition to fishing, he found employment as a caretaker on private estates. His decoys are seldom found so it is a reasonable assumption that Leigh returning from a hunt c1945

he made them for his personal use with a few possibly made as gifts or for sale to the summer “rusticators.” His hens are particularly scarce. Appropriately, he is buried in the Seaview Cemetery in North Haven.

Leigh’s boat, the “Unktahee,” being launched from the Old Pulpit Harbor Bridge. 1922

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89. Merganser drake, Leigh Witherspoon, North Haven, Maine, 1st quarter 20th century. False inlet to bottom of head.

Wingtip carving detail and carved wooden crest. 17.25” long. Original paint with very minor wear; half of the upper bill, most of the lower bill, and all of the mussel are a professional replacement. (12,500 - 15,000)

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Pair of goldeneye, Leigh Witherspoon, North Haven, Maine, 2nd quarter 20th century. Both have inlet heads. In a straight position. 13.25” long. Hen has a thin crack through the neck; original paint with minor wear; structurally excellent, never used.

Literature: “Decoys of the Atlantic Flyway,” George Ross Starr.

(2,000 - 3,000)

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91.

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Black duck, Leigh Witherspoon, North Haven, Maine. Carved wingtips and inlet head. False inlet where head goes in to body. 16.25” long. Crack in underside; original paint with minor wear.

(2,500 - 3,500)

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Extremely rare merganser hen, Leigh Witherspoon, North Haven, Maine, 1st quarter 20th century. Detailed bill carving. Subtle feather paint painting on body. Carved wooden crest and carved eyes.

Head is attached with a false inlet. 14.5” long. Near mint original paint; several tiny dents; several small cracks in breast.

Literature: “New England Decoys,” John and Shirley Delph.

(6,500 - 9,500)

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Sporting Art

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Oil on canvas, Francis Jaques (1887-1969). Hooded merganser in breeding plumage working through edge of timber. Signed lower right.

Professionally framed. Image size 29.5” x 23.5”. Mild amount of crazing in lower portion, otherwise original and good.

Provenance: Jim and Diane Cook collection.

(10,000 - 15,000)

Born in New York City in 1918, George Browne was the son of the noted artist, mountaineer, and sportsman, Belmore Browne, 1880-1954. Though a premature death resulting from a firearms accident at the age of 40 cut short his promising career, George Browne is acknowledged by collectors today as one of the century’s finest sporting artists and bird painters.

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Important oil on canvas board, George Browne (1918-1958). Flight of pintails descending into marsh. Professionally framed. Image measures 15.5” x 19.5”. Excellent and original.

Provenance: Jim and Diane Cook collection.

(8,000 - 12,000)

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Large and important gouache on board, Lynn Bogue Hunt (1878-1960). Three resting wood ducks. Two perched on branch and one resting at top of water.

Impressively large figures with well executed feather detail and finished background.

Signed at bottom. Professionally matted and framed. Image measures 24.5” x 18”.

Behind glass. Excellent and original.

Provenance: Jim and Diane Cook collection.

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(8,000 - 12,000)

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96.

Very rare oil on canvas of two yellowlegs at marsh, Shang Wheeler, Stratford, Connecticut. Signed “Shang”. In original frame. Image size 17.25” x 13.5”. Very good and original.

(10,000 - 14,000)

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Frank Benson 1862-1951 Salem, Massachusetts Born in Salem, Massachusetts, Frank Benson spent most of his life in the seaport town of Salem and loved trekking through the countryside for his subject matter, especially wildlife.

He was a teacher in Boston at The Museum of Fine Arts. By the early 1900s, he had a very successful career and was a member of the Ten American Painters, a prestigious group of early impressionists.

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Watercolor, Frank W. Benson, (1862-1951). Signed lower right and dated 1924. Flock of scoters moving over rocky shoreline. Visible image measures 7.5” x 10.5”. Professionally matted and framed. A few scuff marks on frame; image is excellent and original.

Provenance: Jim and Diane Cook collection.

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(12,000 - 18,000)

He was a lifelong hunter, and it was said that he knew birds as only a sportsman can. In 1900, Benson discovered the pleasures of North Haven Island off the coast of Maine, and from that time, he and his family spent every summer there, even purchasing a farm where he had a studio. There his style became increasingly impressionistic.

Midway through his career as a recognized oil painter, he began to paint with watercolors, perhaps inspired by Winslow Homer’s use of that medium to show hunting scenes. In 1921, Benson became a serious watercolorist while on a fishing expedition to the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec, and from that time until his death in 1951, he created nearly 600 watercolors.

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“Geese in Winter,” a watercolor by Frank W. Benson, (18621951). Professionally matted and framed. Image size 14.5” x 21”. Signed and dated 1938. Original and good.

Provenance: From an estate in upstate New York.

(8,000 - 12,000)

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99 99.

“Black duck,” an oil on canvas by Hugh Monahan (1914-1970). Signed and dated 1953. Subject matter is black ducks landing in marsh. Image size 23.5” x 29.5”. Very good and original.

Provenance: Jim and Diane Cook collection.

(2,000 - 2,500)

100

100. Large watercolor, Roland Clark (18741957). Signed in the lower left and dated 1929.

Image depicts flocks of pintails landing in marsh.

A perfect example of Clark’s talent moving within mediums. This watercolor is a perfect execution. Professionally framed and triple matted.

Image size 22.5” x 17”. Very good and original.

Provenance: Jim and Diane Cook collection.

(2,500 - 3,500)

101 101. Watercolor of duck hunters in the snow, Chet Reneson. Signed. Professionally matted and framed. Image size 17.5” x 27.75”. Very good and original.

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Provenance: Jim and Diane Cook collection. (2,000 - 3,000)

101A. “Open Water,” Oil on canvas, William Zimmerman. Signed and dated 1979. Subject matter is two bald eagles at pond with buffleheads.

Image size 31” x 40”. Very good and original.

Provenance: Miller collection (3,500 - 4500)

101A

101B

101B. “Canada Goose Decoy and Black Necked Stilt,” acrylic on board, Donald Malick. Signed and dated 1980. Image size 24” x 30”. The decoy in the painting is an early Ward Brothers Canada goose. Very good and original.

Provenance: Miller collection.

(2,000 - 3,000)

69

101C 101C. Oil on canvas of Canada geese at a lake in the mountains, Don Phillip. Signed and dated 1976.

Professionally framed. Image size approximately 24” x 36”.

Very good and original.

Provenance: Miller collection.

(1,200 - 1,500)

101D 101D. Watercolor of blue geese landing in field, R.W. Milliken. Signed and dated 1972. Professionally matted and framed. Image size approximately 21” x 29”. Very good and original.

Provenance: Miller collection.

(1,000 - 1,400)

102 102. “Partridge Running,” a watercolor by William J. Schaldach (18961982). Professionally matted and framed. Image size 17.5” x 22”. Very good and original.

70

Provenance: Jim and Diane Cook collection.

(2,250 - 2,750)

103 103. “Coastal Marsh Scene,” oil on board, Cameron McIntyre (b.

1968), New Church, Virginia, 2007. Signed. Professionally framed. Image size 13.5” x 17.5”. Very good and original.

(1,500 - 2,500)

104. Oil on canvas of a mountain lion, Wyatt Hacking. Image size 24” x 36”. Very good and original.

Provenance: Jim and Diane Cook collection.

(1,250 - 1,750)

104 71

Robert McLellan Bateman

B. 1930 Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada

O.C, O.B.C., R.C.A., D.F.A., D. LIT., D SCI., LL,D, B.A.(Hons)

105

105. Oil on canvas board, Robert Bateman (b. 1930), British Columbia. Titled, “Laggar Falcon & Temple, J Nadamal India.” Image measures 11” x 21.75”. Signed and dated lower right. Custom shipping case included. Excellent and original.

(8,000 - 12,000)

72

A resident of Fulford Harbour, British Columbia, Robert Bateman became one of the foremost wildlife painters of the late 20th century. This statement is reinforced by the fact he was voted Favorite Artist by readers of Wildlife Art magazine.

Bateman has exhibited in Canada, the United States, and Great Britain. His work is in many public and private collections, including several art museums. He was commissioned by the Governor General of Canada to do a painting as the wedding gift for HRH Prince Charles from the people of Canada. His work is also included in the collections HRH Prince Philip, the late Princess Grace of Monaco and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands.

Two books of his art, The Art of Robert Bateman and The World of Robert Bateman have also been published.

106

106. Oil on Masonite, Robert Bateman (b. 1930), British Columbia. Titled “Blue Crane Wading.” Signed lower right. Image measures 15” x 15”. Professionally matted and framed. Custom shipping case included. Excellent and original.

(18,000 - 22,000)

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107

107. Acrylic on board, Robert Bateman (b. 1930), British Columbia. Titled “Egret Congregation.” 7 7/8” x 12”. Originally sold at the Pacific Wildlife Gallery. Professionally framed and matted. Image of 10 egrets resting at land’s end. Signed and dated lower right, 2000. Custom shipping case included. Excellent and original.

(7,000 - 9,000)

74

108

108. ”Swans Over Denali,” a oil on canvas, Guy Coheleach(b. 1933). Image of trumpeter swans with mountain scape in background. Signed lower right.

Measures 17” x 23”. Professionally matted and framed.Custom shipping case included. Stained area to cloth mat, otherwise original and good.

(7,000 - 9,000)

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109 Detail

“C.SPRICKLER” brand on underside

John Blair, Sr.

1842 - 1927 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Mystery surrounding the exact identification of the Blair decoys continues to this day. Blair was a popular name in the Philadelphia area in the last half of the 19th century, and whether the maker and painter of these wonderful decoys was John Blair, Sr. or not, the historical evidence we have, dating back to early interviews with Joel Barber, has credited him with their making.

Said to have been made around 1866, only three or four known examples of this “classic” style pintail exist. The classic style is characterized by the oval shaped, two piece bodies joined by dowels, raised neck shelf, and upholstery tack eyes. The underside also has a grayish painted oval where the weight is attached.

This decoy is branded C. Sprickler for Charles Abraham Sprickler (1831-1880). Sprickler lived in downtown Philadelphia on Callowhill Street, adjacent to the Delaware River. One of his neighbors on Callowhill was Captain Charles Biddle, another famous rig owner of classic Blair decoys, known for their Biddle brands.

Genealogy research complements of Jamie Hand and Russ Allen

109 Detail

76

109. Rare and important pintail drake, John Blair, Sr., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, last quarter 19th century. Branded “C.SPRICKLER”. Hollow carved with tack eyes, in Blair’s classic form. Upswept tail with rounded neck and full cheeks. 17” long. Original paint with minor wear; a very thin layer of light gray, almost transparent, wash over the white areas of the surface; feathering remains very strong.

Provenance: Formerly in the collection of John Hillman.

First sold at the July 1998 Guyette & Schmidt sale for $25,000. Rigmate to lot 384 of November 1994 Guyette & Schmidt sale, which sold for. $132,000.

Literature: “Decoys of the Midatlantic Region,” Henry Fleckenstein, Jr., p. 144, exact decoy pictured.

(60,000 - 90,000)

109 Detail

109

77

110

111

112

113

114

115

110. Oversize black duck, Clark Madera, Pitman, New Jersey. 16.5” long. Repainted in the 1940s by Lem Ward; minor wear; a few small dents.

(900 - 1,200)

113. Mallard drake, Richard Anderson. 17” long. A mixture of original and old in use repaint; 2/3 of bill is a professional replacement; small dents. (1,000 - 1,400)

111.

114. Black duck, Tom Fitzpatrick, Delanco, New Jersey. In resting pose with raised “V” wingtip carving and fluted tail. 15.5” long. Very good and original.

(950 - 1,250)

Black duck in content pose, Jess Heisler, Bordentown, New Jersey. Good carving detail and loop feather painting. 14.75” long. A few tiny worn spots on wingtip and tail; thin chip missing from top of wingtips from when the decoy was made.

(1,500 - 2,500)

115.

112. Very rare hollow carved bufflehead drake, Joe Savco, Trenton, New Jersey, circa 1900. “ELLIS” is carved in the underside. Detailed wing feather carving and fluted tail. 12” long. Original paint that has darkened with age; minor wear; bill has been blunted slightly; wear to the wood on edges of tail; small dents.

Literature: “Floating Sculpture,” Harrison Huster and Doug Knight, p. 103, exact decoy pictured.

(1,750 - 2,250) 78

Mallard drake in resting pose, John English, Florence New Jersey, last quarter 19th century. 15.5” long. Appealing old in use repaint; small dents.

(1,200 - 1,500)

116. Black duck, William Quinn, Tullytown, New Jersey. High head style with raised wingtips and carved tail. “V” cut feather marks in back. Weight on underside is stamped “W Quinn, Tullytown”.

15.5” long. Repainted by Quinn; crack around neck; thin crack around hairline crack in one tail feather.

Provenance: Formerly in the collection of John and Isabelle Hillman.

116

Literature: “New Jersey Decoys,” Henry Fleckenstein, Jr., p. 191, exact decoy pictured.

(4,000 - 6,000) 117. Classic bluebill drake, John Blair, Sr., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 3rd quarter 19th century. Tack eyes. Typical Blair Sr. weight. “Sprickler” brand in underside. 15.25” long. Old in use repaint on much of the decoy, wing, back, and part of head are original; bill chip repair.

Literature: “Floating Sculpture,” Harrison Huster and Doug Knight.

(2,500 - 3,500)

117

118. Very rare Canada goose, John Blair, Jr., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 23.5” long. Paint on body is mostly original with moderate wear; a few small areas of touchup; most of paint on head and neck is old repaint; small dents; small square plugs in body.

Provenance: Purchased by the consignor from Bud Ward.

Literature: “Floating Sculpture,” Harrison Huster and Doug Knight.

(4,000 - 6,000)

118 79

Items of Interest

119 Detail 80

119

119. Impressive and rare running deer weathervane, probably J.W. Fisk, last half 19th century. 36” model. Original surface is a mix of gilded gold, sizing and transitional verdigris; areas along top seam and back of neck were possibly resoldered a very long time ago.

Provenance: Collection of Ginny and Gordy Hayes.

Fisk Catalog dated J. W. Fisk 1893

(20,000 - 30,000)

Purchase records of the aquisition of lot 119 in 1962.

81

119A. Carved finback whale, Clark Voorhees, Connecticut. 18.5” in length. Strong original paint; approximately 1/4” of tip of one side of tail has been reattached.

(2,250 - 2,750)

119A

120. Carving of a snake with a frog on its head, Frank Finney, Cape Charles, Virginia. Signed. 23” long x 12” tall. Original and good.

(1,750 - 2,250)

120

121. Rhinoceros on wooden base, Frank Finney, Cape Charles, Virginia. Signed.

22” long. Very good and original.

(2,500 - 3,500)

121 122. Blue and white Coverlet. Date “1839” and “Betsy A. Smith” woven in to the corners. Image of flowers and birds. Measures 79” x 89”. Very good and original.

(500 - 800)

122 82

123

124

125

126

127 123. Rooster windmill weight mounted in wooden base, Hummer Factory. Very appealing silver and red paint applied a very long time ago. 10” tall including base.

(400 - 600) 124. Carved wooden turtle riding toy. 26.5” long. Original surface steering stick on back is missing. (1,000 - 1,400) 125. Gun rack with drawers and carved mallard. 26” x 39”. Crack through mallard’s neck otherwise good.

(600 - 900)

128

127. Folk art carved cedar stave trout creel, Jack D. Pelkey (1940-2005), Medway, Maine. Hand signed with signature feather carving. Leather fish shaped strap hinges. Three trout hand carved design. Signed on bottom, “J. D. PELKEY MEDWAY, ME # 173”. Top 13.5” X 6”. 8” tall. Base 16.5” X 6.5”. Good and original.

(500 - 800) 128. Carved half hull. Signed on back, with maker’s name, possibly Lawton, East Boston, November 25, 1886.

Painted black and gold. 44” in length. A few small areas of edge wear; surface grunge on top.

(800 - 1,000)

126. Carved wooden ear of corn, Newt Rule, Beardstown, Illinois. 12” long. Shows good age. Maroon painted on sides. Original and good.

(300 - 400) 83

Samuel A. Rob 1851 – 1926

New York, New York

Samuel A. Robb was born in Brooklyn in 1851 into a family of Scottish shipcarvers and carpenters. Some biographies give the date of 1864 as the start of his work as a professional wood carver, beginning with his five-year apprenticeship as a teenager.

He quickly found a place in a workshop, and, at the encouragement of his employer, studied at the National Academy of Design.

He subsequently attended and graduated from the Free Night School program at the Cooper Union School of Art. In 1876, at the age of 25, he opened his own workshop, and became well known for the exceptional quality of his craftsmanship in carving and his extremely high productivity. He enjoyed the position of being New York’s most sought-after woodcarver, producing more than 200 figures a year. In addition to trade figures, circus companies such as Adam Forepaugh and Barnum, Bailey & Hutchison commissioned his work, ultimately leading him to open a second workshop. He closed his shops in 1910 and moved to Philadelphia for nine years before returning to New York. He died in 1928 at the age of 77.

129

84

129 Detail

129. Impressive cigar store Indian maiden, Samuel Rob, New York, New York, last quarter 19th century. Feathered head dress with both arms carved away from body. One holding cigar block, the other a brick of tobacco. Maiden is carved in a walking fashion with back foot lifted from ground.

Base reads “Wholesale and Retail” and number “33,” which would have been the store front address. Mounted on base, 68” tall including base. Weathering is present to all surface areas; some of which appears to be original, some areas have paint strengthening and re-gessoed.

129 Detail

Provenance: Robert Laurent estate. Aquired by Laurent in the 1940s.

(20,000 - 30,000)

129 Detail

129 Detail

85

130 130. Early flint lock Kentucky rifle with fancy patch box, Nicholas Beyers, Lebonan County, Pennsylvania. Appears to be stripe maple stock. Scroll work on side plate. 8 point star embedded in stock along with Spenserion carving. Maker’s name on top appears to be Beyer. 60” long. Repair to wood near lockplate and front part of forestock.

130 Detail

Provenance: Karsnitz collection. Obtained from the maker’s descendants, who lived on the farm next door to him.

(3,000 - 4,000)

131. Percussion fowling gun. An English Ott or zero gauge.

32.66 MM or 1.272” barrel. 36” steel barrel. Cherry wood.

48” in length. 1862 tower lock. Weighs approximately 15 lbs. Small areas of rust on barrel.

(800 - 1,000)

130 Detail

131

132

132. Folk art game board, Frank Finney, Cape Charles, Virginia. Made from a 200 year old blanket chest top.

Each corner has a spinning wheel with a gun carved from bone. Board is decorated with upland game birds and a wonderfully aged surface. Measures 23” x 19.5”.

Sporting dog head carved game pieces carved from various materials accompany game board. Excellent and original.

(2,750 - 3,250) 86

133

133. Carved wooden basset hound. Seated with alert head.

Oversize solid with realistic personality. The basset is a scent hound that was original breed for hunting hare.

18.5” tall. Natural worn wooden surface.

(1,800 - 2,400)

133A

133A. Sheet metal rooster weathervane on hand forged rod, last quarter 18th century. 21.5� tall. Rooster has worn old paint with some pitting; rod is good.

Provenance: Purchased from Bert Hemphill by the consignor in the 1980s.

(2,500 - 4,500)

87

133B

133B. Old Buck Wilson camp furniture sign. Original bread board ends with nice age and patina. 54” long.

Original paint; some roughness to edges.

Provenance: Recently discovered in the Adirondacks of New York” (800 - 1,200)

133C

133D

133D Detail

133E

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133C. Early and unusually large, Indian made, “Bear Paw” snowshoes. Fine tight weave with subtle design incorporated under each instep. 34” long x 19.5” wide. Original and good.

(800 - 1,200)

133D. Carved wooden plaque of a salmon. 42.5” long.

Good fin carving detail and glass eye. Inscription on back reads, “31 lb. killed at Lyltebo Eridsfjord, July 31, 1885 by Augustus B. Foster.” There’s also a painting of a salmon fly on the back. Very good and original.

(1,500 - 2,500)

133E. Unusual set of moosehorns carved from wood.

Possibly from a carousel horse. Mounted on more recent skull plaque. 64” span. Various cracks in places where filler was added a long time ago. (800 - 1,200)

135

134

136

137

134. Bronze of a pointer, Ott Jones. Signed and dated 2007. Marked 1/32. 11.5” tall. Original and good.

(2,000 - 3,000)

136. A trio of carved wooden fashion mannequins. In colorful flamboyant Victorian dress. Tallest is 14”. Original paint on wood.

(1,600 - 2,000)

135. Carved swimmer. Folk art carving of female swimmer in one piece swimming suit and swim cap. 26” long. A mix of natural wood and original paint. (1,500 - 1,800)

137. Carved wooden figurel of a policeman. Impressive folk art carving from the mid 20th century, based on a famous Coca-Cola adverting sign. 37” tall. Mounted on wooden base. Painted blue in some areas, natural in others. Worn surface with natural wood cracks.

(1,500 - 1,800) 89

138. Important carved eagle banner, John Belamy, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 2nd half 19th century. Banner reads “Don’t give up the ship.” 36” long. Excellent original paint; small break to a narrow part of the banner which was repaired a long time ago; tiny areas of discoloration, otherwise very good and original.

Provenance: Collection of Ginny and Gordy Hayes.

Literature: “John Haley Bellamy, Carver of Eagles,” Yvonne B. Smith. “American Eagle: The Bold Art and Brash Life of John Haley Bellamy,” James Craig.

(17,500 - 22,500)

John Bellamy 1836 - 1914 Bellamy was born in Kittery, Maine. When the time arrived to leave home, John Haley Bellamy apprenticed to an established woodcarver, Samuel Dockum of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Dockum was a house and ship carver, who made everything from coffins to rocking chairs to the finish work on many Piscataqua River-built clipper ships.

Bellamy launched his woodcarving career in 1859 by establishing a studio in Portsmouth.

Working first at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, then at the Charlestown, Massachusetts, Navy Yard, Bellamy began an association with the navy that lasted as late as circa 1898–1900. In the interim Bellamy sought several trade ventures including the partnership of Titcomb & Bellamy, “Makers of Emblematic Frames and Brackets”, located in Charlestown, MA. Bellamy sold his interest in Titcomb & Bellamy and returned to the Piscataqua region by September of 1872. With the experiences gained from running a, profitable workshop and recognizing the economic opportunity of the region’s blossoming tourism industry, Bellamy embarked in a new direction. The patriotic American eagle. Known today as the “Bellamy eagle,” The most common form being two-foot-wide painted plaques, they are among the most celebrated and instantly recognizable pieces of Americana.

Easily transportable, affordably priced (only one or two dollars apiece), and sporting any number of political, fraternal, religious, holiday, and personal sentiments, from “Don’t Give Up the Ship,” to “Merry Christmas!”. The Bellamy eagle easily appealed to a wide and diverse clientele.

90

138

138 Detail

Purchase records of the aquisition of lot 138 in 1962.

138 Detail

91

Midwest Herman R. Trinosky Rig 1874 – 1956 North Judson, Indiana North Judson, Indiana is located on the edge of what was once the “Grand Kankakee Marsh.” This shallow marsh and slow moving river sprawled for miles on both sides along the Kankakee River and covered more than 1,500 square miles. It was once one of the largest wetlands in North America and earned the reputation as “the Everglades of the North.”

This outstanding and varied wetland habitat attracted phenomenal numbers of game which, in turn, attracted numerous market hunters. Fay Folsom Nichols, in her book, “The Kankakee,” described an 1869 shipment being loaded aboard a Chicago-bound train at the depot in Hebron, IN included: “five deer, four hundred and sixty-seven ducks (large), three hundred and ninety-two ducks (small), twenty-two geese (and) sixteen brant.” The game was being shipped by Beaubien and Sargent, commercial hunters. It was one of three shipments they made each week. The abundance of waterfowl ultimately drew hordes of sportsman from throughout the country and even Europe. In 1860, the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII of England) hunted in the Grand Kankakee Marsh while on a lengthy tour of the United States. Other famous hunters included Presidentelect Benjamin Harrison, President Grover Cleveland and Civil War Gen. Lew Wallace. To accommodate these gunners, elaborate “clubhouses” built by groups of wealthy sportsmen were scattered up and down the river. Some offered accommodations rivaling big-city hotels. The amount of game the members were able to shoot is staggering. “Many prominent people are on the Kankakee this season. Each hunter can average 100 birds a day if he wants to make the effort,” wrote a hunting guide quoted by marsh historian Marion Isaacs. Another guide reported, “The members of the Pittsburg Gun Club and their guests have got a total of 689 ducks, as well as many other birds.”

Unfortunately, these were the days before the value of wetlands was adequately understood or appreciated. Farmers and lumberman coveted the rich river bottom soils and, starting in the 1870s, drainage of this great marsh began and, by 1917, only 1% of the original remained.

Near this great wetland area, in the town of North Judson, a group of decoys from the hunting rig of Herman Trinosky was uncovered in 1967. In this rig were four of these magnificent high head pintails, three drakes and one hen, several mallard drakes and a few bluebill drakes. They remained in storage for many years until, in 2007, when two pintails were auctioned off by Christie’s, New York. They were from the exact same rig as those still in the Trinosky family and had been consigned by an antique dealer in Minnesota. Word traveled fast to the owner 92

of the decoys in North Judson, Indiana.

Eventually select items from their original rig were offered at auction by Guyette & Schmidt. One additional drake was discovered in an estate sale about 50 miles from North Judson. This brings to only seven the total number of pintails by this maker.

Although unproven, it is very conceivable that the carver was Herman Trinosky, in whose home the bulk of the seven were discovered. He had a skilled job that would have given him access to the tools necessary to produce them and he lived near the Kankakee in a time when the marsh was still flourishing. Since their discovery, a number of notable decoy and folk art authorities have lavished praise on this unique group of decoys: •

“These high-neck pintails are the best in American folk carving (possessing) a remarkable sense of elegance and mystery” (Nancy Druckman)

•

“The Kankakee pintails are among the most sculpturally distictive decoys ever found.” (Bob Shaw)

•

“These carvings represent the very

139

spirit of the American bird decoy - - establish(ing) the bird decoy as a centerpiece of American folk art” (Frank Schmidt)

140

Valley Hunt Club/White House Club est. 1878 Kankakee

93

139 Detail

139. Exceptional and important high head pintail drake from Kankakee Marsh, last quarter 19th century. Attributed to Herman R. Trinosky (1874-1956).

One of only three drakes from this exceptional and important rig of pintails. This pintail was retained by the family that owned four of the pintails, the mallards and bluebills and was later sold privately. Its exceptional high alert head rises 9”. With the extended sprig tail, the entire composition is nearly 19” long.

The head is slightly turned. Unusual and original swing weights have been removed but will accompany the decoys. The original paint surface is dry and untouched; it has crazed over some areas; the nearly pencil thin neck has cracked, but the securing dowel has held it in place.

Provenance: This pintail drake was in the original burlap bag given as a gift from Trinosky to the family that helped him clean out his barn. It has never been offered at auction.

Literature: “Kankakee Marsh Pintails: The Magnificent Seven,” Gene and Linda Kangas with Ron Gard. “Bird Decoys of North America,” Robert Shaw, p. 39, exact decoy pictured.

(110,000 - 140,000)

139

94

140 Detail

140.

Exceptional high head pintail hen from Kankakee Marsh, last quarter 19th century. Attributed to Herman R. Trinosky (1874-1956). With neck rising 9” from the base, the turned head is exaggerated more on this hen than any of the others in the rig, and is slightly lifted. Unusual and original swing weights have been removed but will accompany the decoys. Thick strong original paint that has crazed evenly to create a very appealing aged surface; a few small flakes have exposed bare wood in areas of the back and sides; thin neck has cracked, but has been secured by the dowel that runs the length of the neck.

Provenance: This pintail hen was in the original burlap bag given as a gift from Trinosky to the family that helped him clean out his barn.

Literature: “Kankakee Marsh Pintails: The Magnificent Seven,” Gene and Linda Kangas with Ron Gard. “Bird Decoys of North America,” Robert Shaw, p. 39, exact decoy pictured.

(80,000 - 110,000)

140

95

Joe Marr, a professional barber from Sioux Falls spent the hunting seasons at Heron Lake. He also made his own decoys, and they can quite often be recognized by their characteristics of painted tack eyes, deep weighted keels, and long flowing heads with squared off bills. He even went a step further when filling out his rigs — he added juvenile painted canvasback drakes.

Reference: Decoy Magazine, article by Donna Tonelli, July 1992.

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142 Detail

96

142. Immature canvasback, Joseph Marr (1879-1954), Heron Lake, Minnesota. Original keel with low rise body and canted sides. Wooden peg through top of head. Painted tack eyes. Strong original paint with some slight discoloration and rubs.

(6,000 - 8,000)

At one time, Heron Lake, nestled in southwestern Minnesota, was known as the Chesapeake of the west. Spanning an area of 12 miles long and about two and a half miles wide at the turn of the century, it was home to between 25 and 30 market hunters and several duck clubs. Vast numbers of puddle ducks and divers were drawn to the area by the wild celery beds.

In 1880, hunters recorded flights of canvasbacks numbering in the tens of thousands. Abe Nelson was known as one of the area’s best hunters. His specialty was shooting canvasbacks for market. He is also thought to be the first known decoy maker on the lake. At the time, wild game brokers were paying 50 cents for canvasbacks, and all other ducks brought much less. Nelson’s decoying methods were so successful that there was actually a push by the government to ban decoy hunting on the lake.

Reference: Decoy Magazine, article by Donna Tonelli, July 1992.

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143 Detail

143. Canvasback drake, Abraham “Abe” Nelson, Heron Lake, Minnesota (18721934). Wooden peg through top of head.

Swirled edge painting around breast and tail paint. Original keel. Strong original paint; tight crack in bill; rub along one edge to exposed bare wood.

(6,000 - 8,000)

97

Shorebirds

144

144. Pair of flattie golden plover, Elmer Crowell, East Harwich, Massachusetts. Tack eyes. Each has a carrying hole drilled through the back. 11” long. Excellent and original.

98

Provenance: Found near Hampden, Maine.

(6,000 - 8,000)

144 Detail

145

145. Hollow golden plover from Nantucket, last quarter 19th century. Made by a skilled artisan from six pieces of wood.

Thinly hollowed with relief wing, split tail, and thigh carving. Tack eyes. Measures 11.25” long. Original paint with minor gunning wear; lightly hit by shot; small chip in one edge of tail; small spot on face worn to bare wood.

(4,000 - 6,000)

145 Detail

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146

146. Golden plover in spring breeding plumage, Nantucket, Massachusetts, last quarter 19th century. 10” long. Original paint with good detail; touchup on bill; several small dents.

(2,500 - 3,500)

147. Eskimo curlew from Massachusetts, last quarter 19th century. 14” long. Original paint with good patina and minor wear; small crack in face where bill joins.

(3,500 - 5,500)

147

100

148

149

148. Black bellied plover, George Boyd, Seabrook, New Hampshire, circa 1900. 11.5” long. Extra fine paint detail. Near mint original paint; structurally very good.

Literature: “Finely Carved and Nicely Painted,” Jim Cullen.

(5,000 - 7,000)

149. Yellowlegs, George Boyd, Seabrook, New Hampshire, circa 1900. 11” long. Original paint with very minor discoloration and wear; approximate 3/8” area of in painting around tip of tail; small shot mark on back of head; tip of bill has been slightly blunted.

(4,000 - 6,000)

101

150

150. Running yellowlegs, Elmer Crowell, East Harwich, Massachusetts. Tack eyes. 12.5” long. Original paint; very minor shrinkage and wear; structurally good.

Provenance: Colodny collection.

Literature: “New England Decoys,” John and Shirley Delph.

(9,500 - 12,500)

150 Detail

102

151

152

153

154

155

151. Hollow carved greater yellowlegs from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, last quarter 19th century. Shoe button eyes. 14” long. Original paint with good detail and very minor wear; bill is a professional replacement.

(1,500 - 2,000) 152. Black bellied plover from Massachusetts, last quarter 19th century. 10” long. Shoe button eyes. Original paint with minor to moderate wear; a few small dents.

(1,500 - 2,000) 153. Golden plover, from the South Shore of Massachusetts. Hollow carved with tack eyes and split tail. 10.5” long. Original paint with minor wear; structurally good.

(1,200 - 1,500)

156

154. Lincoln type yellowlegs, Hingham, Massachusetts, 1st quarter 20th century. 10.25” long. Worn original paint; hit by shot.

(500 - 800) 155. Yellowlegs, Elijah Burr, Hingham, Massachusetts, last quarter 19th century. 11” long. Original paint that is weathered and worn; small cracks. (500 - 800) 156. Feeding yellowlegs, Clarence Hinkley, Essex, Massachusetts. 11.25” long. Old overpaint has been taken off of white area; the rest has original paint with minor to moderate wear; bill appears to be an old replacement.

(500 - 800)

103

Ward Brothers Crisfield, Maryland Perhaps no other carvers in North America are as well documented as the Ward brothers, Lem and Steve. Self-described “dumb old country boys,” the brothers followed in their father’s footsteps and earned their living as barbers in the small coastal community of Crisfield, Maryland. Their everlasting fame, however, rests firmly on their carving careers which spanned decades and saw the decoy transition from a tool of the hunter to a recognized decorative art form.

At least five books have been published outlining their personal lives and cataloging their ever- changing carving styles. Their work has been applauded in every major book on the subject of decoys dating back to the seminal works of Mackey, Starr, and

Lem Ward

Earnest and articles about them have been published in every major periodical on the subject. They are among the very few carvers or carving teams to have an entire museum founded to celebrate their lives and work and the only carvers to have the World Championship of carving dedicated to their memory.

Examples of their work is included in most of the best private collections in the country as well as in the permanent collections of prestigious and respected institutions such as The Shelburne Museum in Vermont.

All of this recognition is justly deserved. Certainly, other carvers such as A. Elmer Crowell of Cape Cod and additional carvers since have produced both wonderful working decoys and magnificent decorative bird carvings but the Ward’s have earned their place in the hearts of all those who truly appreciate and understand their “Timeless Treasures.”

157 Detail

104

157 Detail

Steve Ward

157

157. Exceptional pair of 1936 model greenwing teal, Ward Brothers, Crisfield, Maryland. Both have slightly turned heads. Drake is 13” long. Fine paint detail. Near mint original paint; structurally excellent; never used.

Literature: “Ward Brothers Decoys,” Ron Gard and Brian McGrath.

(40,000 - 50,000)

105

158. 1966 Chesapeake Bay mammoth canvasback for open water shooting, Ward Brothers, Crisfield, Maryland. 16” long. Hollow carved. Original paint with good patina and minor wear; structurally good.

(3,000 - 4,000)

158

159. Goldeneye drake, Ward Brothers, Crisfield, Maryland. Signed and dated 1967. Slightly turned head. Wingtip carving. 16.5” long. Very good and original.

(2,500 - 3,500)

159

106

160 Detail

160

160. 1936 model canvasback drake, Ward Brothers, Crisfield, Maryland. Long neck style with slightly turned head. 14.5” long. Original paint with minor discoloration and wear; tail has been broken off and reattached; most of the bill is a professional replacement.

(9,000 - 12,000)

107

White Mallard Club The White Mallard Club name has become

161 Detail

Both decoys retain original horseshoe weight

synonymous with a rig of pintails and mallards used at this elite duck shooting club located in Northern California’s Butte Sink Valley. Identified by the horseshoe shaped weights nailed to the rear of each decoy, or the nail pattern of a missing weight, it is thought that these decoys made their way to the club via either Abercrombie & Fitch or Roos-Atkins sporting goods store in San Francisco, California.

161 108

161 Detail

161. Rigmate pair of 1936 model mallards, Ward Brothers, Crisfield, Maryland. Both have slightly turned heads. 18” long. Original paint with minor wear; several very small chips at both sides of drake’s tail; both have several tiny dents; drake has one shot mark; hen has a small crack partway through neck.

Provenance: From the White Mallard Gun Club in California. Both have the horseshoe shaped lead weight on the underside.

(30,000 - 40,000)

161 Detail

109

162. Hollow carved pair of canvasbacks, Ward Brothers, Crisfield, Maryland. Slightly turned heads. Signed and stamped on the underside. 16.5” long. Very good and original.

(3,000 - 5,000)

162

163. 1936 model bluebill drake, Ward Brothers, Crisfield, Maryland. Signed. Also branded “PHC”. Slightly turned head. 15” long. Original paint with minor wear; black areas appear to have working touchup; lightly hit by shot; crack partway through neck; slight roughness to tail; crack in underside.

(3,000 - 4,000)

163

110

164. Black duck, Ward Brothers, Crisfield, Maryland. 1936 model with slightly turned head. 18” long. Original paint with minor wear; a few small dents; crack through neck base; very slight roughness to one edge of bill. (4,000 - 6,000)

164 Detail

164

165. 1936 model greenwing teal hen, Ward Brothers, Crisfield, Maryland. Slightly turned head. 11.5” long. Near mint original paint; most of bill is a professional replacement; in painting at tip of tail.

(5,000 - 8,000)

165

111

Lem and Steve Ward outside of their workshop.

166 Detail

112

166. Wonderful black duck, Ward Brothers, Crisfield, Maryland, circa early 1920s. Desirable hump back with head turned nearly 35 degrees. Bill is slightly upswept. Part of a rig of these black ducks made without the use of glass eyes. Scratch feather painting on back and head. 16” long. Strong original paint on head and body; wood filler has aged and cracked in small areas; a light brown acrylic paint was removed by Russ Allen that had been applied to areas where paint was missing.

(35,000 - 45,000)

166

113

Oscar Peterson 1887 - 1951 Cadillac, Michigan

167

167. Bird in berry tree plaque, Oscar Peterson, Cadillac, Michigan. 14” x 7.5”. Metal straps across the back. Very good and original; small amount of touch up to tail.

(10,000 - 14,000)

114

168

168. Sucker fish decoy, Oscar Peterson, Cadillac, Michigan. 9” long x 1.75” tall x 1.25” wide. Glass eyes. Restoration to part of the tail, otherwise very good and original.

(6,000 - 9,000)

168 Detail

169

169. Walleye fish decoy, Oscar Peterson, Cadillac, Michigan. 10” long x 1.75” tall x .27” wide. Carved eyes. Near mint original paint with some wear on the fins; restoration to tail.

(6,000 - 9,000)

169 Detail 115

170

170. Trout fish decoy, Oscar Peterson, Cadillac, Michigan. 9.5” long x 2” tall x 75” wide. Near mint original paint on wooden areas and tops of fins; paint has flaked off most of the weights.

(6,000 - 9,000)

170 Detail

171

172

172A

116

171. Fish decoy, Oscar Peterson, Cadillac, Michigan. Brook trout.

Small early pellet tack eyes with yellow eyebrows. 7” long x 1 1/4” tall x 3/4” wide. Paint loss at fins, nose, and underside; professional tail repair.

(1,500 - 1,800) 172. Fish decoy, Oscar Peterson, Cadillac, Michigan. Brook trout. Rare paint pattern with lye greenish background that transitions to a brighter gold colored sides. Unusual pink and red blood trail between fins. Early pellet tack eyes with yellow eyebrows.

7” long x 3/4” wide x 1 1/4” tall. Paint loss on fins and at belly weights; professional repair to tail.

(1,800 - 2,200) 172A. Trout spearing decoy, Oscar Peterson, Cadillac, Michigan.

8.75” long x 1.5” tall x .75” wide.

Original paint; minor flaking and wear; most of the paint is missing from the weights. (3,000 - 4,000)

173

173. Rainbow trout fish decoy, Oscar Peterson, Cadillac, Michigan. 10” long x 1.5” tall x .75” wide. Tack eyes. Original paint with minor wear; flaking on weights and part of metal fins.

(6,000 - 9,000)

173 Detail

174

174. Perch fish decoy, Oscar Peterson, Cadillac, Michigan. 9.5” long x 1.75” tall x 1” wide. Tack eyes. Original paint with minor wear; a few tiny dents; paint has partially flaked off of the weights.

(6,000 - 9,000)

174 Detail

117

175. Wooden fish spearing decoy, Frank Kuss. 12” long x 2.5” tall x 1.5” wide. Tack eyes. Part of the coat of original varnish has blistered away on one side, otherwise excellent and original.

(3,000 - 4,000)

175

176. Fish spearing decoy from Lake Chautauqua, New York, circa 1900. Trout with leather tail which has classic clipped bottom fin. Opaque glass eyes secured with a nail through the center. Deeply carved gills. With painted metal fins that display fanciful dot painting. 7.5” long x 1.25” tall x .5” wide. Black and red dots decorate both sides as well as fins. Strong original paint which fades from a darker tone on back to a lighter side with blending of a pink bar.

176

Provenance: Recently found with original jig stick in the attic of a home not far from Lake Chautauqua.

(2,500 - 3,500)

177

177. 7” long pike fish spearing decoy, Oscar Peterson, Cadillac, Michigan. 7” long x 1” tall x .5” wide. Original paint with slight wear, most of the paint is missing form the weights; a little bit is missing from middle fins.

(800 - 1,200) 178. Reproduction of a Oscar Peterson fish vase, Reggie Birch, Chincoteague, Virginia. Signed. 11.5” tall. Original and good.

(350 - 450)

178 118

179

179. Very rare swordfish carving, Ira Hudson, Chincoteague, Virginia, 1st half 20th century. Large carved eye with wet on wet blending on side paint. Signed “Ira Hudson,” in pencil on back. All fins have been applied.

41” long. Original paint protected by an old coat of varnish; whisker fins on underside are possibly replacements.

(3,000 - 4,000)

180. Carved trout on wooden plaque, Lawrence Irving, Winthrop, Maine. Plaque is 24” long. Very good and original. (1,200 - 1,500)

180

181. Rainbow trout wall plaque from Maine, circa 1920s. Open mouth and relief carved gills. Was removed from backboard.

Measures 17” long. Original paint that has darkened under an appealing, heavily crazed layer of varnish; chips and reglued chips in fins and tail; one fin missing.

(300 - 500)

181

119

Virginia Nathan Cobb, Jr.

1825 - 1905 Cobb Island, Virginia

182

120

The abundance and variety of waterfowl on and near Cobb Island provided for the highly successful market and sport hunting. The decoys were of rugged construction consistent with the severe conditions that often plagued Cobb Island over the years. Nathan Jr. produced ducks, geese, and shorebirds in a multitude of poses which created a sense of movement and realism to the rig. Curved and twisted necks with cantered heads, notched tails, and inlet heads are but a few of the characteristics which set Cobb decoys apart from other Virginia makers and established the tremendous folk art appeal that Guide boat loaded with Cobb goose decoys.

attracts collectors today.

121

182 Detail

122

182. Hollow carved swimming Canada goose, Nathan Cobb, Jr., last quarter 19th century. Root head construction with raised “V” wingtip carving.

Approximately 31” long. Serifed “N” carved into the underside. Appealing old in use repaint; small crack in underside of neck; a few small dents.

182 Detail

Literature: “Southern Decoys,” Henry Fleckenstein, Jr.

(65,000 - 95,000)

182 Detail

123

183. Balsa body black duck, Delbert Hudson, Chincoteague, Virginia. Good scratch paint detail. 16.5” long. Original paint with minor wear, mostly on end of bill and underside; a few tiny dents.

(3,500 - 4,500)

183

184.

Hollow carved brant, Ira Hudson, Chincoteague, Virginia. Flat bottom style. 16” long. Ice groove behind neck. Original paint with minor discoloration and wear; shallow chip missing from one edge of tail.

Provenance: Formerly in collection of William Purnell, Ocean City, Maryland, Purnell brand in underside.

Literature: “Southern Decoys,” Henry Fleckenstein, Jr. (3,000 - 4,000)

185 124

184

185. Oversize goldeneye drake from Virginia, 1st quarter 20th century. Small paddle tail and long, rounded neck seat. “S. Wentworth” branded into underside. Measures 15.5” long. Original paint with moderate wear; dents in body; minor loss and roughness on edge of tail; paint may have been strengthened at eyes and cheek patches.

(3,000 - 4,000)

Ike Phillips

1858 - 1954 Wachapreague, Virginia

Capt. Ike lived his entire life in Wachapreague and earned his living on the water. His occupation was listed in the 1930 census as “waterman in the seafood industry.” He ran his own charter boat in the summers and guided for the large gunning clubs on the nearby islands during the hunting season. He is remembered as making many of his decoys in the 1920s and selling them for $12 per dozen.

186

186.

Exceptional black duck, Ike Philips, Wachapreague, Virginia. Exceptional form with large neck seat, flared head and ridged tail.

16.5” long. Original paint with very minor wear; a few tiny dents; filler has fallen out of area above set nails holding head on.

186 Detail

Provenance: Formerly in collection of Roy Bull, Bull collection brand in underside.

Literature: “Southern Decoys,” Henry Fleckenstein, Jr. (12,500 - 17,500)

125

Ira Hudson

1876 - 1949 Chincoteague, Virginia

Ira Hudson. Photo taken by Bus Humphries in 1941.

Hudson was a professional boatbuilder and decoy maker who carved a wide variety of species in distinctly personal forms. He experimented constantly with new forms and, over the years, produced many variations on each species he carved. “Call to the Sky: The Decoy Collection of James M. McCleery, M.D.,” lot 187 pictured.

187. Outstanding pintail drake, Ira Hudson, Chincoteague, Virginia, 1st quarter 20th century. 19” long. Feather paint detail. Original paint with very minor discoloration and wear; professional repair to much of the bill; small chip missing from filler at neck seam; thin crack in underside.

Provenance: Formerly in collection of Jim McCleery, McCleery collection stamp on underside. Lot 182 in the Guyette & Schmidt/Sotheby’s January 2000 sale.

Literature: “Southern Decoys,” Henry Fleckenstein, Jr. “Call to the Sky: The Decoy Collection of James M. McCleery, M.D.,” p. 81, exact decoy pictured.

(20,000 - 25,000)

187 Detail

126

187 Detail

187

127

188 188.

189

Exceptional pintail drake, Ira Hudson, Chincoteague, Virginia. Balsa construction with football body style with inserted hardwood banjo style tail. 16.25” long. Excellent original paint with scratch feathering at wing patches; structurally good.

(5,000 - 8,000)

189. Canvasback drake, Ira Hudson, Chincoteague, Virginia. Very round body with fluted tail. 14.25” long. Original paint with moderate wear; small surface cracks.

(1,250 - 1,750)

190

191 128

190. Hollow carved black duck, Charles Jester, Chincoteague, Virginia. 16.25” long. Second coat of paint by Jester; thin crack through neck.

Provenance: Formerly in the collection of William Purnell, Ocean City, Maryland. “WHP” stamp in underside.

(1,500 - 2,500)

191.

Greenwing teal drake, Miles Hancock, Chincoteague, Virginia. 12” long. Original paint with only slight wear; structurally good.

Provenance: Formerly collection of Roy Bull, Bull brand in underside.

(1,200 - 1,500)

Miscellaneous Decoys

192.

Rigmate pair of re d h e a d s , Ken Anger, Dunnville, Ontario. Original paint; a few scuffs and minor wear; hen has a shot scar on one edge of the bill and near the tail; a few tiny dents.

(1,000 - 1,400)

192

194

193 195 193. Stick up heron silhouette. Shows good age. Wooden part is 23” tall. Original paint with some shrinkage; structurally good.

(250 - 350)

195. Teal from the Delaware River. Hollow carved with glass eyes. Worn old paint; lightly hit by shot; appears to have coat of varnish taken off.

(350 - 450)

194. Canada goose from North Carolina, circa 1900.

25” long. Old in use repaint; head is an old working replacement; numerous cracks and shot marks.

(1,000 - 1,400) 129

Charles Bergman 1856 - 1946 Astoria, Oregon

Astoria, Oregon, a coastal town located at the mouth of the Columbia River, has a rich history as a waterfowl and fishery hot bed. Established as an outpost during the infamous Louis & Clark expedition in 1805, and later as the first permanent American settlement on the Pacific coast, it’s no wonder that some of the Pacific Coast’s most famous carvers called this area their home. Charles Bergman, who many consider the most talented of the group, was born in 1856 in the town of Eknes, Finland. He moved to Astoria around 1880 where he found work as a commercial fisherman and boat builder. Bergman’s love of duck hunting was quickly established finding success as both a subsistence and market hunter. Bergman’s woodworking talents contributed directly to his decoy carving, making him the area’s premier carver. From the early 1900s to about 1920, Bergman decoys were essentially copies of Mason premier and challenge grade models. Bergman began carving full time around 1929 and continued for approximately the next 10 years. His decoys can be characterized as having Mason influence in their form, with carefully applied paint in wonderful graphic design and scratch patterns. His species in order of most common to rarest include: mallard, pintail, teal, canvasback, widgeon, bluebill, and swan.

196. Mallard drake, Charles Bergman, Astoria, Oregon. 17.5” long. Original paint with moderate shrinkage and wear; reglued crack through neck; slight roughness to bill.

(1,500 - 2,000)

196

130

197

197. Exceptional greenwing teal hen, Charles Bergman, Astoria, Oregon. Fine loop feather paint detail. 13” long. Original paint with several small rubs, structurally very good.

Provenance: Early Washington State collection.

Literature: “Wildfowl decoys of the Pacific Coast,” Michael Miller and Fred Hanson.

(8,000 - 12,000)

197 Detail

131

Sporting Art David Maass b. 1929 Minnesota

Winner of multiple Federal Duck Stamp Contest and Ducks Unlimited “Artist of the Year” recipient

198

198. “Cruising the Coast - White winged Scoter,” an oil on board by David Maass. Signed. Professionally framed. Image size 23.5” x 31.5”. Very good and original.

(5,000 - 7,000)

132

Born in Rochester, Minnesota, David Maass came from a family with a rich outdoor tradition. His mother, Ora, was a state trap shooting champion, and he often ventured afield to hunt with his stepfather, Kelley.

As a youngster, he would rescue wounded birds, and he raised pigeons in his home. After high school, he became the art director for Josten Jewelry. Essentially a self-taught artist, he became friendly with David Hagerbaumer and Stu Ferreira and studied their work. In addition to winning a number of federal duck stamp competitions, he was named “Artist of the Year” by Ducks Unlimited, and he has been the featured artist for “The National Wild Turkey Federation” as well as “The National Wildlife Art Collectors Society.” Maass was termed a “Master Artist” by US Art in June 1997.

199

199. “Scouting the Coast - Common Eiders,” an oil on board by David Maass. Signed. Professionally framed. Image size 23.5” x 32”. Very good and original.

(5,000 - 7,000)

133

200

200. Gouache on paper board of Hoopoe birds, Robert Bateman (b. 1930), British Columbia. Signed lower right, “Robert Bateman 2001”. Image measures 5” x 11.5”. Professionally framed and matted. Custom shipping case included. Excellent and original.

(2,500 - 3,500)

201. Original oil on canvas, Guy Coheleach (b.

1933). Titled, “Three Bills.” Dated 1999.

Signed lower right. Image measures 21.5” x 13.5”. Professionally matted and framed.

Custom shipping case included. Excellent and original.

(2,500 - 3,500)

134

201

203

203. Important alert wood duck drake, oil on canvas, G Muss-Arnolt (1858-1927). This is the exact illustration used for the game bird series published by Arm and Hammer consumer products company as inserts in their product. Part of a series of waterfowl, the wood duck is number 27. Beautifully painted in a period or Victorian style frame. Image measures 8.5” x 10.75”. Original card is included. Small area of paint loss on left side against frame otherwise original and good.

Provenance: Jim and Diane Cook collection.

(5,000 - 7,000)

In the 1880s, the Church & Dwight Company of New York began a corporate tradition that lasted nearly 19 years – bird trading cards.

These colorful cards originally came in Arm & Hammer Baking Soda boxes, and later, they could be ordered by mail. At a time when many wild birds were being killed for their meat and feathers, the Church & Dwight bird cards featured the theme of “Useful Birds of America,” and a simple message: For the Good of All, Do Not Destroy the Birds.” Each card carried a short, interesting paragraph about the natural history of the bird portrayed.

135

204

204. “Behind the Old Willow,” an oil on board, David Maass (b. 1929). Mallards in timbered marsh. Image measures 23.5” x 29”. Professionally matted and framed.

Signed lower left. Excellent.

(5,000 - 7,000)

136

205.

“Sailfish Up,” an oil on canvas by Joe Ferrara (1932-2004). Signed and dated 1999. Image size 25” x 30”. Very good and original.

Provenance: Jim and Diane Cook collection.

(1,250 - 1,750)

205

206.

Oil on canvas of musky and bait fish in marsh, Roland Knight (1879-1921). Signed.

Professionally mounted and framed. Image size 12” x 14.5”. Slight paint loss along one edge, otherwise very good and original.

206

Provenance: Jim and Diane Cook collection.

(1,250 - 1,750)

137

207

207. “Along the Upper Yukon,” an oil on board by Ron Van Gilder, Minnesota (b.

1946). Image of Alaskan moose in meadow. Detailed background with mountains, marshy creek, and conifers. Signed lower right. Image measures 22” x 41.5”.

Professionally framed. Excellent and original.

Provenance: Jim and Diane Cook collection.

208.

“Goose Stand, Massachusetts,” a pen and ink drawing by A. Lassell Ripley (1896-1969). 9” x 14.25”. Professionally matted and framed. From the Ripley estate, stamped on the backside. Original and good.

Literature: “A Sportsman Scrapbook,” plate 79. “The Art of Aiden Lassell Ripley,” Steven O’Brien and Julie Carson.

(1,000 - 1,400)

(1,200 - 1,500)

208

138

209. Oil on canvas of flying black ducks, Daniel Loge (b.

1954). Signed. Image size 19” x 29.5”. Very good and original.

(800 - 1,200)

209

210. Deer and trees watercolor, Roy Mason (1886-1972). Signed.

Professionally matted and framed. Image size 21” x 29”. Very good and original.

Provenance: Jim and Diane Cook collection.

(650 - 950)

210

139

210A

210B

211

210A. “Woman on Beach,” an oil on canvas by Neil Boyle.

Signed. Professionally framed. Image size 31” x 23.5”.

Very good and original.

(950 - 1,250) 210B. “Not the General Hooker?!,” an oil on board by Neil Boyle. Signed. Professionally framed. Image size 17” x 23.5”. Very good and original.

(800 - 1,200)

140

212

211. “Flying Canvasbacks,” a watercolor by R.J. Nelson. Signed. Professionally matted and framed.

Image size 17.5” x 27”. Very good and original.

Provenance: Jim and Diane Cook collection.

(800 - 1,200) 212. Acrylic on board of a loon, Leo McIntosh. Signed.

Image size 18” x 24”. Very good and original.

(800 - 1,200)

212A

212A. Acrylic on board of loons, Mario Fernandez. Signed and dated 1980. Image size 24” x 39”. Very good and original. (1,250 - 1,750)

212B. “Pelican Posse,” an acrylic on board by Del Bach (b.1953). Signed and dated 2010. Professionally framed. Image size 9.5” x 21”. Very good and original.

Provenance: Collection of Jim and Dianne Cook.

(500 - 700)

212B

141

212C

212C. Watercolor of two lilac breasted rollers, Guy Coheleach.

Signed.

Professionally matted and framed.

Image size approximately 22” x 18”.

Excellent and original.

212D. Watercolor of koala bear, Guy Coheleach.

Signed. Professionally matted and framed.

Image size approximately 19” x 15”. Very good and original

142

Provenance: Miller collection.

(2,500 - 3,500)

Provenance: Miller collection.

(3,500 - 4,500)

212D

212E

212E. Watercolor of a golden eagle, Guy Coheleach. Signed. Professionally matted and framed. Image size 17” X 13”.

Very good and original.

212F. Watercolor of a pigmy owl in a tree, Guy Coheleach. Signed. Image size approximately 20” x 16”. Very good and original.

Provenance: Miller collection.

(1,750 - 2,250)

212F

Provenance: Miller collection.

(1,000 - 1,400)

143

212G

212J

212H

212I

212K

212G. “The Brood (greenwing teal),” an artist’s proof by Sandy Scott. Signed and stamped, “SS”. Professionally matted and framed. Image size 5.5” x 11”. Very good and original.

(250 - 350)

212I. “Bay country decoys “ an artist’s proof of mallards by Sandy Scott. Signed and stamped, “SS”.

Professionally matted and framed. Image size 13” x 8.5”. Very good and original.

(350 - 550)

212H. “Good Fetch,” a limited edition etching, 18/100, of a bird dog and a pintail, Sandy Scott. Numbered and signed. Professionallly matted and framed. Image size 15.5” x 10.5”. Very good and original.

(400 - 600)

212J. “Redheaded nude,” an oil on board by Donald Putman. Signed on front and back. Professionally framed. Image size 20” x 24”. Very good and original.

(500 - 800) 212K. “Soiled Dove,” a watercolor by Neil Boyle. Signed.

Professionally matted and framed. Image size 14.5” x 19”. Very good and original.

(500 - 800)

144

213. Watercolor of a mountain lion, Jim Tungeon. Signed. Professionally matted and framed. Image size 9” x 7”. Very good and original.

Provenance: Jim and Diane Cook collection.

(500 - 700)

213

214. “Vermilion River,” an acrylic on board by James W. Harris. Signed.

Professionally framed. Image size 15.5” x 23.5”. Very good and original.

Provenance: Jim and Diane Cook collection.

(500 - 700)

214

215. Watercolor of salmon, Flick Ford. Signed and dated 2003.

Professionally framed. Image size 17” x 23.5”. Very good and original.

Provenance: Jim and Diane Cook collection.

(600 - 900)

215 145

Long Island, New York

216

216. Merganser drake, Smith Clinton Verity, Seaford, Long Island, New York, 4th quarter 19th century. Good feather paint detail. 17.25” long. Original paint with minor wear; several small dents in back; shot scar in back. (6,500 - 9,500)

216 Detail

146

217

From, “Bird Decoys of North America,” Bob Shaw, page 131, exact decoy pictured.

218

217. Rare wood duck drake, Chief Eugene Cuffee, Shinnecock Reservation, New York. Branded “CH” in underside. Relief wing carving with extended tips. Near mint original paint; structurally good.

Literature: “Decoys: A North American Survey,” Gene and Linda Kangas.

(3,000 - 5,000)

218. Tern, Daniel Demott, Oceanside, Long Island, New York, last quarter 19th century. 14.5” long. Large tack eyes. Original paint with wear, mostly on top of decoy transitioning to less wear as it moves down the body; small crack in tail; minor roughness to top of tail.

Provenance: Part of a rig found by Bud Ward, and purchased directly form him.

(4,000 - 6,000) 147

Long Island Cork Decoys Occasionally, cork was used by decoy makers throughout the country, but nowhere did it receive such widespread acceptance and use as on Long Island. It was here that this type of decoy achieved a high level of perfection in the hands of a number of local craftsmen.

Its use was most prevalent along the Island’s south shore and Great South Bay, but a few makers produced fine examples on the north shore, facing the Long Island Sound and the Connecticut shore.

Cork was a material ideally suited to the production of decoys. It was lightweight, floated well, possessed an ideal surface texture, was easily shaped and, with proper care, was very durable. In addition, it was often free or inexpensive to purchase from local companies

Wilbur A. Corwin

such as Mundet Cork in Brooklyn or the Armstrong Cork Co. of New York. The natural white cork that was used most extensively had, for decades, been used as the flotation material in life vests. These were basically canvas jackets with large pockets into which the cork slabs were sewn. Thousands were in use aboard the multitude of vessels that plied the North Atlantic shore. With time and the elements, the canvas eventually rotted and the, now useless, garment was simply tossed overboard. Others were lost in storms or went down with the many wrecks. This material was salvaged by the local baymen and put to good use.

There were a number of men who excelled at this craft. Notable among these were the Corwin family of Bellport on Great South Bay. After his father, William R., died in 1914, his son, William A. Corwin, purchased the “Quanch Lodge” from his mother and ran it, serving as guide and gunner for the next 20 years. John H.B. Boyle (1873- 1935),

J. James R. Watkins

also of Bellport, was a prolific carver who ultimately advertised his decoys for sale and rigs have been found at various points across the country. Boyle was friendly with, and strongly influenced by, the work of other local carvers such as George Roberts and James Watkins (1860 – 1938). The patterns for Boyle’s heads were published in Eugene Connett’s “Duck Decoys – How to Make, Paint and Rig Them,” and was copied by any number of aspiring decoy carvers. Other fine examples exist by carvers from the western end of the island, such as “Jimmy” Ketchum of Amityville and “Grubie” Verity of Seaford. At the far eastern end, Dewitt Lawson of Montauk carved some stylish whistlers . On the north shore, although fewer were produced there, carvers such as Gene Wells of Stony Brook constructed fine examples that show the influence of their neighbors in Stratford, CT, across Long Island Sound.

To quote Dick Cowen: “In many ways, the use of cork is a prime example of decoy makers utilizing the materials made available to them. And it just so happens – at least for the men who used them – it made a perfect decoy.” (2006)

Long Island, New York, 1870

148

Boyle head pattern in Connett book

George Robert Mastic, New York

219

220

219. Rare bluewing teal hen, George Robert, Mastic, New York, 1st quarter 20th century. Wooden head, cork body, and wooden keel. Glass eyes. 11.5” long. Excellent and original.

Provenance: Cowan collection. Branded “Manning,” from hunting rig of William T. Manning, Saratoga Lake, New York.

(2,000 - 3,000)

220. Very rare preening black duck, George Robert, Mastic, Long Island, New York. Cork body with wooden head and keel. Glass eyes. Body halves are joined with 3/4” square pegs. Wings are slightly indented. Near mint original paint; very lightly hit by shot.

Provenance: Cowan collection. Formerly in the William T. Manning collection, branded “Manning,” Saratoga Lake, New York.

(2,000 - 3,000) 149

221

222

223

224

225

226

221. Cork body mallard drake, John Boyle, Bellport, New York, circa 1925. Wooden head and keel. 13.75” long. Original paint with minor to moderate wear; chips missing from one lower side.

Provenance: Cowan collection.

(650 - 950)

222. Cork body merganser hen, Walt Verity, Seaford, Long Island, New York. 13.75” long. Original paint with minor to moderate wear; a few small chips missing from the cork; lightly hit by shot.

Provenance: Cowan collection.

(400 - 600)

223. Cork body goldeneye hen, George Robert, Mastic, New York. Decoy has glass eyes and wooden keel. 12” long. Original paint with very minor wear, mostly on neck base; small chip missing from underside of bill and from cork near the tail; lightly hit by shot.

Provenance: Cowan collection.

(400 - 600)

224. Cork body goldeneye drake with wooden keel, Lewis 150

Howell, Center Moriches, New York, circa 1930. 12” long. Near mint original paint; separations in cork but no chips.

Provenance: Cowan collection.

(500 - 700)

225. Pair of cork body bluebills from Long Island, New York. Wing carving and glass eyes. Both have wooden keels with “WS Dana” branded in them. Weights have “WSD” in them. 12.5” long. Original paint with minor wear; white areas appear to be a second coat; crack through drake’s neck; minor roughness to cork.

Provenance: Cowan collection.

(650 - 950)

226. Cork body goldeneye hen, Gene Wells, Stony Brook, New York, 1st quarter 20th century. 12.5” long. Original paint with minor wear on top half of body; bottom half has a second coat; chips to cork at top of tail and at body seams.

Provenance: Cowan collection.

(650 - 950)

227. Cork body Canada goose from Freeport, Long Island, New York, last quarter 19th century. 23” long. Layered body pieces are joined with small square hard dowels. Original paint with moderate wear; small chips in cork; one eye is missing.

Provenance: tion.

Cowan collec(2,500 - 3,500)

227

228

229

230

231

228. Root head old squaw drake, Jesse Howell, Stony Brook, New York, last quarter 19th century. Hollow body. 11.25” long. Appealing old in use repaint; vertical crack in one side of neck; shot scar on back of neck.

Provenance: Cowan collection.

(400 - 600)

229. Cork body merganser drake from the South Fork of Long Island, probably Amagansett, 1st quarter 20th century. 17” long. Original paint on body; head appears to have second coat; small shot scar on top of

bill; a few tiny chips in the cork.

Provenance: Cowan collection.

(300 - 500)

230. Cork body black duck from Long Island, New York. Wooden head and keel. Branded “BMH.” 15.75” long. Original and good.

Provenance: Cowan collection.

(300 - 500)

231. Cork body black duck, George Eberhardt, Stony Brook, Long Island, New York. 17” long. Original paint with minor wear; roughness to tail. (300 - 500) 151

232. Brant, Smith Clinton Verity, Seaford, Long Island, New York, circa 1900. Root head with carved eyes. 17.5” long.

Old in use repaint; several cracks including one in the head; three small gouges in back.

Provenance: Cowan collection.

(650 - 950)

232 233. Redhead drake wooden wing duck, Long Island, New York, circa 1900. 12.5” long. Original paint with minor to moderate wear; crack in back; thin crack through neck.

233

Provenance: Formerly in the collection of Robert Gerard.

(800 - 1,200)

234. Balsa body brant with cedar head, Charles DeQuillfeldt, Sr., Amityville, Long Island, New York, 1st quarter 20th century. 17.5” long. Original paint; moderate wear; white under tail may be a second coat.

234

235

235. Pair of mergansers, Long Island, New York, last quarter 19th century. Drake is 19” long. Both have inlet heads and carved wooden crest. Drake has relief wing carving with raised tips. Original paint that has darkened with age; minor wear; small chip missing from one of the wingtips.

152

Provenance: Cowan collection.

(800 - 1,200)

Provenance: tion.

Andrews collec(1,000 - 1,500)

Contemporary Carvings

236

237

238

236.

Hollow carved wood duck drake, Keith Mueller, Killingsworth, Connecticut. Mueller brand in underside. Acorn in open mouth. Raised extended wingtips. 14” long. Very good and original.

Literature: “Decoys: Sixty Living and Outstanding North American Carvers,” Loy Harrell, exact decoy pictured.

(1,000 - 1,400)

237. Wood duck drake with slightly turned head and crossed wingtips, Jimmie Vizier, Galliano, Louisiana. Signed and dated 2006 with inscription, “Carved special for Loy.” 14.5” long. Very good and original.

Literature: “Decoys: Sixty Living and Outstanding North American Carvers,” Loy Harrell, exact decoy pictured.

(800 - 1,200)

238. Wood duck drake, Tom Humberstone, Skaneateles, New York. Slightly turned head. Very good and original.

Literature: “Decoys: Sixty Living and Outstanding North American Carvers,” Loy Harrell, exact decoy pictured.

(250 - 350) 153

Items of Interest

240

240. Trade sign of fountain pen. Fanciful turnings to wood structure. Inset brass plate with brass tip that has a heart cut out. Used as a store display model. 34” in length. Well made, shows good age.

(250 - 350)

239

239. Sankaty Head Light, a lighthouse birdfeeder by Frank Finney, Cape Charles, Virginia. Signed.

27” tall. Very good and original.

(300 - 500)

241

241A

241. Duck call, Charles Perdew, Henry, Illinois. St. Francis style with four carved panels, one that reads “VL&A. 6”. Excellent and original.

(800 - 1,200) 241A. Presentation duck call, Grubbs. 6.5” long. Original and good.

(950 - 1,250) 154

242

242. Three calls, Charles Perdew, Henry, Illinois. A cedar duck call, and two miniature crow calls. One is stamped “CH Perdew” and one is stamped “CHAS Perdew”.

Crow calls are 3.5” and duck call is 5.5”. Some wear on all three.

(800 - 1,200)

243

244

245

246

243. Two duck calls. One wooden, Rich ‹N Tone with original label, 4.75” long.

Contemporary call with scrimshaw of Labrador and two ducks, signed “D” or “B Burke” on barrel. Material is similar to micarta. Rich ‘N Tone is excellent; other is excellent.

(400 - 600) 244. Two duck calls, Tom Turpin and A.M. Bowles. Turpin call has one duck stamped in barrel and is 7”. Bowles has smooth but shaped barrel and is 5.25”. Turpin is very good and original; Bowles has light wear around mouthpiece.

(350 - 450)

247

246. Two duck calls, Iverson, California. One is a pintail whistle with label remaining. Other has a yellow plastic reed. Stopper is marked “89” and “Iverson”. Iverson is 5.75”. Light wear on both.

(200 - 400) 247. Three calls, Fred Allen. Two calls are metal.

(250 - 350)

245. Two duck calls. Natural mallard call, Minnesota and broadbill call. Original and good, light wear.

(250 - 350)

155

Miniatures

248

249

251

253 248.

252

254 Rare miniature Phoebe, Jess Blackstone, Peterborough, New Hampshire. Raised wingtips and feather rasping.

Identified, signed “JB”, and numbered “1” on underside.

Stands 3” tall with base. Per Blackstone’s records, which belong to the New Hampshire Historical Society, this is the only Phoebe ever made by Blackstone. Excellent and original.

(1,000 - 1,500)

249. Rare worm eating warbler, Jess Blackstone, Peterborough, New Hampshire. Dropped wingtips and feather rasping. Identified, signed “JB”, and numbered “631” on underside. For a few years in the 1960s Blackstone numbered the birds sequentially as usual but placed the year made before the number of that species. Per Blackstone’s records, which belong to the New Hampshire Historical Society, this is the only worm-eating warbler ever made by Blackstone. Stands just under 3” tall with base. Excellent and original. (1,000 - 1,500) 250. Miniature plover and eskimo curlew, William Gibian, Onancock, Virginia. Both with relief wing carving and raised wingtips. Curlew with “Gibian” carved in the underside. Plover with a stylized “G”. Measure 5.5” and 7” long. Excellent and original.

156

250

Provenance: From an early Connecticut collection of Gibian shorebirds.

(600 - 900)

255 251. Miniature swan, Jimmie Vizier, Galliano, Louisiana. Signed and dated 1987. 8.5” long. Feather carving at wingtips. Very good and original. (500 - 700) 252. Miniature woodcock, A.J. King, North Scituate, Rhode Island. Signed on the base. Good paint and feather carving detail. Base is 2.75” long. Bill is replaced, otherwise very good and original.

(500 - 800) 253. Miniature redhead drake paper weight, Frank Adams, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. 6.75” long. Slightly turned head and relief wing carving. Original paint with minor wear; small amount of paint loss at tip of tail and top of head.

(350 - 450) 254. Miniature mallard hen. Slightly turned and lifted head. 3.5” tall. Good feather paint detail. Very good and original.

(250 - 350) 255. Miniature feeding canvasback drake, Elmer Crowell, East Harwich, Massachusetts. 5” long. Crowell’s rectangular stamp is in the underside. Very good and original.

Provenance: Colodny collection.

(1,250 - 1,750)

256

257

258

259

260

261

256. Miniature Canada goose, Elmer Crowell, East Harwich, Massachusetts. Crowell’s rectangular stamp is in the underside. 6” long. Several small spots of touchup, otherwise very good and original. (1,200 - 1,500) 257. Miniature Canada goose on wooden base, Elmer Crowell, East Harwich, Massachusetts. Crowell’s rectangular stamp is in the underside of the base. Carving stands 4.25” tall. Thin crack partway through neck with touchup in that area, otherwise very good and original.

(1,500 - 2,000) 258. Miniature American merganser drake, Elmer Crowell, East Harwich, Massachusetts. 5.5” long. Crowell’s rectangular stamp is in the underside of the base. Very good and original.

Provenance: Colodny collection.

259. Miniature running brant, Elmer Crowell, East Harwich, Massachusetts. Crowell’s rectangular stamp is in the underside. 6” long. Very good and original.

Provenance: Colodny collection.(1,250 - 1,750)

260. Miniature goldeneye hen, Elmer Crowell, East Harwich, Massachusetts. “AE Crowell and Son” paper label on underside. 4” long. Very good and original.

Provenance: Colodny collection.

(1,250 - 1,750)

261. Miniature reaching canvasback drake, Elmer Crowell, East Harwich, Massachusetts. 6.5” long. Traces of Crowell’s circular ink stamp on underside. Original paint with minor wear; tail chip missing.

Provenance: Colodny collection.

(1,200 - 1,500)

(1,250 - 1,750) 157

262

263

264

264A 264B

262. Miniature running black duck, Elmer Crowell, East Harwich, Massachusetts. 6” long. Crowell’s circular ink stamp is on the underside of the base. Very good and original.

Provenance: Colodny collection.

(1,250 - 1,750)

263. Miniature hooded merganser drake, Elmer Crowell, East Harwich, Massachusetts. Crowell’s rectangular stamp is in the underside. 3.5” long. Very good and original.

Provenance: Colodny collection.

(1,250 - 1,750)

264. Miniature goldeneye drake, Elmer Crowell, East Harwich, Massachusetts. Crowell’s rectangular stamp

158

is in the underside. 4” long. Very good and original.

Provenance: Colodny collection.

(1,250 - 1,750)

264A. Pair of miniature mallards, Charles Perdew, Henry, Illinois. 5” long. Both have raised wingtips and slightly turned heads. Hen has a professional bill chip repair by Russ Allen; drake has a professional tail chip repair by Russ Allen as well as a small spot of touch up on the top of the head.

(2,500 - 3,500) 264B. Diorama, A.J. King, North Scituate, Rhode Island.

Three flying greenwing teal suspended over painted water with detailed reflection of each in the surface.

Autumn landscape is painted in to the background with lakes edge and cattails inserted in to the corners.

Measures 8.5” x 10”. Excellent.

(1,800 - 2,200)

Harold Nelson Gibbs Barrington, Rhode Island 1886 – 1970

A lifelong resident of Barrington, Harold Gibbs lived an active outdoor life. At various times he was a fur trapper for the William Harris Co. in Providence, a commercial fisherman, and a watchman for the Warren Oyster Co. He eventually turned his own boat, the “Bahama,” into a floating shellfish laboratory and published several research notes. He wrote articles for the Salt Water Sportsman Magazine as well as for the Orvis Company. He spent seven years as Administrator for the Rhode Island Dept. of Fish and Game and founded the “Rhody Fly Tyers.” A lifelong advocate of fly fishing, he carved a few rare decoy miniatures for a close friend and fellow fly tyer in Bristol, Rhode Island. He is well known for his quality standing miniatures, but he produced extremely few of these decoy miniatures (perhaps less than 1 dozen).

265

266

265. Miniature calling Herring Gull, Harold Gibbs. Head back with raised wingtips. Signed with conjoined “HNG” on underside of natural burl base. 3.25” tall. Very good and original.

(275 - 375) 266. Extremely rare group of waterfowl miniatures, Harold Gibbs. A Canada goose, a mallard drake, and a bluewing teal drake. Mallard has raised wingtips and goose is signed with his conjoined “HNG”. Very good and original.

(350 - 450)

159

Hurley Conklin

Manahawkin, New Jersey

267

268

269

270

271

267. Swimming Canada goose, Hurley Conklin, Manahawkin, New Jersey. Branded “H Conklin.”

Incised wing carving and open bill. 31” long. Original paint with no wear; mildew; structurally good.

Provenance: Deevy collection.

(650 - 950)

268. Two gulls, Hurley Conklin, Manahawkin, New Jersey. Both are signed. One is branded “H Conklin”.

One has a very slightly turned head and raised wingtips. Original paint with minor discoloration and wear; structurally good.

Provenance: Deevy collection.

(500 - 800)

269. Two swimming brant, Hurley Conklin, Manahawkin, New Jersey. One branded “HC” other “H Conklin.”

21” long. Original paint; some mildew; structurally good.

Provenance: Deevy collection.

270. Pair of wood ducks, Hurley Conklin, Manahawkin, New Jersey. Branded “H Conklin.” Both have turned heads. 16.5” long. Near mint original paint; drake has mildew on white areas.

Provenance: Deevy collection.

(400 - 600)

271. Pair of pintails, Hurley Conklin, Manahawkin, New Jersey. Both are branded “H Conklin,” And have slightly turned head. Relief wingtip carving. Original paint with almost no minor wear; slight discoloration on drake’s breast.

Provenance: Deevy collection.

160

(400 - 600)

(350 - 450)

272

273

274

275

275A

275B

272. Pair of redheads, Hurley Conklin, Manahawkin, New Jersey. Branded “H Conklin.” Incised wingtip carving. Both have slightly turned heads. Drake has very slight amount of paint shrinkage on head, otherwise both are original and good.

Provenance: Deevy collection.

Provenance: Deevy collection.

(350 - 450)

(350 - 450)

273. Merganser hen and drake, Hurley Conklin, Manahawkin, New Jersey. Branded “H Conklin.”

One is signed. Both have solid crest and slightly turned heads. Original paint with minor wear; structurally good.

Provenance: Deevy collection.

275. Pair of bluebills, Hurley Conklin, Manahawkin, New Jersey. Branded “H Conklin”. Hen has turned head. Original paint with some mildew, mostly on white areas.

(350 - 450)

274. Pair of greenwing teal, Hurley Conklin, Manahawkin, New Jersey. Branded “H Conklin.” Both have incised wing carving. Original paint; minor mildew and very slight wear; structurally good.

Provenance: Deevy collection.

(350 - 450)

275A. Ruddy duck hen and drake, Hurley Conklin, Manahawkin, New Jersey. Both are branded Hurley Conklin. 12.5” long. Hen has minor paint shrinkage, otherwise good.

Provenance: Deevy collection.

(350 - 550)

275B. Two decoys, Hurley Conklin, Manahawkin, New Jersey. A coot and a teal. Both are branded “H. Conklin.” Both have incised wing carving. Some paint shrinkage on breast and tail of grebe, otherwise original and good.

Provenance: Deevy collection.

(350 - 550)

End of Session One 161

Session Two

Wednesday, July 24, 2019 – 10:00 AM

Decorative Carvings

276

276. * Widgeon drake, Jett Brunet, Galliano, Louisiana. Carved, crossed wingtips and slightly turned head. Signed and dated 1986. Highly detailed paint and feather carving.

15.5” long. Very good and original.

(4,000 - 6,000)

276 Detail

162

277

277. Canvasback drake and miniature canvasback drake, Tan Brunet, Galliano, Louisiana. Carved crossed wingtips. Signed and dated 1984. Slightly turned and lifted head.

15.5” long. Miniature is signed and dated 1984. 3.5” long. Very good and original.

(4,000 - 6,000)

277 Detail

163

278 278. Full size lesser yellowlegs, Dennis Schroeder. Signed and dated 2001. Smooth body style with crossed wingtips, and tucked and turned head. 10” tall. Mounted on display base. Excellent and original.

(2,000 - 3,000)

280

279

279. Baltimore oriole on wooden base, Gus Wilson, South Portland, Maine. 9” long. Original and good.

(1,800 - 2,200)

280. * Gadwall drake, Jim Foote, Detroit, Michigan. Signed and dated 1977 on underside. Very detailed carving. Head that is twisted and turned in a back preening form, underneath a lifted wing with carved and raised wingtips and tail feathers. 13” long. Strong original paint; very small rough area at tip of tail; tight separation at one side of neck.

Provenance: Herrington collection.

(1,500 - 2,000)

281. * Swimming widgeon drake, Jim Foote, Detroit, Michigan. Signed and dated 1977 on underside. Head is slightly turned with mouth wide open. Wing feathers are ruffled and raised. 16” long. Strong original paint; two areas of very slight wear at tip of tail.

281 164

Provenance: Herrington collection.

(1,500 - 2,000)

282. Pintail drake, William Schultz.

Slightly turned head, detailed feather carving at wings and tail.

20” long. Very good and original.

Provenance: Miller collection.

(2,000 - 3,000)

282

282A. Pintail hen, Lionel Dwyer, Pickering, Ontario. Signed and dated 1997. In content pose with sleepy eyes and turned head.

Carved crossed extended wingtips.

Fine paint detail. 14.5” long. Very good and original.

Provenance: Miller collection.

(1,200 - 1,600)

282A

282B. Hollow carved canvasback drake in content pose, John McLouglin, Bordentown, New Jersey. Signed and dated 1972.

Raised wingtips with detailed feather carving, fluted tail. 16” long. Very good and original.

Provenance: Miller collection.

(1,000 - 1,400)

282B

165

Oliver Lawson

Crisfield, Maryland

283

283. Pair of highly decorative red breasted mergansers, Oliver Lawson, Havre de Grace, Maryland. Signed on underside by Lawson, “Made for J.L. Herrington, M.D.” Both heads are slightly turned. Hen’s mouth is open with carved minnow in mouth.

Wingtips are slightly raised. Highly detailed carving including feathering on wingtips and tail. 17” long.

Provenance: Herrington collection.

(2,500 - 4,500)

284. Flicker with open wings standing on a log, Oliver Lawson, Crisfield, Maryland. Signed and dated 1968.

Fine carving detail. 14.5” tall. Very good and original.

284

166

Provenance: Karsnitz collection.

(2,500 - 3,500)

285. * Decorative pintail hen, Oliver Lawson, Crisfield, Maryland. Standing on drift wood with carved crossed wingtips and fluted tail. Turned head with detailed feather paint. Base is 19” long. Very good and original.

Provenance: Karsnitz collection.

(3,000 - 5,000)

285

286. Very rare high style Canada goose, Oliver Lawson, Crisfield, Maryland. Signed and dated 1979, “Made for Dr. J.H. Herrington.” Head is turned approximately 90 degrees. Wings are spread out over underside of body with extended carved wingtips.

Tail is fanned. Likely emulating a mother Canada goose on a nest.

Feather carving is highly detailed with each individual feather, barb, and vein detail. 22” long. Near mint.

Provenance: Herrington collection.

(4,000 - 6,000)

286

167

286A. Rigmate pair of hooded mergansers, Josef Wooster, Ashley, Ohio. Signed and dated 1971.

13.5” long. Highly detailed feather carving at wings and tail, also crest. Very good and original.

Provenance: Miller collection.

(3,000 - 5,000)

286A

286B. American merganser drake, Josef Wooster, Ashley, Ohio.

Signed and dated 1975. “50 yard marker made for my own rig in 1975” is written on the underside.

21.5” long. Slightly turned and lifted head. Detailed feather carving at wings and tail. Very good and original.

Provenance: Miller collection.

Formerly in the collection of George Ross Starr, Starr collection stamp in underside.

(2,000 - 3,000)

286B

286C. Greenwing teal hen, John McLoughlin, Bordentown, New Jersey. Signed. 10” long. In content pose with raised carved crossed wingtips. Very good and original.

286C

168

Provenance: Miller collection.

(1,200 - 1,500)

Dennis Schroeder

Trinity Alps, California

287 Detail

287. * Greenwing teal pair, Dennis Schroeder, Trinity Alps, California. Hen is signed and dated February 2003, number 183. Drake is signed and dated 2001, number 169. Both are realistically carved with individual feather carving, inserted wings, and inserted feathers. Both display tucked heads, crossed wingtips. Carved in full competition style and painted with oils instead of acrylics. A mahogany with engraved metal piece accompanies these two decoys. 10.5” long each. Mint.

(6,000 - 8,000)

287

169

288 Detail

288. * Pair of bluewing teal, Dennis Schroeder, Trinity Alps, California. Drake is signed and dated September 2001 number 171.

Hen is dated September 2001 number 172. Both are highly detailed with individual feather carving. Carved in full competition style and painted with oils instead of acrylics. Hen is back preening with a lifted crossed wing. A mahogany with engraved metal piece accompanies these two decoys. 11.5” long. Excellent and original.

(6,000 - 8,000)

288

170

289

289. * Highly decorative pair of wood ducks, Dennis Schroeder, Trinity Alps, California. Hen is dated July 2002, number 177. Drake is dated November 2001, number 175. This is Schroeder’s highest level of quality and painted with oils instead of acrylics. Puffed, raised feathers throughout the body. A mahogany with engraved metal piece accompanies these two decoys. Both with tucked, turned heads. 13” long. Excellent.

(7,000 - 9,000)

289 Detail 171

Chauncey Wheeler

1862 - 1937 Alexandria Bay, New York

290

290. Very rare flying black duck wall plaque, Chauncey Wheeler, Alexandria Bay, New York. Plaque is a little over 26” long. Good feather paint detail. Very good and original.

Literature: “Decoys: A North American Survey,” Gene and Linda Kangas. “Chance,” Harold Reiser. (12,000 - 15,000)

290 Detail

172

Gus Wilson

1864 - 1950 South Portland, Maine

291

291. Full size flying mallard drake, Gus Wilson, South Portland, Maine. 19” long. Carved eyes. Original paint with very slight wear; neck seam has separated slightly.

(4,500 - 6,500)

173

Andrew Redman

1908 - 1963 Milwaukee, Wisconsin

In 1939, the federal government was challenged with stimulating the national economy -- thus was born the Work Projects Administration (WPA).

The program employed millions to carry out public works projects. The Federal Art Project (FAP) was one of the five segments that made up the WPA. It was created not as a cultural activity, but as a relief measure to employ artists and artisans to create murals, easel paintings, sculpture, graphic art, posters, photography, and arts and crafts.

In 1939, at the age of 27, Andrew Redman, joined The Milwaukee Museum under the assistance of the FAP. He participated until 1941. His employment records list his skills as bookkeeper, museum assistant, fur farmer, and carpenter. There were several hundred WPA workers at the museum between 1935-1941 . Redman was likely assigned to the Anthropology Department based on his talents. This is where his association with noted decoy carvers Owen Gromme, museum curator of taxidermy, and Warren Dettman likely occurred.

As Redman was not assigned to taxidermy, it is more likely he took his lunch and breaks with the folks making blocks for the taxidermy department. They probably gravitated toward each other as hunters, conservationists, and carvers -- more a friendship than a working relationship -- and did some carving together over their lunch periods.

Andrew Redman can now be associated alongside the great makers from the WPA period at the Milwaukee Museum. This exact mallard hen exhibits all the best qualities of Milwaukee school carvings and was good enough to place first in the decoy contest so proudly displayed on the table seated with Andrew.

Al Muchka Curator of Collections, American & Local History Curator, Nunnemacher Arms Collection History Department Milwaukee Public Museum

174

292 Detail

292 Detail

292

292. Mallard hen, Andrew Redman, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Slightly turned head with sleepy eyes. Raised carved wingtips. Good feather paint detail. Tag on underside reads “Milwaukee Museum best in show 1939.” 15” long. Original paint with good patina and very slight wear.

(22,500 - 27,500)

175

294

293

295

293. Three egrets on a piece of drift wood, Cindy Lewis and Mark Holland, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. 36” tall. Original and good.

(3,000 - 4,000) 294. Decorative yellowlegs, Lloyd Johnson, Bay Head, New Jersey, 1959. Dated under base, and branded “LJ” on base and under tail. Glass eyes with alert slightly turned head. Carved shoulders and tail. Mounted on burl base. 12” tall. Small area of gesso missing where foot connects to leg; very good and original. (800 - 1,000) 295. Life size standing quail on birch log, William Bennett, Long Island, New York. Three piece body construc-

176

295A

tion with separated wingtips and carved eyes. Wooden feet. 9” tall. Very good and original.

Provenance: Formerly in the collection of Bob Gerard.

(650 - 950)

295A. Pair of full size quail on driftwood, James Denny. Inscription on underside reads, “1973 World Championship Wildfowl Carving Competition, Amateur Class, First place decorative life size, 2nd in show, James N. Denny.” Carving is 9.5” tall. Both birds have slightly turned heads and detailed feather carving. Very good and original

Provenance: Miller collection.

(1,750 - 2,250)

296. Carved full size wooden blue jay on wooden branch, Pennsylvania, early 20th century. Stands 10.5” long. Open bill and shoe button eyes. Iron legs and feet. Strong original paint, with in painting to a scratch on the breast approximately 1.5” in length.

(2,750 - 3,250)

296

297. Flying mallard found in Maryland, 2nd quarter 20th century. 20” wing span. Carved wooden feet. Good line feather carving detail and metal tail sprig. Mellow original paint with almost no wear; both wings have been stabilized with filler added and paint touchup at the seams; slight separation at body seam on the underside; touchup at one foot.

(2,750 - 3,250)

297

177

George Boyd

GEORGE BOYD 1873 – 1941 Seabrook, New Hampshire

For a man who would become the Granite State’s most noteworthy carver, recognition and fame came late. Early decoy historian Bill Mackey recognized his exceptional talent and described his decoys as “Finely carved and nicely painted” created “by a prolific but unknown carver.”

George Boyd’s entire life was one dominated by the surrounding coastal environment and its wildlife. In his early years, he shot for the market and worked the marsh for clams and fish. Perhaps as early as 1895, he began carving decoys both for his own use and, presumably, for sale locally. By 1910, he was selling his shorebird decoys through the well-known Boston sporting goods store, Iver Johnson and, later, he also sold some of his miniatures through Macy’s and Abercrombie & Fitch in New York. From about 1900 through about 1920, like many other men in the community, he augmented his income by working in the shoe industry and as a cobbler, operating out of a small building on his property.

Eventually, all of his income would be derived from his carving efforts. He produced miniatures and full size decoys for the species then in demand in New Hampshire and the north shore of Massachusetts. His decoys were made in wood as well as canvas over frame construction. Geese, being large and somewhat weighty, lent themselves to this latter form of design, and Boyd’s experience in the shoe industry gave him the tools and expertise to produce some of the finest of these. Rigs of geese produced by him surely must have been very realistic on the water. He designed them so that the head position would be varied and, very, very rarely, they would include one in a hissing pose.

His work was clearly recognized by a small number of early local collectors for its exceptional quality and workmanship. In addition to people like “Greeny” Noyes and Dan Graf, one local couple, Winthrop (“Win”) and Scotty Carter of Chatham, MA and Portsmouth, NH, began to actively seek out the very best examples of his work and were the first to publish a booklet documenting his life and shorebird decoys. They proclaimed Boyd’s geese, to “have a gracefulness and fluidity of motion which reflects the eye of one who has spent many hours in observation.” When noted Boyd historian, Jim Cullen, wrote his excellent thesis on Boyd, it was the Carter collection that provided many of the finest examples for inclusion in the book. The superb turned head, hissing goose offered here was selected from their collection to be the cover photo for Cullen’s book.

178

Winthrop L. and “Scotty” Carter

298

298. Important swimming Canada goose with turned head, George Boyd, Seabrook, New Hampshire. Fine feather paint detail. 28” long. Original paint with minor wear; one small spot on one side where the canvas is worn through; small amount of filler missing from one lower side of breast.

Provenance: Doherty collection.

Literature: “Finely Carved and Nicely Painted,” Jim Cullen, front cover, exact decoy pictured.

(65,000 - 95,000)

298 Detail

179

299. Rare wooden body Canada goose, George Boyd, Seabrook, New Hampshire. Hollow carved. 29” long. Original paint; minor shrinkage and wear; several small cracks.

(6,000 - 9,000)

299

300. Oversize canvas over wooden frame black duck, George Boyd, Seabrook, New Hampshire. “BEAN” brand under bill. Approximately 22” long. Slightly turned and lifted head. Original paint on head and bill; the rest has old in use repaint; thin crack and small chip missing from tail.

300

180

Literature: “Finely Carved and Nicely Painted,” Jim Cullen, p. 39.

(4,000 - 6,000)

301. Very rare rigmate pair of oversize goldeneye, George Boyd, Seabrook, New Hampshire. 16” long and just under 7” wide.

Hen has very slightly turned head. Original paint with minor wear on drake; hen has original paint with minor wear with a fair amount of shrinkage showing the primer; each has a crack in the underside and a few small dents.

Literature: “Finely Carved and Nicely Painted,” Jim Cullen. New England Decoys,” John and Shirley Delph.

(10,000 - 14,000)

301 Detail

301

181

302

302. Cork body black duck, Lou Rathmell, Stratford, Connecticut. Slightly turned wooden head and inserted wooden tail. 17.5” long. Original paint; very slight wear; a few tiny dents.

303

Literature: “Shang,” Dixon Merkt.

(6,000 - 9,000)

303. Cork body black duck, Lou Rathmell, Stratford, Connecticut. 19” long. Old in use repaint on body; paint on head appears to be original by Shang Wheeler.

Provenance: Richard Bourne 1985 decoy auction label on underside.

(1,500 - 2,500)

304. Low head style black duck, Charles Disbrow, Stratford, Connecticut. Hollow carved. Good feather paint detail. 17.5” long. Original paint with very minor wear; worn area on one side at body seam.

Provenance: Formerly in the collection of George Ross Starr, Duxbury, Massachusetts and so marked.

(1,000 - 1,500)

304 182

305

305 Detail

305. Rare black duck, Shang Wheeler, Stratford, Connecticut, 1st quarter 20th century. Hollow carved with bottom board. A gunning decoy that has had the weight and line tie removed. Shoe button eyes with fines scratch feather paint on the head, which is slightly offset to emphasize the natural anatomy. 16” long. Original paint on head; copper nails have been used to secure cracked areas at the base of neck; body is a blend of original paint that has worn softly with a thin second coat that is exactly the same color; areas of flaking expose both the natural wood surface and the thin surface of the paint.

(12,000 - 15,000)

183

306 Detail

Shorebirds

306.

Important golden plover “wind bird” from Nantucket, Massachusetts, last quarter 19th century. Hollowed out from the underside and made to move in the wind. 9.5” long. Near mint original paint with good patina; structurally excellent.

Provenance: Formerly in the collection of John Delph.

(12,500 - 17,500)

306

184

Page 30 of “Call to the Sky: The Decoy Collection of James M. McCleery M.D.,” exact decoy shown.

307

307. Black bellied plover in spring breeding plumage, Joseph Lincoln, Accord, Massachusetts, circa 1900. Classic Lincoln feather paint pattern. Tack eyes. 11.5” long. Near mint original paint; tiny chip missing from top of tail; paint on bill appears to have been strengthened.

Provenance: Formerly in the collection of Jim McCleery, and so stamped. Lot 309 in the Guyette & Schmidt/Sotheby’s McCleery sale.

Literature: “Joseph Lincoln,” Cap Vinal, p. 59.

(8,000 - 10,000)

307 Detail

185

308

308. Lesser yellowlegs, Lothrop Holmes, Kingston, Massachusetts, 3rd quarter 19th century. 10” long. Tack eyes. Original paint with minor discoloration and wear; a tiny hole has been drilled in one side near the tail; lightly hit by shot.

(6,000 - 9,000)

308 Detail

186

309

309. Black bellied plover, Thomas Southam, Toronto Harbor, Ontario, last quarter 19th century. Original wire legs and original base. 10.5” long.

Original paint with minor wear; hit by shot on one side.

(5,000 - 7,000)

309 Detail 187

The Chipman Family Sandwich, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Located at the base of Cape Cod, Sandwich boast long lengths of shoreline on both Cape Cod Bay to the north and Buzzards Bay to the south. This shoreline and marsh provided ideal habitat that attracted large numbers of migrating shorebirds annually. The Chipmans were an old, established family within the town, and two brothers from this large clan are credited with producing a small rig of wonderful shorebirds including some remarkable sanderlings or “peeps.”

The brothers saw the obvious advantage to imparting as much natural motion in their spread as possible. Some of their carvings were constructed full bodied then hollowed and the cavity covered with a thin bottom board.

These birds were fitted with slender wire legs which allowed them to “bob” in a natural feeding motion in even a slight breeze. Other carvings of theirs are hollowed out from below to an eggshell thinness and the bottom left open. A hole for the mounting stick was then drilled up into the base of the neck. This created a wind sock affect which allowed the decoys to sway in every light wind thus imparting an additional element of realism to the rig.

The brothers may have lived on Chipman Lane within the town which gave them ready access to the North Shore and its marshes. At least one, and possibly both of the brothers, was a pattern maker at the local “Sandwich Glass Works,” and this occupation would have certainly given them the tools and expertise needed to produce these exquisite lures. The birds are finely painted with multiple small, delicate strokes to accurately mimic the plumage of the live birds. This attention to detail seemingly did not extend to their choice of glass beads used for the eyes. These were reportedly salvaged from the Glass Factory and were very often a beautiful deep blue or cranberry color.

310 Detail

188

310. Extremely rare hollow carved sandpiper by a member of the Chipman Family, Sandwich, Massachusetts, last quarter 19th century. Thinly hollowed with shoe button eyes and wire legs. Finely chined bottom edges and good paint detail. 8.5” long. Near mint original paint with good patina; structurally excellent.

Provenance: Found in a cellar in Eastham, Massachusetts in a basket with a peep and plover by the same maker around 1950 by Don Howes.

(20,000 - 24,000)

310

189

Ward Brothers

Crisfield, Maryland

311

311. Mallard drake, Ward Brothers, Crisfield, Maryland. 1939 model with head turned 45 degrees to one side. 18” long.

Traces of “LT Ward & Bro” stamp on underside. Near mint original paint; hairline surface crack in front of neck otherwise excellent and original; never rigged.

(9,500 - 12,500)

311 Detail

190

312. Pair of balsa body black ducks, Ward Brothers, Crisfield, Maryland. Both have slightly turned heads and good paint detail. 17.5” long. Near mint original paint; structurally good.

(8,000 - 12,000)

312

312 Detail

191

313

192

313 Detail

313. Rare pinch breasted style pintail hen, Ward Brothers, Crisfield, Maryland, circa 1934. A little over 18” long. Well sculpted, slightly turned head. Appealing feather paint detail. Ward Brothers ink stamp is on the underside as well as their signatures. Original paint with very minor wear on most of the decoy; significant wear under the tail.

Literature: “Ward brothers Decoys,” Ron Gard and Brian McGrath.

(20,000 - 30,000)

313 Detail

193

314

315

314. Rigmate pair of pintails, Ward Brothers, Crisfield, Maryland. Balsa body 1948 models with inserted cedar tails and slightly turned cedar heads. Each have keels and shoulder carving.

Drake is 19” long. Original paint with minor wear; drake has moderate wear on one lower side; hen has a crack through the top of the neck; drake has slight separation at the neck seam filler; both have small dents.

(5,000 - 7,500)

315 Detail 194

315. Black duck, Ward Brothers, Crisfield, Maryland. 1936 model with slightly turned head. Good paint detail and well formed head. 16.5” long. Original paint with minor wear; some touchup at a filled crack in the back; thin crack in neck and underside.

(5,000 - 7,000)

316

316. 1936 model mallard drake, Ward Brothers, Crisfield, Maryland. Slightly turned head. A little over 17” long. Stenciled on underside is a “Cavanaugh Motors Inc.” symbol with a dog, Salisbury, Maryland. Original paint; minor wear; a few small scuffs on lower sides; thin crack in underside; a couple of small cracks to the neck filler.

(15,000 - 20,000)

316 Detail Cavanaugh Motors, Salisbury Maryland Ford dealership 195

317. Canada goose, Ward Brothers, Crisfield, Maryland, circa 1930. Slightly turned head. 14.25” long. Old in use repaint; several small cracks.

(2,000 - 3,000)

317

318.

Pair of canvasbacks, Ward Brothers, Crisfield, Maryland. 1936 models.

Originally from the Glenn L. Martin rig. 16.75” long. Old in use repaint; hen has a crack through the neck; drake has a thin crack through the bill; a few small dents.

Provenance: From a hunting rig found in the 1960s in Ontario.

(1,250 - 1,750)

318

320. Pair of canvasback heads, Lem Ward, Crisfield, Maryland. Signed and dated 1972. 7” long. Very good and original.

(600 - 900)

320 196

321. 1936 model canvasback drake with turned head, Ward Brothers, Crisfield, Maryland. From the Glenn L. Martin rig, “GLM” brand in underside.

Tag on underside reads “made and used by Glen L Martin, given to Durward Allen by Joseph P Linduska, 1965.” 16.75” long. Original paint with minor wear; old touchup to black on breast and some of the grey on lower sides; slight separation at neck seam.

Literature: “Ward Brothers Decoys,” Ron Gard and Brian McGrath.

(8,000 - 10,000)

321

321 Detail

197

Stevens Brothers Weedsport, New York

From “Mason Factory Decoys,� Russ Goldberger and Alan Haid, page 129, exact decoy pictured.

It is believed that the eclipse plumage goldeneye decoys were made as special orders between 1890 and 1900.

They were likely used in the St. Lawrence river area of New York state where this species migrates to early in the fall. As the season progresses their plumage molts to the common black and white fall plumage. Very few of these special order examples are known.

322 Detail

198

322 Detail

322. Very rare goldeneye drake in eclipse plumage, Stevens Brothers, Weedsport, New York, circa 1880s. Original Stevens stencil is on the underside.

15” long. Near mint original paint on top of decoy with slight flaking where a couple of defects in wood were filled when the decoy was made; flaking at a couple of knots on underside.

Literature: “Stevens Brothers Decoys,” Peter and Peggy Mueller. “Stevens Brothers,” Shane Newell.

“Mason Factory Decoys,” Russ Goldberger and Alan Haid, p. 129, exact decoy pictured. (15,000 - 20,000)

322

199

323

323. Canvasback drake, Stevens Brothers, Weedsport, New York. “H.A. Stevens” stencil on underside. 18.25” long. Original paint with minor to moderate wear; a few small dents.

(3,000 - 4,000)

324. Goldeneye hen, Stevens Brothers, Weedsport, New York, last quarter 19th century. 14.5” long. Original paint with minor to moderate wear; thin crack in underside; crack through neck; small dents.

Literature: “Stevens Brothers Decoys,” Peter and Peggy Mueller. “Stevens Decoys,” Shane Newell.

(3,000 - 4,000)

324

200

325 325. Black duck, Stevens Brothers, Weedsport, New York, last quarter 19th century. 18” long. Original paint with very minor wear; very slight roughness to wood on one edge of bill and tail.

(6,000 - 9,000)

325 Detail

201

326. Bluebill hen, Chauncey Wheeler, Alexandria Bay, New York. 15” long. Original paint with minor wear; small amount of touchup at cracks at one side.

Provenance: Formerly in collection of Frank Ash. Literature: “Chance,” Harold Reiser.

(1,750 - 2,250)

326

327.

Merganser hen, Long Island, New York, last quarter 19th century. Carved wooden crest.

17.5” long. Tag on underside reads, “George Bennett merganser, 3/64 Mal Fleming, Amityville, New York, Fred Hartman rig.” Branded “GAB” twice in the underside and “FH” once. Original paint; minor wear, mostly on the body right behind the head and on the back of the head; small chip missing from crest, approximately 1/3 of the bill is missing; crack through neck.

(2,000 - 3,000)

327

328. Preening wood duck drake, Ken Harris, Woodville, New York. Tag on underside states the decoy was made in 1975.

12.5” long. Very good and original.

(950 - 1,250)

328

202

329

330

331

332

333

329. Pair of old squaw, Ken Harris, Woodville, New York. Harris brand in underside. Carved crossed wingtips and fluted tails. Drake is 17” long. Very good and original.

(650 - 950) 330. Merganser hen, similar to the work of Ed Dingman, Alexandria Bay, New York. Carved wooden crest.

14” long. Original paint with minor discoloration and wear; slight roughness to wooden crest; touchup on bill.

(650 - 950) 331. Goldeneye hen, Julius Mittelsteadt, Buffalo, New York. Original paint with moderate wear; a few small dents and shot marks.

(500 - 800) 332. Black duck, Stevens Brothers, Weedsport, New York, last quarter 19th century. 19” long. Working repaint;

334

minor wear, mostly on underside of body; small crack in underside.

(500 - 800) 333. Pair of greenwing teal, Ken Harris, Woodville, New York. Harris brand in underside of each. Carved crossed wingtips and fluted tails. 12” long. Very good and original.

(500 - 800) 334. Goldeneye hen with inlet head and tack eyes, last quarter 19th century. Branded “N.Y.C. &. H.R.R.R.” for New York City and Hudson River Railroad. Also stamped “No .21” and “H. Watkey”. Original paint; moderate wear; two cracks through neck; shallow chip missing from underside of bill.

Provenance: Formerly in the Shelburne Museum Collection, Museum stamp on underside.

(1,000 - 1,400) 203

Adele Earnest 1901 – 1993 Stony Point, New York

335 Detail

Born in Waltham, Massachusetts, Adele graduated from Wellesley College and went on to live a life devoted to American folk art, and she developed a lifelong interest in decoys as a shining example of this genre. In 1939, she established the Stony Point Art Gallery, and in 1961, was one of the six original founders of the Museum of American Folk Art in downtown Manhattan, NY. She is best remembered by the decoy community for compiling her 1965 reference, “The Art of the Decoy,” which was one of the first books to describe the decoy as a legitimate American art form.

In her book, she relates an early trip to the Chesapeake region in Maryland where: “The day was bright and sunny… As I was driving along a detour, I suddenly saw an enormous fire beside the road. It proved to be no more than a controlled bonfire, which crackled and sputtered by an old barn. Near it, a farmer was methodically walking back and forth, cleaning out the clutter and feeding the blaze. I got out to look around. As I walked closer, I saw that the blaze was a flaming pyre of swan decoys. I shrieked like a Valkyrie – and behaved like one. I rushed at the fire, seized one swan by its long white neck, threw it on the ground, and beat out the flames. The farmer stood transfixed. Breathlessly, I tried to explain – but could not. Finally, he did accept – and gingerly – the five dollar bill I offered.”

She later recalled that she: “…truly wished that (she) could have saved many more swans from their blazing demise.” And that “The bird, although charred on the bottom, has a stately erect neck and a wonderful crusty surface that only years of actual use and exposure to harsh elements can produce.”

The iconic decoy offered here is the very decoy described by Adele and is truly a testimony to the writings of an author that shaped the interest of a generation of early collectors. The decoy’s charm remains as strong today as when it was rescued decades ago by Adele.

204

Cover of book with the name influenced by the Adele Earnest swan. “Bonfire of Swans,” Kangas and Kirson.

335 Detail

Charring on underside from the fire that Adele Earnest rescued if from.

335

335. Important long neck swan, Hoopers Island, Maryland, last quarter 19th century. Three piece body construction with body pieces connected by dowels. Detailed head and bill carving. 21” long x 23” tall. Worn and flaking old paint; repair where head joins neck; significant charring to underside and one lower side.

Literature: “The Art of the Decoy,” Adele Earnest, plate 7, exact decoy. “Bonfire of Swans,” Gen and Linda Kangas and Don Kirson, first story, exact decoy pictured.

(50,000 - 70,000)

205

CAPT. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN DYE 1827-1896 Perryville, Maryland

Ben Dye was born in New Jersey, married Adeline Mitchell and moved to the area of Perryville, Cecil County, Maryland. Census records indicate that at various times his occupation was listed as “laborer” or “fisherman”. He is best remembered as a professional waterman – gunning for the market, guiding, and producing some of the earliest documented decoys on the Chesapeake Bay. Among the rarest and most desirable of his carvings are his Oldsquaws. He is credited with only producing about a half dozen decoys of this species with the flat style ballast weight, presumably for northern gunners, and most of these have been found in totally overpainted condition.

Ben Dye

Rodigrass Camp, Knobb Island

206

The very rare example offered here was found, along with a rig mate, under the Rodigrass family hunting camp located on Knobbs Island (Plum Island) Massachusetts near the New Hampshire border. It was discovered in 1932 when repairs were being made to the camp by its then owner Gardiner Rodigrass. The camp was located very near the location of one of the life saving stations on Plum Island. The island has always attracted huge numbers of migrating birds and is now part of the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge. The decoy has remained in the family of direct descendants of Mr. Rodigrass for the past 87 years and is being offered for sale here for the first time.

336

336. Extremely rare oversize old squaw drake, Captain Ben Dye, Perryville, Maryland. 15” long. Good form with raised neck seat and detailed bill delineation. Original paint with moderate wear; a few small dents; crack through neck base.

Literature: “Waterfowling on the Chesapeake, 1819-1936,” C. John Sullivan (7,500 - 9,500)

336 Detail 207

337

338

337. Pair of pintails, Oliver Lawson, Crisfield, Maryland. Signed and dated 2004. Both have slightly turned heads. 21.5” long. Very good and original.

(950 - 1,250) 338. Pair of pintails carved by Madison Mitchell and painted Charlie Joiner. Signed by both, and dated 1973. Very good and original.

(650 - 950)

208

339

339. Bufflehead drake john duck. Used as a buoy. Tie hole through top of tail. 10.5” long. Old in use repaint; minor roughness to underside.

(500 - 800)

340

341

342

342A

340. Canvasback drake, George “Wash” Barnes, Havre de Grace, Maryland, last quarter 19th century. 14.5” long. Appealing old in use repaint; structurally good.

(1,500 - 2,500)

342. Canvasback hen, Robert McGaw, Havre de Grace, Maryland. Retains original McGaw “dogbone” weight.

Near mint original paint; crack in underside; several tiny dents.

(1,000 - 1,400)

341. Canvasback hen, Will Heverin, Charlestown, Maryland, 1st quarter 20th century. High neck model with painted eyes. Original paint with minor wear; several cracks in back and underside; in painting around one side of face.

(950 - 1,250)

342A. 1/2 size Atlantic brant, Oliver Lawson, Crisfield, Maryland. Signed. Slightly turned head. Raised wingtip carving. 11” long. Excellent and original.

(500 - 800)

209

Al Bell

Born 1866 Baltimore, Maryland The maker of these unique swans had remained a mystery until 2011. For years, auction houses and collectors had identified them as John Cockey, Jim Cockey, Cockey family, and unidentified maker. Through persistence and hard work and a little bit of luck, author C. John Sullivan was able to uncover new information that eventually lead to the accurate identification of the maker, Al Bell of Baltimore, Maryland.

According to Sullivan, Bell was a prolific decoy maker and hunter, in the early 20th century, that lived in the Hamilton section of Baltimore. An early interview with a hunter that knew Bell said he made hundreds of decoys, mostly black heads, redheads, canvasbacks, and a few swans. He was also known to have made a few miniatures that have a similar profile to his swans. In 1922, Bell listed his occupation in the census as a signalman for the railroad.

Decoy Magazine Sept/ Oct, 2011, C. John Sullivan.

343

210

343. Rare swan, Al Bell, Baltimore, Maryland. 26.5” long. Original paint with good patina and minor crazing; thin crack in back; small amount of filler missing from back of head; black paint appears to be a second coat.

Literature: “Decoys of the Midatlantic Region,” Henry Fleckenstein, Jr. (14,000 - 18,000)

343 Detail

211

344 Detail

344. Pintail drake, Lloyd Sterling, Crisfield, Maryland. Very slightly turned head. 19” long. Original paint with very minor discoloration and wear; crack in underside extending short way up breast.

(12,000 - 15,000)

212

344

213

Obediah Verity

1813 - 1901 Seaford, Long Island, New York

345

214

345 Detail

345. Extremely rare ruddy turnstone, Obediah Verity, Seaford, Long Island, New York, 3rd quarter 19th century. Carved eyes and relief wing carving.

8.5” long. Original paint with very slight wear; significantly hit by shot; thin crack in bill.

Literature: “Shorebird Decoys,” Henry Fleckenstein, Jr.

(30,000 - 40,000)

215

346

216

346 Detail

346. Rare robin snipe in spring plumage, Obediah Verity, Seaford, Long Island, New York. Carved eyes and relief wing carving. 9.5” long. Original paint with very minor wear; lightly hit by shot; shallow rough area on one side of tail.

Literature: “Shorebird Decoys,” Henry Fleckenstein, Jr.

(9,000 - 12,000)

217

347

218

347 Detail

347. Outstanding black bellied plover, Obediah Verity, Seaford, Long Island, New York, 3rd quarter 19th century. Outstanding form with wide beetle head and with one carved eye noticeably lower than the other. Relief wing carving. Exceptionally fine paint detail. 9.5” long. Original paint with good patina and very minor wear, mostly on bill; very lightly hit by shot.

(20,000 - 24,000)

219

348. Greater yellowlegs, Thomas Gelston, Quogue, Long Island, New York, last quarter 19th century. 13” long. Original paint with minor to moderate wear; hit by shot.

(3,000 - 5,000)

348

349. Hollow carved yellowlegs from Long Island, New York, last quarter 19th century. Three piece body construction. 12.25” long. Original paint with minor discoloration and wear; wear to the wood under the end of the tail; bill appears to be an old replacement. (2,000 - 3,000)

349

350.

Pair of dowitchers, Chief Eugene Cuffee, Southhampton, Long Island, New York. Carved eyes, whale bone bills.

Extended wingtips. Both are on weighted bases. 10” long. Original and good.

Provenance: Formerly in collection of Bob Gerard.

(1,750 - 2,250)

350 220

351

352

351 Detail

351. Golden plover, John Dilley, Quogue, Long Island, New York, last quarter 19th century. 10.5” long. Original paint with minor wear; structurally good.

(4,000 - 6,000)

352 Detail

352. Yellowlegs with shoe button eyes, Lawrence, Long Island, New York. Decoys of this type are usually referred to as early Bowman’s. Relief wing carving with extended tips. Thigh carving. 12.5” long. Original paint with minor discoloration and wear; one wingtip has been repaired.

(5,000 - 7,000)

221

William Bowman

1824 - 1906 Lawrence, Long Island, New York

353. Rare greater yellowlegs, William Bowman, Lawrence, Long Island, New York. Shoe button eyes. Relief wing carving with extended wingtips. 12” long. Original paint with minor wear; hit by shot; extended wingtips are intact but there is some wear to wood at tip of one; professional neck crack repair; professional touchup to spot on back of head, bottom side of breast, and on underside near stick hole.

Provenance: Colodny collection.

Literature: “Shorebird Decoys,” Henry Fleckenstein, Jr. (30,000 - 50,000)

353 Detail

222

353

223

353B

353A

353C

353A. Cork peep, Obediah Verity, Seaford, Long Island, New York, 3rd quarter 19th century. 7” long with large carved eyes and relief wing carving. Original paint with good detail and very minor wear; slight separation at seam in cork; hit by shot mostly on one side; reglued crack in tail.

(3,500 - 4,500) 353B. Gardner/Dexter yellowlegs, last quarter 19th century. Relief wing carving and shoebutton eyes. 12.5” long. Original paint; minor wear; lightly hit by shot; several spots of touch up by Ken Delong.

Provenance: Formerly in the collection of Peter Lisle.

(1,250 - 1,750)

353C. Greater yellowlegs, Joel Barkelow, Forked River, New Jersey, last quarter 19th century. 11.5” long. Original paint with moderate shrinkage and minor wear; structurally good.

(1,400 - 1,800)

224

353A Detail

Louisiana 353D. Pair of bluewing teal, Laurent Verdin, Sr., Pointe au Chien, Louisiana. Relief wing tip carving.

10.5” long. Original paint with minor wear; drake has been lightly hit by shot (1,000 - 1,400)

353D 353E. Pair of mallards, Joseph Verdin.

Signed. Relief wingtip carving. 15” long. Original and good. (500 - 800)

353E

353F. Pair of bluebills, Laurent Verdin, Jr., Marrero, Louisiana. Made in 1973. 12” long. Very good and original.

(400 - 600)

353F

353G. Four 1/4 size carvings, Laurent Verdin, Jr., Marrero, Louisiana.

6.5” long. Very good and original.

(400 - 600)

353G 225

Decoratives by Elmer Crowell 1862 - 1952 East, Harwich, Massachusetts

354 Detail

354

354 Detail 354. Full size quail on burl base, Elmer Crowell, East Harwich, Massachusetts. Signed on the underside. 8.5” tall. Good carving detail and fine feather paint. Very good and original.

226

Literature: “Songless Aviary,” Brian Cullity.

(14,000 - 18,000)

355

355. Lesser yellowlegs, Elmer Crowell, East Harwich, Massachusetts, circa 1930. Glass eyes with slightly turned head. Mounted on clam shell base with rectangular stamp on underside. 9.25” tall. In painting at tail and around both eyes; small amount of sap bleed at top of back.

(6,000 - 8,000)

355 Detail

227

356 Detail

356

228

356 Detail

356. Exceptional carved blue jay on wooden base, Elmer Crowell, East Harwich, Massachusetts. Signed under the tail. Good feather carving detail. Well blended paint. 11” tall. Excellent and original.

(35,000 - 45,000)

229

357. Full size chickadee on branch, Elmer Crowell, East Harwich, Massachusetts. 6” tall. Small amount of touchup on breast, otherwise very good and original.

(2,500 - 3,500)

357

358

358. Pair of pintail heads, Elmer Crowell, East Harwich, Massachusetts. Oval brands on undersides of the base. Heads are large, 7” from the bill to back of head and 6.25” tall. Screw holes through bases suggested they were used as a gun or hat rack. Near mint original paint; structurally very good.

(2,500 - 3,500)

359. Resting mallard drake on custom carved wooden candlestick base, Elmer Crowell, East Harwich, Massachusetts. Base is 6” wide. Excellent and original.

(1,800 - 2,200)

359

230

360 Detail

360

360. 2/3 size standing decorative wood duck drake, Elmer Crowell, East Harwich, Massachusetts. Crowell’s rectangular stamp is on the underside. It is also signed “AE Crowell, Cape Cod, Mass.” Just under 12” long. Slightly turned head with carved wooden crest. Fluted tail. Near mint original paint.

Literature: “Songless Aviary,” Brian Cullity.

(14,000 - 18,000)

231

361 Detail

361

232

361 Detail

361. Walking full size greater yellowlegs, Elmer Crowell, East Harwich, Massachusetts. Crowell’s oval brand is in the underside of the base. A little over 13” long. Very good and original.

Provenance: Formerly in the collection of Carolyn Rowland, “CR” is burned in the underside.

(20,000 - 24,000)

233

362 Detail

362

234

362 Detail

362. Exceptional full size standing black bellied plover, Elmer Crowell, East Harwich, Massachusetts. Crowell’s oval brand is in the underside of the base, as well as Crowell’s round paper label. Fine paint detail. 10” tall. Excellent and original.

Provenance: Formerly in the Carolyn Rowland collection, Osterville and Boston, Massachusetts, stamped “CR” in base.

(22,000 - 25,000)

235

363 Detail

363

363. Full size decorative tern on carved oyster shell bass, Elmer Crowell East Harwich, Massachusetts. Crowell’s oval brand is in the underside of the base. Carved crossed wingtips and split tail.

A little over 12” long. Small tail chip repair by Russ Allen, otherwise excellent and original.

(4,000 - 6,000)

236

364. Full size decorative kingfisher on carved wooden base, Elmer Crowell, East Harwich, Massachusetts. Crowell’s rectangular stamp is in the underside. 6.5” tall. Good paint detail. Near mint original paint; fish is a professional replacement by Russ Allen.

(5,000 - 7,000)

364

365. Full size flying least tern, Elmer Crowell, East Harwich, Massachusetts. 13” wingspan.

Good paint detail. Carving has darkened somewhat from being near a fire. Original paint; minor wear; professional tail chip repair by Russ Allen.

(5,000 - 8,000)

365

237

Mason Decoy Factory 1896 - 1924 Detroit, Michigan

366

238

366 Detail

366. Exceedingly rare wooden billed ruddy turnstone, Mason Decoy Factory, Detroit, Michigan, circa 1895. One of only of 5 or 6 known. 11.25” long. Near mint original paint; bill chip repair by Russ Allen; very lightly hit by shot.

Literature: “Mason Factory Decoys,” Russ Goldberger and Alan Haid.

(17,500 - 22,500)

239

368

367

369

367. Yellowlegs with glass eyes, Mason Decoy Factory, Detroit, Michigan. 11.5” long. Original paint with minor wear and discoloration; thin crack in one side of head.

Provenance: Robert Laurent estate.

(2,500 - 3,500)

368. Yellowlegs with glass eyes, Mason Decoy Factory, Detroit, Michigan. 11.5” long. Near mint original paint; small amount of touchup at crack in breast; thin surface crack in one side.

Provenance: Colodny collection.

(3,000 - 5,000)

369. Willet, Mason Decoy Factory, Detroit, Michigan. Glass eye model with fancy paint. 11.5” long. Original paint; a few small rubs.

Provenance: Colodny collection.

240

(3,000 - 4,000)

370. Curlew, Mason Decoy Factory, Detroit, Michigan, circa 1900. 18” long. Original paint with minor wear, mostly on back; bill is a professional replacement, touchup in that area.

Provenance: From the Davis Island Club.

(10,000 - 14,000)

370

370 Detail

241

371 371. Rare premier grade widgeon hen, Mason Decoy Factory, Detroit, Michigan. 15” long. Original paint that has darkened with age; a few tiny dents; in factory filled crack in back; hole drilled in bottom.

(3,500 - 4,500)

372

372. Exceptional black duck, Mason Decoy Factory, Detroit, Michigan. Premier grade. Very strong loop feather paint detail.

Premier grade stamp is visible on underside. 19” long. Near mint original paint; slight separation at neck seam; decoy was barely used.

(3,500 - 4,500) 242

373

373. Canvasback drake, Mason Decoy Factory, Detroit, Michigan. Premier grade oversize Back Bay Virginia model. 19.5” long. Extremely rare to find in this condition. Near mint original paint; small crack in underside; several tiny dents at tip of bill.

Provenance: Purchased by the consignor from the caretaker of the Follensby Pond Camp near Tupper Lake, New York, also known as “The Philosophers Camp.” When the camp was sold approximately 10 years ago, the decoy was given as a gift to the caretaker.

Literature: “Mason Factory Decoys,” Russ Goldberger and Alan Haid, p. 116, similar example.

(6,000 - 8,000)

373 Detail 243

374

375

376

377

378

379

374. Early black duck, Mason Decoy Factory, Detroit, Michigan. Premier grade. Original paint; minor wear; tip of bill has been slightly blunted; several tiny dents; tail chip repair; in painting at neck seam.

(2,000 - 3,000) 375. Widgeon drake, Mason Decoy Factory, Detroit Michigan. Standard grade with glass eyes. 13.5” long. Dry original paint with minor discoloration and wear; thin crack in underside; thin cracks in neck filler.

Provenance: “C. Beardsley, Cazenovia, New York” is written on underside.

(1,200 - 1,600)

376. Special order pair of cork body mergansers, Wildfowler Decoy Factory. 17” long. Carved wooden crest and glass eyes. Original paint with very slight wear; drake has small chip on underside of bill.

Provenance: Cowan collection.

244

(800 - 1,200)

377. Rigmate pair of Mammoth mallards, Evans Decoy Factory, Ladysmith, Wisconsin. Both have the Evans decoy ink stamp on the underside. 19” long. Original paint with very minor wear; numerous tiny dents; small amount of filler missing from the edge of a knot in the back of the hen; small amount of neck filler missing from each.

Literature: “Factory Decoys,” Henry Fleckenstein, Jr. (800 - 1,200)

378. Small cast iron wing duck, Animal Trap Factory. 8” long. Original surface with some rust.

(300 - 500) 379. Double faced fighting owl decoy, Phil Olt, Jr. Cardboard, in original case. 24” wide. Very good and original.

(500 - 700)

380. Rare Herter’s owl and crow set. Owl is 19” long. Near mint original paint on owl; small dents in balsa, mostly on tail; balsa crow with a few small dents.

Literature: “Factory Decoys,” Henry Fleckenstein, Jr. (4,000 - 5,000)

380

381. Two sided Swisher & Soules metal owl decoy. Glass eyes.

13.5” long. Very good and original.

(1,000 - 1,400)

381

245

Joseph Lincoln

1859 - 1938 Accord, Massachusetts

382

246

382 Detail

382. Exceptional brant, Joseph Lincoln, Accord, Massachusetts. From the Spear rig, branded “CF Spear, Scituate, Mass”. Exceptional form with arched back head. 18.5” long. Original paint with minor wear; thin crack through neck; age split in underside.

Literature: “Joseph Lincoln,” Cap Vinal. “New England Decoys,” John and Shirley Delph.

(40,000 - 50,000)

382 Detail

247

383. Early style redhead, Keyes Chadwick, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. Slightly turned head. 15” long. Original paint with moderate wear; overpaint on gray on lower side; structurally good; thin crack through neck base.

(2,000 - 3,000)

383

384.

Bluebill drake, Joseph Lincoln, Accord, Massachusetts. 14.75” long. Original paint with moderate wear; age split in underside.

(2,500 - 3,500)

384

385.

Canvas over wooden frame scoter, Captain Clarence Bailey, Kingston, Massachusetts. 25” long. Original and good.

(3,000 - 4,000)

385 386. Very rare American merganser hen, Keyes Chadwick, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. 20” long. Slightly turned head with carved crest. Original paint with good patina and very slight wear; small dent at tip of tail.

386

248

Literature: “Martha’s Vineyard Decoys,” Stanley Murphy. “New England Decoys,” John and Shirley Delph. (3,500 - 4,500)

Lothrop Holmes |

1824 - 1899 | Kingston, Massachusetts

Lothrop Holmes is one of the very earliest documented decoy makers from the Bay State. His production was very limited as he is not known to have carved other than for his own use. He is perhaps best known for his wonderful mergansers, shorebirds, and his canvas over frame old squaws. To date, only two, or perhaps three, scoters by his hand are known, and the exceptionally rare example represented here is the only one known in original paint. This scoter displays a multitude of construction details that are found in Holmes’ old squaws and are diagnostic of the type of traits that any decoy maker would utilize in any of his work, regardless of the species being carved.

Holmes is discussed at length in Dr. Starrs’s, “Decoys of the Atlantic Flyway” where he is described as: “…one of the finest decoy makers in this local area” and Starr states that he “could have well been the man who really developed this… form of framed decoy.”

Starr continues to proclaim that, in his opinion: “…Holmes was the undisputed master of this type of design and construction.”

Canvas over frame construction was employed by other makers along the Atlantic flyway but it was a favored method used by many on the Massachusetts and New Hampshire coasts. Men such as Joseph Lincoln, George Boyd, and a host of lesser known makers recognized the advantages of this design, regardless of the many tedious steps needed to complete the decoy. Foremost among these advantages was a significant reduction in weight. This took on added importance when one was handling large decoys from a bouncing dory in a rough sea with icy weather conditions.

Scoters, or coot as they are referred to in New England, do not have the best reputation among epicureans but they certainly seem to have had a following among the gunners, and they found a place on many a dinner table along the North Atlantic coast.

387

387 Detail

387. Important canvas over wooden frame scoter, Lothrop Holmes, Kingston, Massachusetts. 20.25” long. Paint on black area appears to be original; white areas have some touchup; small dents.

(9,500 - 12,500)

249

388

389

390

391

392

393

388. Cork body black duck, Russ Burr, Hingham, Massachusetts. Relief wing carving. Wooden head in tucked pose. Original paint with minor wear; a few small pieces of cork missing.

(650 - 950)

391. Early pre brand goldeneye hen, Elmer Crowell, East Harwich, Massachusetts. Low head model. Original paint with moderate wear; structurally good.

(1,000 - 2,000)

389. Lincoln type goldeneye hen, South Shore of Massachusetts. 16” long. Original paint with minor to moderate wear; thin crack in back; age split in underside.

(1,000 - 1,400)

392. Canvas over wooden frame Canada goose, Joseph Lincoln, Accord, Massachusetts. 30” long. Original paint with minor wear; small amount of touchup on body; much of the white paint was redone a long time ago; head is a little loose; small tear in canvas.

(1,500 - 2,000)

390. Bluebill drake from Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, 1st quarter 20th century. Inlet head. Worn old paint; small crack in tail.

(1,250 - 1,750)

250

393. Cork body black duck, Russ Burr, Hingham, Massachusetts. Relief wing carving with slightly turned head. One of around 12 carved. A few small pieces of cork are missing.

(650 - 950)

393A Detail

393A

393A. Cork bodied scoter, Shang Wheeler, Stratford, Connecticut, circa 1935. Slightly turned wooden head and an inserted wooden tail. Ice dip behind neck. 14.75” long. Original paint with minor wear, mostly on the top of the head; structurally very good.

Provenance: Connecticut Audubon Society Collection, Fairfield, Connecticut.

Literature: “Shang,” Dixon Merkt, p. 174, exact decoy pictured.

(6,500 - 9,500)

393B

393B. Hollow carved cedar black duck, Shang Wheeler, Stratford, Connecticut. Slightly turned head. Ice dip behind neck.. Old in use repaint; a few small dents.

(1,200 - 1,500) 251

394. Pair of swimming hollow carved mergansers from Cape Cod, Massachusetts. 18” long. Paint has been restored in the original style; lightly hit by shot.

(2,000 - 3,000)

394 395. Early snakey neck style redhead, Keyes Chadwick, Martha’s Vine-yard, Massachusetts. 15.5” long. Original paint with moderate wear; thin crack in underside.

(2,000 - 3,000)

395

396. Pair of redheads, Keyes Chadwick Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. 14.25” long. Original paint with minor to moderate wear; crack in drake’s back and in underside.

Provenance: From the Foote rig, Foote brand in undersides.

(1,750 - 2,250)

396 397. Merganser drake, Allen Stuart. 17” long. Original paint; minor to moderate wear; professional bill repair by Russ Allen; hairline crack trough neck.

(1,750 - 2,250)

397 252

New Jersey Gilbert Wallace

1873 - 1917 Forked River, New Jersey

397A

397A. Working gull decoy, Gilbert Wallace, Forked River, New Jersey, last quarter 19th century. Branded “GEW” twice in underside. Raised extended wingtips. 17” long. Original paint with minor to moderate wear on most of the decoy; black areas appear to be second coat; crack in one side; age split in the other; shallow chip missing from each wingtip.

Literature: “American Decoys,” Quintina Colio, pg. 76, rigmate pictured.

(4,000 - 5,000)

397A 253

398. Extra plump merganser drake, Harry V. Shourds, Tuckerton, New Jersey. Tack eyes. 17” long. Original paint with moderate discoloration and minor wear; slight roughness to tips of tines; body seam has separated somewhat.

Literature: “New Jersey Decoys,” Henry Fleckenstein, Jr.

(5,000 - 7,000)

398

398 Detail 254

399. Rare Canada goose, Rhodes Truex, Absecon, New Jersey, circa 1920s. Stamped in the underside is “Earl Leads, Pleasantville, New Jersey.” 24” long. Original paint with good feather detail; minor discoloration and wear on lower half of body; thin “in the making” crack in neck; several tiny dents.

Provenance: Meyer collection.

Literature: “New Jersey Decoys,” Henry Fleckenstein, Jr., p. 121, exact decoy pictured.

(6,500 - 9,500)

399

399 Detail

255

400. Hollow carved merganser hen, Harry V. Shourds, Tuckerton, New Jersey. Tack eyes. 16.25” long. Original paint with minor wear; very slight roughness to tail; chips missing from three of the tines; hairline crack in bill.

(5,000 - 7,000)

400

400 Detail

256

401. Hollow carved brant, Harry V. Shourds, Tuckerton, New Jersey, circa 1900.

18.25� long. Original paint with minor wear; thin crack through neck; slight rough spot on one edge of bill.

(5,000 - 8,000)

401

401 Detail

257

402. Bluebill hen, Harry V. Shourds, Tuckerton, New Jersey, 1st quarter 20th century. “LCH” is carved in the underside. Original paint minor wear; a few small spots of touchup; structurally good.

402

Provenance: From the hunting rig of Harry V. Shourds III. Formerly in collection of Bill Staplin.

(3,000 - 4,000)

403.

Pair of mergansers, Rhodes Truex, Absecon, New Jersey. Solid flat bodies made for use on the ice.

Carved eyes and carved wooden crests. Original paint with very minor wear; structurally good.

(1,750 - 2,250)

403

404. Rare bluebill drake, Jess Birdsall, Point Pleasant, New Jersey. 14” long. Original paint with very minor wear; a few tiny dents; small amount of overpaint on underside as a rig marking.

404

Literature: “New Jersey Decoys,” Henry Fleckenstein, Jr. (1,000 - 1,500)

405. Very rare greenwing teal hen, Henry Kilpatrick, Barnegat, New Jersey. 13” long. Original paint with minor wear; structurally good; very slight wear on the edge of the tip of the tail.

405

258

Literature: “New Jersey Decoys,” Henry Fleckenstein, Jr. (1,750 - 2,250)

406. Excellent black duck, Jess Birdsall, Barnegat, New Jersey, circa 1900. Retains original bottom weight, leather rigging. Tack eyes. 16.5” long. Excellent original paint; light wear.

Provenance: From the Hillman collection and so stamped. Also from the Doherty collection.

Literature: “New Jersey Decoys,” Henry Fleckenstein, p. 28. “Classic New Jersey Decoys,” James Doherty, p. 148, exact decoy pictured.

(3,500 - 4,500)

406

407. Merganser hen, Harry V. Shourds, Tuckerton, New Jersey, 1st quarter 19th century. 16” long. Original paint; minor discoloration and wear; neck crack repair; white paint on side has been cleaned; a few tiny dents and shot marks.

(3,500 - 4,500)

407

406 Detail

407 Detail

259

408

409

410

411

412

413

408. Black duck, Rowley Horner, West Creek, New Jersey, 1st quarter 20th century. Original paint on head, the rest has an appealing second coat; one tack eye is rusted out otherwise structurally good.

(1,000 - 1,500) 409. Black duck, Frank Lamskin, Manahawkin, New Jersey. Scratch loop feather paint. “FL” stamped in weight. Lamskin was Hurley Conklin’s mentor. Original paint with very slight wear; short hairline crack in tail.

(750 - 1,000) 410. Merganser drake similar to the work of Henry Grant, Barnegat, New Jersey. Appealing old paint; a few small dents.

(650 - 950)

260

411. Curlew attributed to Joe King, Manasquan, New Jersey, last quarter 19th century. 16” long. Bill is an old replacement; old filler and rough area on one side; roughness to underside; paint appears to be original.

Provenance: Mackey collection stamp on underside.

(600 - 900)

412. Redhead drake, Jess Birdsall, Point Pleasant, New Jersey, 1st quarter 20th century. Original paint with minor wear on back, the rest has old in use repaint; lightly hit by shot; small chip at one side of neck base.

(550 - 850) 413. Pair of wood ducks, Bill Cranmer, Beach Haven, New Jersey. Signed and dated 1980. 14” long. Very good and original.

(400 - 600)

New England

414

415

416

417

418

419

414. Bluebill hen, Sam Collins, Sr., Milford, Connecticut, last quarter 19th century. 14.5” Original paint; very minor wear; crack through tail and in underside.

Literature: “Connecticut Decoys,” Henry Chitwood.

(500 - 800)

415. Large black duck, Keyes Chadwick, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. Slightly turned head. 18” long. Original paint with minor to moderate war; crack in the underside.

Provenance: From the Foote rig, Foote brand in underside.

(800 - 1,200)

416. Pair of hollow carved black ducks, Frank Richardson, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, last quarter 19th century. Body halves are joined with small dow-

els. Original paint with minor wear; roughness to the edges of both tails; small dents.

(600 - 800) 417. Swimming black duck with raised wingtips, Gerald Robinson, Blue Hill, Maine. 19” long. Original scratch feather paint with very minor wear; thin crack through neck.

(600 - 900) 418. Goldeneye drake, George Huey, Friendship, Maine. Inlet head. “GR Huey” is carved in the underside. 15” long. Original paint; good patina and very minor wear; lightly hit by shot; some flaking at edges of tail; crack in underside.

(750 - 1,000) 419. Primitive loon from Maine. 21” long. Original and good.

Provenance: Formerly in the collection Wynn Carter.

(1,000 - 1,400) 261

Very few people would dispute that the vast majority of the finest eider decoys ever made originated from the bold coast of Maine. The rugged shoreline of the state encompasses a myriad of somewhat isolated coves, peninsulas, and islands that housed small communities of independent, self-reliant farmers and fishermen.

These inhabitants were intimately familiar with the ocean and knew the haunts and habits of its creatures well. Decoys were a necessary tool when pursuing the migrating birds offshore, and the carvers knew what to impart into the form and paint of their decoys in order to be successful.

There was no common convention in the style of these decoys however, and everyone created his own version of what he thought a decoy should be. Individual expression was the norm. They were simply tools, however, some carvers unconsciously imparted their own creative or artistic flair into their work so that the results were not only functional but pleasing to the eye as well. Unfortunately, many of these creations are the work of makers that remain anonymous today.

With a handful of notable exceptions, few carvers produced decoys in any sizable numbers. Most rigs were the result of a singular production event and the strings were added to only as individual decoys were lost or became damaged beyond repair. The time needed to produce the decoy was not an issue. The long, cold, harsh winters along the Maine coast allowed ample opportunity for each maker to devote himself to the carving and painting of his decoys. There were three basic tenets, however, that each carver soon came to realize. To be functional the decoys needed to be rugged; to endure they had to be simple; and to be seen they had to be large. Each of these requirements is notably exemplified in the magnificent example offered here.

As a general rule, the rigs were not large and tended to remain in the family, destined to live out their final years in the lofts of remote fishing shacks or boat houses. Examples from this rig are no exception. Only five examples are known to have survived. Two drakes were auctioned by the Skinner Gallery in 1988 where they were described as “late nineteenth century Monhegan Island decoys.�

They sold at that time for almost $32,000 and were purchased by a well-known New York folk art dealer, underbid by Bob Shaw bidding on behalf of the Shelburne Museum in Vermont. These two examples now reside in the Donal C. O’Brien family collection.

One other drake is housed in a prestigious Cape Cod collection and one singular hen was discovered with this drake, but its location today is unknown. The example being offered here was one of the very first decoys purchased by the consignor and has been in his personal collection for approximately the past 50 years.

262

420

From, “Bird Decoys of North America,” Bob Shaw.

Rigmates pictured. There are only four drakes known.

263

264

420. Oversize eider drake from Maine. 24” long. Inlet head, carved bill, and carved eyes. Original paint on black areas; white is an appealing second coat; several body seams have opened up slightly; crack in tail.

Provenance: Believed by some people to be from a special order made

by Gus Wilson for a lighthouse keeper off of Portland, Maine.

(45,000 - 55,000)

420

265

421

422

423

424

425

426

421. Large black duck, Gus Wilson, South Portland, Maine. 18.5” long. Inlet head. Relief wing carving, and carved eyes. Barely used; original paint with slight wear; several very small cracks and tiny rough spots; vertical crack in back of neck; hairline surface crack in one side of head.

(1,000 - 1,400) 422. Monhegan Island style white wing scoter, Gus Wilson, South Portland, Maine. Good form with inlet head, carved eyes and relief wing carving. 17” long. Old repaint; small cracks; a few small defects in wood.

lower side as part of a tandem rigging system.

(1,250 - 1,750) 424.

Oversize scoter, recently found in Machias, Maine. Inlet head. Detailed bill carving. 25” long. Surface is a mix of old in use repaint and fairly recent touchup; lightly hit by shot; numerous small cracks.

(1,250 - 1,750)

425. Merganser hen from the Central Maine coast. Inlet head. The initials “DEI” are carved in the underside.

17” long. Original paint with moderate wear; cracks through neck.

Literature: “New England Decoys,” John and Shirley Delph.

(1,000 - 1,400)

423. Goldeneye hen, George Huey, Friendship, Maine. Inlet head and carved eyes. 15.5” long. Original paint; good patina and minor wear; crack in underside; inset weight is missing; two fairly large staples in one

426. Eider drake from Maine, 1st quarter 20th century. Inlet head and carved bill. “RRA” is carved in the underside. Original paint with moderate wear; cracks and dents; two small tail chips.

(1,500 - 2,000)

266

Provenance: Robert Laurent estate

(1,500 - 2,000)

George Huey

1886 - 1946 Friendship, Maine

427

428

427. Merganser drake, George Huey, Friendship, Maine. “G.R. Huey” carved in the underside. Inset circular weight and recessed iron staple line tie hook. Leather crest and carved eyes. 17.25” long. Unused; near mint original paint with good patina; structurally excellent.

(4,000 - 6,000)

428 Detail

428. Merganser hen, George Huey, Friendship, Maine. “GL Huey” is carved in the underside. Inset circular weight. 15.5” long. Very slight roughness to the underside of the tip of the bill, otherwise very good and original.

(1,750 - 2,250)

267

429

430

429 Detail

429. Old squaw drake, Gus Wilson, South Portland, Maine. Inlet head, carved eyes, and relief wing carving. 12.5” long. Original paint with good patina; small amount of restoration and touchup on top of head and end of tail; minor roughness to underside.

(5,000 - 7,000) 430. Streamline merganser drake, George Huey, Friendship, Maine. Inlet head, carved eyes, and carved wooden crest. 19” long. Original paint; good patina; very minor wear; thin crack in one side of back.

268

Literature: “New England Decoys,” John and Shirley Delph.

(2,000 - 3,000)

431

432 431. Merganser hen, Oscar Bibber, South Harpswell, Maine. Good form with slightly turned head and leather crest. 19” long. Original paint with good patina and minor wear; a few tiny dents.

(4,000 - 6,000) 432. Goldeneye hen, Oscar Bibber, South Harpswell, Maine. Slightly turned head. 17” long. Original paint with very minor wear; structurally good.

Literature: “New England Decoys,” John and Shirley Delph.

(2,000 - 3,000)

431 Detail 269

Orlando Sylvester Bibber 1882 – 1971 South Harpswell, Maine The township of Harpswell is quintessentially coastal Maine. It is a land mass protruding in to Casco Bay comprised of a main peninsula and three large adjoining islands, Great, Orr’s, and Bailey’s. These islands and its villages, such as Cundy’s Harbor, gained notoriety with the early decoy exploring exploits of Dr. George Ross Starr. It was here, in South Harpswell that Orlando Bibber was born and spent his entire life. He attended the Portland Company for his technical

Steamboat arriving at Orr’s Island, Harpswell, Maine.

education and served as an assistant engineer in the US Merchant Marines during World War I. After the War, he became a chief engineer for the Eastern Steamship Line on vessels that ran from Portland to New Brunswick. He married Nellie, and with their children, they spent their lives in the home of his mother where he was born. When the steamship line closed, he lobstered aboard a vessel he had rebuilt himself. Upon retirement, he delighted in raising strawberries and chickens.

He was a fastidious person who carved, undoubtedly, some of the finest decoys from the state of Maine. His birds were very finely crafted, perhaps due to his experiences with boats and the shore. He departed from the normal Maine tradition of inletting of the heads and necks of his decoys and, instead, joined them to the body on a slightly elevated neck seat. His painting was simple and meticulous, very

Shore scene, So Harpswell.

reminiscent of the style of Massachusetts carver, Joseph Lincoln. He carved only for his own use, and his birds are usually presented with heads carved in a variety of turned positions. As stated by Bob Shaw in “Bird Decoys of North America – Nature History and Art,” “his own working rig must have been quite realistic and animated.” Because of his limited production and his home at the far end of a rural peninsula, his work remained anonymous for many years. Although he did not know the carver, Dr. George Starr proclaimed his oldsquaw to be “one of the finest quandies I have seen,” and he proudly exhibited his example by him in color plate 14 of his early reference. His sentiments were echoed by noted Maine decoy authority Dr. John Dinan who stated that Bibber’s birds are “the best carvings on the (Maine) coast.”

Today, his work is included in the finest collections, and he has rightfully earned his reputation as one of the premier carvers along the Atlantic seaboard.

270

Street scene, So Harpswell, Maine, c.1915.

433. Pair of old squaw, Oscar Bibber, South Harpswell, Maine. Both have slightly turned heads. 13.75” long. Original paint with good patina and minor shrinkage; small rough spot at tip of hen’s bill.

(12,500 - 17,500)

433

433 Detail

271

Canada

434

434. Eider drake with turned head from the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia. 19” long. Detailed bill carving. Large “A” carved in underside. Original paint with minor wear on black areas; white has old repaint; chip missing from end of bill; several small cracks in head; chip and small cracks in tail; small chip missing from neck base. (3,500 - 5,500)

435. Short body style canvasback, Tom Chambers, Toronto, Ontario. Hollow carved. 16” long. Original paint; minor wear; lightly hit by shot; crack through neck; wear to the wood at edges of tail and bill.

Literature: “Ontario Decoys,” Bernie Gates.

(2,000 - 3,000)

435

436. Pair of bluebills, Orel LeBeouf, St. Anicet, Quebec. Highly detailed feather carving with some comb paint on the back. 15” long. Very good and original.

(2,000 - 3,000)

436

437

272

437. Pair of mergansers from Nova Scotia, 1st quarter 20th century. Drake is 19” long. Both have carved wooden crests. Drake has a large “H” carved in the underside. Appealing old in use repaint; minor wear; each has a thin crack in the back; chip missing from one side of hen’s tail.

(2,000 - 2,500)

438. Solid body long body style canvasback drake, Tom Chambers, Toronto, Ontario. Branded “Tom Chambers, Maker,” also “JT McMillan.” 18” long. Original paint, good detail, and very slight wear, mostly on edges of bill; two thin cracks on one lower side; small piece added to underside when decoy was made.

Literature: “Decoys of the Mississippi Flyway,” Alan Haid. “Ontario Decoys,” Bernie Gates.

(4,000 - 6,000)

438

439. Black duck in resting pose, John R. Wells, Toronto, Ontario. Hollow carved. 15” long. Original paint with minor wear; old repaint on underside that extends up approximately .5” at sides to seal bottom board seams; a few tiny dents.

(4,000 - 6,000)

439

439 Detail 438 Detail

273

440. Stylish pair of wood ducks, D.W. Nichol, Smiths Falls, Ontario.

14” long. Detailed feather carving with raised wingtips. Extra paint detail. Very good and original.

Provenance: Miller collection.

(2,000 - 3,000)

440 441. Pair of early style canvasbacks, Ken Anger, Dunnville, Ontario, circa 1935. Hen has turned head. 15.5” long. Original paint with minor wear; moderate wear on hen’s head; hen has been lightly hit by shot.

Literature: “Ontario decoys,” Bernie Gates.

(1,250 - 1,750)

441

442. Rare root head Canada goose from Ostrea Lake, Nova Scotia. Slightly turned head. Original paint with minor wear; small cracks; shallow chips missing from underside of bill; crack in head; knot in back.

442

Literature: “Decoys of Maritime Canada,” Dale and Gary Guyette.

(1,750 - 2,250)

443. Goldeneye hen, Orel Lebouef, St. Anicet, Quebec. Deep and elaborate feather carving. 14.5” long. Original paint with very minor wear; two small cracks in one lower side; small amount of paint loss at knot in one side.

(1,500 - 2,000)

443 274

444

445

446

447

448

449

444. Pair of wood ducks, D.W. Nichol, Smiths Falls, Ontario. Signed. Raised wingtips. Very good and original.

(1,250 - 1,750) 445. Pair of bluebills, D.W. Nichol, Smiths Falls, Ontario.

Good comb paint detail. Relief wing carving with feather carving detail. 14.5” long. Very good and original.

Provenance: Miller collection.

(900 - 1,200)

446. Well sculpted Canada goose decoy from northeastern New Brunswick. 23” long. Unusual carving with sharp ship bow like breast. Original paint; minor wear; small dents; several small chips in one side of tail appear to be from before the decoy was painted. (1,250 - 1,750)

447. Early old squaw hen from Nova Scotia, probably from Chester Basin. 13.5” long. Appealing old in use repaint; chips missing from tail; head is a little bit loose.

(900 - 1,200) 448. Hollow carved lowhead black duck, George Warin, Toronto, Ontario, last quarter 19th century. Branded “G. Nillup”. Appealing old in use repaint; a few small dents and shot marks.

(950 - 1,250) 449. Bluewing teal hen, Billy Ellis, Whitby, Ontario. 13” long. Near mint original paint; structurally good.

Provenance: Formerly in the collection of Peter Brown, Vancouver, British Columbia.

(800 - 1,200)

275

450

451

452

453

454

455

456

450. Three full size Canada goose field decoys from Prince Edward Island. On metal legs. One was made

by Roy Mill. Tallest is 25”. The Roy Mills bird has had paint restored and crack filled others are good.

(500 - 800) 451. Breast preening Canada goose made by Paul Painter and Stacy Bryanton, Kensington, Prince Edward Island. Relief wing carving. Original paint with minor wear; structurally good.

Literature: Decoys of Maritime Canada,” Dale and Gary Guyette.

(500 - 800)

452. Hollow carved black duck, similar to early works by George Warin, Toronto, Ontario. Highly placed glass eyes. Branded “LPC” for Long Point Club, also “RF” is carved in the underside. Original paint with minor to moderate wear; lightly hit by shot; slight wear to wood one side of bill.

(800 - 1,200) 453. Bluewing 276

teal

drake,

Billy

Ellis,

Whitby,

Ontario. Original paint with very slight wear; structurally good.

Literature: “Ontario Decoys,” Bernie Gates. (650 - 950)

454. Pair of hollow carved bluebills, Ernie England, Hamilton, Ontario. Both have slightly turned heads. Original paint with minor wear on most areas; white area could be a second coat; several tiny dents and shot marks.

(800 - 1,200) 455. Mallard hen, Billy Ellis, Whitby, Ontario. Rare low head model. 17” long. Near mint original paint; structurally good.

(400 - 600) 456. Hollow redhead drake, Thomas Dalton, Hamilton, Ontario, last quarter 19th century. Used at the Big Point Club on Mitchell Bay. Used by Canadian sportsman Dr. Ingersoll Olmstead. 15” long. Dry old paint with crackled surface; several shot scars.

Provenance: Owned at one time by Barney Crandall.

(400 - 600)

Decoratives

457

458

459

461

460 457. Full size preening greater yellowlegs, Lem Ward, Crisfield, Maryland. Metal tag reads, “Yellowlegs by LT Ward, 1964.” 12” high. Several small spots of touch up, otherwise very good and original.

Provenance: Karsnitz collection.

(4,000 - 6,000)

458. Bluebill drake, CF Pitman. Signed and dated 1968.

Detailed wing and tail feather carving. 13” long. Very good and original.

Provenance: Miller collection.

“First place International 1973” is written on the underside.

Provenance: Miller collection.

(800 - 1,200)

460. Calling white wing scoter, William Louder. Signed and dated 1973. Hollow carved with detailed feather carving at wings and tail. 16” long. Very good and original.

Provenance: Miller collection.

(300 - 500)

(1,000 - 1,400)

459. Hollow carved pintail hen, TJ Hooker. Signed and branded “TJ”. Slightly turned head, detailed feather carving at wings. 16” long. Very good and original.

461. Black duck, Jack Franco, Assonet, Massachusetts.

Signed and dated 1973. Inscription on underside reads “3rd in species, world championship Salisbury, Maryland 1973.” Detailed layered feather carving and fluted tail. 16” long. Very good and original.

Provenance: Miller collection.

(600 - 900) 277

Etchings, Prints, and Drawings 464

463

466

463. Etching of flying bluebills, Frank Benson (18621951). Signed and dated 1947. Professionally matted and framed. Image size 8.5” x 10”. Darkened somewhat with age, otherwise original and good.

(800 - 1,200) 464. “Bluebills,” a dry point etching by Ding Darling. Signed to a fellow duck hunter, “Jim Cook from Les Kouba, 1977.” Professionally matted and framed. Image size 10” x 15”. Signed and dated

278

1933. Very good and original.

Provenance: Jim and Diane Cook collection.

(600 - 900) 466. “Setting Decoys,” a dry point of hunter putting out decoys, Frank Benson (1862-1951). 150 proofs made.

Signed. Image size 8” x 11”. Discoloration on matting.

(1,200 - 1,500)

467

469

471

467. “Swans and Teal,” an etching, Frank Benson. About 40 proofs produced. Signed in the margin. Professionally matted and framed. Image size 8” x 10”. Very good and original.

Provenance: Jim and Diane Cook collection.

(500 - 700)

469. “Mates,” an etching of pair of mallards swimming in marsh by Frank Benson, 1918. 147 proofs made.

Image size 6.5” x 8”. Professionally matted and framed.

Signed in the margin. Very good and original.

Provenance: Jim and Diane Cook collection.

(400 - 600)

470

472 470. “Incoming Geese,” a dry point, Frank Benson (18621951). 136 proofs made. Signed. Professionally matted and framed. Image size 4.5” x 6.5”. Some discoloration on matting, otherwise good.

(650 - 950) 471. “Reflections,” an original dry point by Frank Benson (1862-1951). 56 proofs made. Signed. Professionally matted and framed. Image size 5.5” x 8.5”. (650 - 950) 472. “Ducks at Dawn,” a dry point by Frank Benson (1862-1951). 150 proofs made. Signed. Some discoloration on matting. Image size 7.5” x 9.5”. Original and good.

(650 - 950)

279

473

474 473. “Yellowlegs in Sunlight,” a dry point etching by Frank Benson, 1928. 150 proofs made. Signed in the margin.

Also signed “F.W.B. 1928.”

Professionally matted and framed. Image size 10.5” x 8”. Very good and original.

Provenance: Jim and Diane Cook collection.

(800 - 1,200)

474. “Captain Billy’s Rig,” an etching by Roland Clark. Signed in the margin. Professionally matted and framed. Image size 11” x 14”. Very good and original.

Provenance: Jim and Diane Cook collection.

(1,200 - 1,800)

475

476

475. “Restless Waters,” an etching by Roland Clark. Signed. Professionally matted and framed. Image size 14” x 10.5”. Very good and original.

Provenance: Jim and Diane Cook collection.

(500 - 700) 476. An etching of a duck hunter in a sink box with canvasback decoys firing at canvasbacks, Roland Clark. Signed in the margin.

Professionally matted and framed. Image size 10.5” x 13”. Very good and original.

Provenance: Jim and Diane Cook collection.

(650 - 950) 477. Pair of waterfowl prints, Basil Ede. Signed.

Both are double matted and framed. Image size 25” x 11.5”. Very good and original.

Provenance: Miller collection.

(300 - 500)

477 280

477

478. Pencil drawing of a mourning dove, Don R. Eckleberry. Signed.

Professionally matted and framed. Image size 16.5” x 13.5”. Very good and original.

479

Literature: “Upland Game Bird Series,” exact drawing used.

(450 - 650)

478

479.

“Snow flurry Buffleheads,” a watercolor of buffleheads flying through the snow, John L. Carter. Signed.

Professionally matted and framed. Image size 10.5” x 14.75”. Very good and original.

(650 - 950) 480. Pencil drawing of turtle dove on a nest, Don R. Eckleberry. Professionally matted and framed. Image size 15.5” x 13.5”. Very good and original.

480

Literature: “Upland Game Bird Series,” exact drawing used.

(450 - 650)

481. Pencil drawing of wild turkeys near trees, Don R. Eckleberry.

Signed.

Professionally matted and framed, Image size 13.5” x 16.5” Very good and original.

481

Literature: “Upland Game Bird Series,” exact drawing used.

(600 - 900)

482

483

482. American woodcock, a pencil drawing by Don R. Eckleberry. Professionally matted and framed. Image size 13.5” x 16.5”. Very good and original.

Literature: “Upland Game Bird Series,” exact drawing used.

(450 - 650)

483. Quail with chicks, a pencil drawing by Don R. Eckleberry. Professionally matted and framed. Image size 15” x 13.5”. Very good and original.

Literature: “Upland Game Bird Series,” exact drawing used.

(450 - 650)

281

Shorebirds

484

485

486

487

488

489

484. Large black bellied plover, William Harris, Brigantine, New Jersey, last quarter 19th century. 12.5” long. Original paint with moderate wear; structurally good.

(750 - 1,000) 485. Yellowlegs, Ephraim Hildreth, New Jersey, last quarter 19th century. 10.5” long. Original paint with moderate discoloration and wear; small dents. (650 - 950) 486. Cork plover, Thomas Gelston, Quogue, Long Island, New York. Original paint with minor wear; lightly hit by shot.

(650 - 950)

487. Curlew, similar to work of Eugene Cuffee, Shinnecock Reservation, Long Island, New York. Dropped wings.

15” long. Very good and original.

(650 - 950) 488. Roothead plover, probably from North Carolina. 10.5” long. Original and good. (600 - 800) 489. Hollow carved golden plover, John Ramsay, Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, last quarter 19th century. Old in use repaint; hairline crack at one side of neck base; body seam has opened up slightly.

282

Literature: “Decoys of Maritime Canada,” Dale and Gary Guyette.

(400 - 600)

490

491

492

494

495

490. Large woodcock, Ernie Muehlmatt. On octagonal base with leaves and driftwood. Base is 10.5” across.

Extra fine feather carving and paint detail. Very good and original.

(1,500 - 1,800) 491. 1/2 size Swimming Canada goose, in style of Joseph Lincoln. 15” long. Very good and original.

(800 - 1,200) 492. Decorative tern, Zack Ward. Signed. 14” long. Raised wing carving. Very good and original.

(500 - 800) 493. Two bird carvings, Lloyd Tyler, Crisfield, Maryland. Both have lifted wings. 12.5” and 8” long. Original and good.

(500 - 700)

493

496 494. * Carved wooden eagles. 27” tall. Original and good.

(400 - 600) 495. Pair of bluewing teal painted, Oliver Lawson, Havre de Grace, Maryland. 13” long. Slight roughness to drake’s tail otherwise original and good.

(400 - 600) 496. Decorative snipe. With glass eyes, raised carved wingtips and individual feather carving. Mounted on base. Excellent and original.

(300 - 500)

End of Session Two 283

Index of Carvers Adams, Frank............................................................................253 Allen, Fred................................................................................247 Anger, Ken................................................................................441 Animal Trap Factory ...............................................................378 Arnolt, G...................................................................................203 Bach, Ferdinand.....................................................................54,55 Bach, Del................................................................................212B Bailey, Clarence........................................................................385 Barkelow, Joel........................................................................353C Barnes, George..........................................................................340 Bateman, Robert........................................................ 105-107,200 Bell, Al......................................................................................343 Bellamy, John............................................................................138 Benson, Frank W......................... 97,98,463,464,466,467,469-473 Bergman, Charles...............................................................196,197 Bibber, Oscar.................................................................... 431-433 Birch, Reggie.......................................................................78,178 Birdsall, Jess...............................................................404,406,412 Blackstone, Jess.................................................................248,249 Blair, Jr., John...........................................................................118 Blair, Sr., John....................................................................109,117 Bowman, William..............................................................352,353 Boyd, George............................................ 20,21,148,149,298-301 Boyle, Neil......................................................... 210A,210B,212K Boyle, John...............................................................................221 Browne, George..........................................................................94 Brunet, Jett................................................................................276 Brunet, Tan................................................................................277 Burr, Elijah................................................................................155 Burr, Russ...........................................................................388,393 Cargile, Lloyd.............................................................................77 Carter, John...............................................................................479 Chadwick, Keyes..........................................383,386,395,396,415 Chambers, Tom..................................................................435,438 Chipman Family .....................................................................310 Clark, Roland............................................................. 100,474-476 Cobb, Jr., Nathan.......................................................................182 Coheleach, Guy.............................................. 108,201,212C-212F Collins, Sr., Sam.......................................................................414 Conklin, Hurley...............................................................267-275B Cranmer, Bill.............................................................................413 Crowell, Elmer..... 22-27,38-42,44,144,150,255-264,354-365,391 Cuffee, Eugene...................................................................217,350 Cummings, Frank........................................................................48 Dalton, Thomas.........................................................................456 Darling, Ding............................................................................468 De Quilfeld, Sr., Charles...........................................................234 Demott, Daniel..........................................................................218 Denny, James.........................................................................295A Dilley, John..........................................................................14,351 Disbrow, Carl............................................................................304 Doughty, Eli................................................................................13 Duck, John................................................................................339

Dwyer, Lionel........................................................................ 286E Dye, Ben...................................................................................336 Eckleberry, Don R...................................................... 478,480-483 Ede, Basel.................................................................................477 Ellis, Billy...................................................................449,453,455 Elliston, Robert......................................................................45,46 England, Ernie...........................................................................454 English, John.............................................................................115 Evans Decoy Factory ..............................................................377 Fernandez, Mario......................................................................204 Ferrara, Joe................................................................................205 Finkle, William...........................................................................52 Finney, Frank...............................................9,80,120,121,132,239 Fisk, J.W....................................................................................119 Fitzpatrick, Tom........................................................................114 Foote, Jim...........................................................................280,281 Ford, Rick.................................................................................215 Gardner/Dexter ....................................................................353B Gelston, Thomas................................................................348,486 Gibbs, Harold.....................................................................265,266 Gibian, William........................................................ 7,8,10-12,250 Graves, Bert................................................................................36 Grubbs ..................................................................................241A Hacking, Wyatt.........................................................................104 Hancock, Miles.........................................................................191 Hanson, Marty....................................................................... 65-67 Harris, J.W.................................................................................214 Harris, Ken..................................................................328,329,333 Harris, William..........................................................................484 Hart, Charles...............................................................................19 Heisler, Jess...............................................................................111 Herter’s Factory ......................................................................380 Heverin, Will.............................................................................341 Hinkley, Clarence......................................................................156 Holmes, Henry............................................................................51 Holmes, Lothrop................................................................308,387 Hooker, T.J................................................................................459 Horner, Rowley.........................................................................408 Howell, Lewis...........................................................................224 Howell, Jesse.............................................................................228 Hudson, Ira................................................... 179,183,184,187-189 Huey, George................................................418,423,427,428,430 Humberstone, Tom....................................................................238 Hummer Factory .....................................................................123 Hunt, Lynn Bogue.......................................................................95 Irving, Laurence........................................................................180 Iverson .....................................................................................246 Jaques, Francis............................................................................93 Jester, Charles...........................................................................190 Johnson, Lloyd..........................................................................294 Jones, Ott..................................................................................134 Kilpatrick, Henry......................................................................405 King, A.J...............................................................28-35,252,264B

King, Joe...................................................................................411 Knight, Roland..........................................................................206 Kuss, Frank...............................................................................175 Lamskin, Frank.........................................................................409 Lawson, Oliver.................................................... 283-286,337,495 LeBeouf, Orel....................................................................436,443 Lewis, Cindy.............................................................................293 Lincoln, Joseph...............................................37,307,382,384,392 Loge, Daniel..............................................................................209 Louder, William........................................................................460 Maass, David............................................................198,199,212A Madera, Clark...........................................................................110 Malick, Donald......................................................................101B Marr, Joseph..............................................................................142 Marsh, Kankakee.......................................................55A,139,140 Mason, Roy...............................................................................210 Mason Decoy Factory ..................................................... 366-375 McAnney, John...........................................................................16 McIntosh, Leo...........................................................................212 McIntyre, Cameron............................................................ 1-6,103 McLoughlin, John.........................................................286C,286F McNair, Ian.................................................................................79 McNair, Mark...............................................................69,70,81,82 Milliken, R.W.........................................................................101D Mitchell, Madison.....................................................................338 Mittlesteadt, Julius....................................................................331 Monahan, Hugh...........................................................................99 Muehlmatt, Ernie......................................................................490 Mueller, Keith...........................................................................236 Nelson, Abraham.......................................................................143 Nelson, R.J................................................................................211 Nichol, D.W................................................................440,444,445 Olt, Jr., Phil...............................................................................379 Painter, Paul..............................................................................451 Pelkey, Jack D...........................................................................127 Perdew, Charles.........................................18,50,53,241,242,264A Peterson, Oscar.......................................................... 167-174,177 Phillip, Don............................................................................101C Phillips, Ike...............................................................................186 Pitman, C.F................................................................................458 Putman, Donald....................................................................... 212J Quinn, William..........................................................................116 Ramsey, John............................................................................489 Rathmell, Lou....................................................................302,303 Redman, Andrew.......................................................................292 Reneson, Chet...........................................................................101 Richardson, Frank.....................................................................416 Ripley, A. Lassell......................................................................208 Rob, Samuel..............................................................................129 Roberts, George..........................................................219,220,223 Robinson, George.....................................................................417 Rule, Newt................................................................................126 Savco, Joe.................................................................................112 Schaldach, W.............................................................................102

Schmiedlin, Jim..........................................................................68 Schroeder, Tom...........................................................................47 Schroeder, Dennis................................................278,287,289,290 Schultz, William.....................................................................286D Scott, Sandy.................................................................. 212G-212I Shourds, Harry V................................................. 398,400-402,407 Smith, John...............................................................................342 Southam, Thomas.....................................................................309 Sterling, Lloyd...................................................................344,493 Stevens Brothers ...................................................... 322-325,332 Strunk, George..................................................................73,74,76 Stuart, Allen..............................................................................397 Swisher & Soules ....................................................................381 Truex, Rhodes....................................................................399,403 Tungeon, Jim.............................................................................213 Turpin, Tom...............................................................................244 Vance, Arthur............................................................................113 Vandebossche, Ted......................................................................49 Van Gilder, Ron.........................................................................207 Verdin, Joseph........................................................................ 353E Verdin, Jr., Laurent........................................................353F,353G Verdin, Sr., Laurent................................................................353D Verity, Smith Clinton.........................................................216,232 Verity, Walt................................................................................222 Verity, Obediah........................................................345-347,353A Vizzier, Jimmie.........................................................................237 Vizzier, Jimmie.........................................................................251 Voorhees, Clark...................................................................... 119A Wallace, George.....................................................................397A Ward, Lem..........................................................................320,457 Ward, Zack................................................................................492 Ward Brothers ..................................56-64,157-166,311-319,321 Warin, George...........................................................................448 Wells, John R............................................................................439 Wells, Gene...............................................................................226 Wheeler, Chauncey............................................................282,326 Wheeler, Shang................................................ 96,305,393A,393B White, Bob.............................................................................71,72 Wildfowler Decoy Factory ......................................................376 Wilson, Gus........................................ 83-88,279,291,421,422,429 Witherspoon, Leigh............................................................... 89-92 Wooster, Josef.............................................................. 286A,286B Zimmerman, William.............................................................101A

Collection Planning Program

Enjoy Collecting Now and Plan Ahead With a forty year history, you can rely on the Guyette & Deeter decoy auction house as the most trusted decoy auction firm to handle your estate planning and collection management needs. Whether it’s for tax purposes, estate planning, gifting, charitable giving or insurance purposes, let us manage and periodically update a comprehensive written appraisal of your collection.

Gary and Jon are available to work with banks, attorneys, trust and estate officers, probate court, private clients and family members who may be responsible for the dispersal of estates and collections.

Let professionals document your collection with accurate values and descriptions. We will work closely with you to ensure that your wishes are established at agreed upon terms and conditions now, to make it easier to administer your estate later.

Please contact Gary or Jon to discuss our Collection Planning Program today.

With several options, we make it easy for you to reach us: Gary Guyette PO Box 1170 • St. Michaels MD 21663 (410) 745-0485 • (410) 745-0487 fax gary@guyetteanddeeter.com Jon Deeter 7980 Darbys Run • Chagrin Falls OH 44023 (440) 610-1768 jdeeter@guyetteanddeeter.com For more information, visit our website: www.guyetteanddeeter.com

The Surgeon & The Explorer-Naturalist: The Shorebird Decoys of Clarence Gardner and Newton Dexter An exhibit to be installed at the Museum of American Bird Art Curated by Gigi Hopkins Saturday, July 13 - Sunday, September 29, 2019

This exhibit will display decoys from the extraordinary rig of Dr. Clarence T. Gardner and Simon Newton Dexter. Made in the late 1800s at Sakonnet Point, Little Compton, Rhode Island, these are the only decoys known to have made in Rhode Island.

The birds from this single group, created for the makers’ own use, demonstrate a remarkable range, from stunning pristine sculpture to shot-over working decoys.

The exhibit will include decoys of five species, demonstrating that range. Some of the best known Gardner Dexter decoys will be on loan for the exhibit, including the famed dowitcher pair from the collection of Jane and Ron Gard formerly of the James McCleery Collection and the dowitcher owned by George Ross Starr, author of Decoys of the Atlantic Flyway.

N O I T A N I T S E D E T A M I THE UfoLr Tthe Sophisticated Sportsman 4 9 TH A N N U A L

WATERFOWL NOVEMBER 8–10, 2019

FESTIVAL

®

TICKETS

$15*

FOR ALL THREE DAYS All Festival proceeds benefit Waterfowl Chesapeake’s restoration and conservation efforts in the region. *Ticket price is $20 after October 31

in Historic Easton, Maryland BUY, SELL, SWAP AND WATERFOWLING ARTIFACTS •

Talk to experts about the value of your collection

•

Find that perfect bird to complete your vision

•

Enjoy swapping stories with other decoy enthusiasts

•

Appreciate the rich history of the Eastern Shore sportsman

PREMIERE NIGHT PARTY

Join us for great atmosphere, delicious food, drink, fabulous art, and interesting artists! Make Way for Ducklings Auction THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7 | VIP PACKAGES AVAILABLE

WATERFOWLFESTIVAL.ORG | 410.822.4567

JOEL BARBER & THE MODERN DECOY 9.14, 2O19– 1.12, 2O2O

Decoys, drawings, historical photographs, and watercolors celebrate the life and artwork of the author, illustrator, and pioneering decoy collector.

shelburnemuseum.org

Plus shipping & handling

(810) 845-2434

Delmarva Decoy & Sporting Collectibles Show Sat., Sept. 21, 2019 8am - 3pm Admission $6.00

East New Market Volunteer Fire Hall 4020 East New Market Bypass East New Market, MD 21631

Vintage & Contemporary Decoys Guns | Ammunition | Fishing Lures | Rods & Reels | Books | Shell Boxes Oyster Cans | Powder Tins | Hunting & Fishing Licenses | Knives Folk Art | Flat Art | Advertising and More For more information, call: Burt Campbell | 302-750-0248 or Joe Engers | 302-644-9001

CONDITIONS OF SALE ‑- PLEASE READ 1.

GUARANTEE ‑ We have made a consistent effort in correctly cataloging and describing the property to be sold. The decoys and paintings have guaranteed condition reports. Should the need arise, the auctioneer reserves the right to make verbal corrections and provide additional information from the block, at the time of the sale. Absentee bids will not be executed on items that are found to be other than described in the catalog. Since opinions can differ, particularly in the matter of condition, the auctioneer will be sole judge in the matter of refunds.

2.

DURATION OF GUARANTEE ‑ Request for refund for items purchased IN PERSON at the auction must be made within 3 days of the sale. If you are an absentee or phone bidder it is your responsibility to examine the lot immediately upon receipt. On items purchased absentee, the guarantee will end 3 days from the date of delivery. Therefore, all guarantees on items purchased will become null and void 7 calendar days from the date of shipment. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT IF YOU PAY LATE, YOU WILL NOT BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE GUARANTEE. Payment must be postmarked no later than 30 days after the auction.

3.

PROTESTED BIDS ‑ In the case of a disputed bid, the auctioneer is the sole determinant as to who the successful bidder is, and at his discretion, may reoffer and resell the article in dispute. If a dispute arises after the sale, the auctioneer’s sales records shall be conclusive as to who the purchaser was, and the purchase price.

4.

BIDDING - Bidding usually starts below the low estimate and advances in increments of approximately 10% of the opening bid subject to the auctioneer’s discretion. The auctioneer reserves the right, at his sole discretion, to refuse any bids that he deems unreasonable. The minimum bid increment guideline is as follows: $500 to $1000 - $25 $10,000 to $20,000 - $500 $100,000 and above - $2,000 $1000 to $10,000 - $100 $20,000 to $100,000 - $1,000 5.

ABSENTEE BIDS ‑ Phone or mail bids, at the discretion of the Auctioneer, will be accepted with a 20% deposit. In such case, the bookkeeper will execute such bids competitively. Absentee bids are executed by the bookkeeper on behalf of the bidder in accordance with the bid increment policy shown above. Please review the rules governing both absentee and phone bids in the back of the catalog.

6.

TERMS ‑ All items are to be paid for in U.S. funds on the day of the auction. No items will be released until they are paid for. Those who have not established an account with us and wish to pay by check, must do so prior to the beginning of the auction, by presenting a current letter of reference from their bank, or by providing references, that are suitable to the Auctioneer. The Auctioneer reserves the right to hold merchandise purchased by personal check, until the check has cleared the bank. Phone and absentee bidders ‑ You will be notified one week after the auction of your bids/results.

PAYMENT IS DUE UPON RECEIPT. A late charge will be accessed on all balances not paid, at the rate of 12% A.P.R. commencing 30 days after the auction. If any accounts become more than 60 days overdue, the consignor will be given the name of the buyer who is responsible for holding up their funds. Guyette & Deeter will not carry insurance on items that are not paid for within 35 days of the auction. Also, the auctioneer may retain and/or recover the deposit specified as liquidated damages. In addition, the property can be resold at public or private sale without further notice. Any deficiency resulting from such resale shall be paid to the auctioneer by the defaulting buyer, together with all charges, fees, and expenses incurred by such resale, or the enforcement of the obligation hereunder. Buyer agrees to pay all charges and expenses incurred by reason of any breach of the Terms and Conditions of Sale, including without limitation, reasonable attorney fees.

7.

PAYMENT FOR PURCHASES MAY BE MADE WITH VISA , MASTERCARD, CASH, CHECK, OR WIRE TRANSFER. 8.

BUYERS PREMIUM- The buyer’s premium, assessed on each selling lot, is 18% of the hammer price up to and including $1,000,000, plus 10% on any amount in excess of $1,000,000. For payments made using Visa or MasterCard, the buyer’s premium is 21% up to and including $1,000,000, plus 13% on any amount in excess of $1,000,000.

9.

TAX ‑ THERE IS NO SALES TAX IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 10. ACCEPTANCE OF CONDITIONS ‑ Bidding on any articles in this catalog indicates your acceptance of all the above items.

11.

BIDDING AGENT RESPONSIBILITY ‑ If you are registering for someone or if you execute a bid for someone else under your number, you are responsible for the settlement of that account. You are also responsible for examining the decoy(s) for your client regarding the guarantee.

12. WITHDRAWAL ‑ We reserve the right to withdraw any property before the sale and shall have no liability whatsoever for such withdrawal.

13. TITLE ‑ Title passes upon the fall of the auctioneer’s hammer. It will then be the responsibility of the buyer to make full payment prior to removing the goods from the premises. Removal is at both the buyer’s risk and expense, and must be made at the conclusion of the sale, unless other arrangements are made with the Guyette & Deeter staff. Any lots we might make arrangements for moving or storing are solely at the risk of the owner, and any damage or loss occurring after the fall of the hammer becomes that of the buyer.

14. LEGAL DISPUTE ‑ Any legal disputes arising from this auction shall be settled in the court system of the State of Maine.

UNIFORM COMMERCIAL CODE - The Maine Uniform Commercial Code, Title II, Section 2328 applies to this auction.

15. All calls are sold “As Is”.

THE OFFICE WILL NOT BE OPEN UNTIL MONDAY AFTER THE AUCTION.

ABSENTEE, PHONE, AND ONLINE BIDS 1. Absentee bids are a service provided to our customers free of charge. Every effort is made to execute all absentee bids, however, in the event of an error or omission, or failure to properly execute absentee bids, the Auctioneer shall not be held liable.

2. All absentee bids must be accompanied by a 20% deposit, which will be refunded immediately after the auction if your bid is unsuccessful. If your bid is successful, the deposit will be applied to the purchase price and the balance due upon presentation of your bill. All absentee bidders are notified by mail, whether successful or unsuccessful.

3. Visa and Mastercard numbers can be given in place of a check deposit, if your bid is submitted by phone. Your card number will not be used to make payments for purchases, it is only used as collateral. Your card number will only be used to make payment for purchases if you default on payment.

4. To execute an absentee bid, fill out the enclosed form listing catalog number, description, and your top bid price (not including the 18% buyer’s premium). Send this together with your deposit as soon as possible. If your bids are sent seven days or less prior to the auction, you should call our office three days prior to the auction, to confirm that we have received your bids. If they have not been received at that point in time, we will take your bid over the phone. We cannot guarantee that bids received after the auction has started will be executed.

5. If two or more bids are received on the same item from different people, the bidding will open at the next logical raise above the second highest bid. If two absentee bids are received with the exact same amount, the first one received will take precedence.

6. All bids must be in even dollar amounts. Bids in fractions of dollars will be considered the next lower even dollar amount.

7. Bid increments: The bid increment policy, which also applies to both absentee and phone bidders, is listed under “CONDITIONS OF SALE” (item #4), in the front of the catalog.

8. Open bids, bids with no set top amount, or orders to just simply buy the lot, cannot be accepted. You must have a definite top limit before we can execute your bid. Alternatives to this are as follows: a. To bid over the telephone. This can be done by simply sending a 20% deposit for what you wish to bid on the object. This will bind whatever bid amount you wish to bid over the telephone. (NOTE: There are only 8 phone lines into the auction room and phone bids will be handled on a first come, first serve basis.) b. Some bidders concerned that a lot might just go for one bid above their top limit, leave a top bid plus one bid.

This works as follows: the top bid submitted might be $1,000, but not wishing to lose the lot for simply $25 more, the party might bid $1,000 + 1 bid if they definitely don’t want to go over a certain price, they would indicate $1,000 +1 ($1,025) (NOTE: One possible problem that occasionally arises with absentee bids is when someone in the audience bids exactly the amount, which you specify is your limit. In such a case, we would not go one extra bid unless your bid sheet indicates “plus one” bid.).

9. If you are a successful bidder, a bill will be sent one week after the auction. Purchasers should indicate their desired method of shipment, if such is necessary. There is a charge for shipping, labor, materials, and insurance. Shipping is done on a first come, first serve basis, and can take up to 4 weeks. Please note that a certified check, Visa, Mastercard, or any other form of guaranteed funds will expedite shipping.

10. According to UPS regulations, we must now crate all paintings. In addition, for expensive oil paintings and delicate carvings, we need a written statement from the purchaser, assuming the responsibility of pursuing any claims, in the event of damage incurred during shipping. Valuable lots need to be sent 2 day air UPS due to values. Under no circumstances will we be liable for damage to glass or frames, or fragile decoratives, regardless of cause.

11. TERMS — Phone and absentee bidders — You will be notified one week after the auction of your results. Payment is due upon receipt. Interest will be charged on all balances not paid within 30 days after the bill is sent at the rate of 12% APR. If any accounts become more than 60 days overdue, the consignor will be given the name of the buyer who is responsible for holding up their funds. If an account is 75 days overdue, the items may be returned to the consignor and overdue buyer will pay the buyers premium and commission from the sale, if they wish to participate in future Guyette and Deeter auctions.

12. Bidding on any article(s) indicates your acceptance of these terms above.

13. If you would like any additional information on any of the lots, please contact: Gary Guyette at (410) 745-0485 or Jon Deeter at (440) 610-1768. nd

If you have any questions concerning absentee bids, please call us.

OFFICE:

PO Box 1170 St. Michaels, MD 21663 410-745-0485 Fax 410-745-0487 decoys@guyetteanddeeter.com

I desire to bid on the following items in the sale. The bids are to be executed by Guyette & Deeter, up to but not exceeding the amount(s) specified on the below bids. All bids will be executed and accepted subject to the Terms of Sale and Absentee Bids Procedure outlined in the catalog. (Please be sure that you understand our procedures before using this Absentee and Phone Bid Form.) Office will not be open until Wednesday after the auction.

A PREMIUM OF 18% WILL BE APPLIED TO ALL ITEMS SOLD, TO BE PAID BY THE BUYER

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NAME OFFICE USE

PHONE IN CATALOG # ORDER

AUCTION DATE DESCRIPTION

BID AMOUNT

187

109

182

G u yet te & De e te r , Inc .

PO Box 1170, St. Michaels, MD 21663 | 410-745-0485 www.guyetteanddeeter.com