Superb, never rigged oversized Black Duck by A. Elmer Crowell (1862-1952), East Harwich, Mass. Circa 1915-20. Very clean all original paint & condition. Paint is very dry, clean with a perfect patina of age. Has good strong oval style brand. Measures approx 17 inches long, and has the big, bold, deep body style. Has a couple of spots of old white near head, probably done by Crowell when he was making a rig of hunting birds, could probably be removed but shows age & doesnt distract. Solid body with glass eyes & has typical body check along length of bottom of bird, common with Crowell birds because of the solid wood he used. Has nicely done rasped head & breast. Extra pics available. This is a excellent example for any collector looking for a strong Crowell Black Duck to add to a collection. Good buy here as Crowell decoys continue to be the strongest part of the decoy market, early unrigged examples this nice are getting impossible to find at any price. SOLD!

Superb & rare Mason Glasseye Dove, Mason Decoy Factory, Detroit, Mich. Circa 1910. Ex-McCleery collection. Has a double "McCleery" stamp on bottom & "Mason Dove" is written in ink. Paint is very strong, clean & all original. Measures approx 9 3/4 inches. Perfect glass eyes & original bill. A few minor rubs to the surface, & a few shot marks. Mason decoys continue to soar in value, and good quality like this example seem to have no limit. Great color on this one. Very clean, not perfect mint but close to it, & as good an example as you will find of this scarce species. More pics avail. Sold, click on "DECOYS" at top of page to view current inventory

Superb & near mint Black Duck by Miles Hancock (1888-1974), Chincoteague Island, VA. Circa 1950. Near mint, all original paint & condition. Paint is very clean & great detailed scratch paint style. Cottonwood body & head that measures 18 inches long. Has tack eyes. This is a great thick body style by Hancock. It is pictured in "COLLECTING ANTIQUE BIRD DECOYS and DUCK CALLS", by Carl F. Luckey & Russell E. Lewis. If you been wanting a seriously nice Hancock Black Duck, this is it. Sold

Superb, early & very fat, hollow carved, drake Bluebill by Ira Hudson (1876-1949), Chincoteague Island, VA. Circa 1925-1935. Has good, dry, clean all original paint with very little wear for the age, most body wear is age/grain line, some rubs to head as shown. No repairs or touch ups of any kind. Measures approx 13 1/2 inches. This is very rare hollow carved body style (dont see many hollow Bluebills), with what appears to be extra fancy painting, swirls go all the way around the body, even onto the belly area. Has extra wide banjo tail with 8 carved fluted areas. Had ice dip carving on back. Body is hollow carved cedar, the head is balsa, dont understand why some Chincoteague makers did that except that wood was always scarce. Miles Hancock also did that quite frequently & he was known for sturdiness in the birds he made. It held up well with no neck cracks, but does have slight blunted area to end of bill. A desirable & early Hudson, with a great head style with nicely carved bill, very fat and round football style body, & tack eyes. Retains the original weight & line tie. Nicely done paint style & as good as you can expect to find on a bird of this vintage. Great bird & as clean and honest as you will find a Hudson, very cool bird that will surely please. More pics avail. A very charming bird for any collection. SOLD!

Rare & superb running style Yellowlegs shorebird decoy by Miles Hancock (1888-1974), Chincoteague Island, VA. Circa 1950-60. A rare species by Hancock & any shorebirds by Hancock are very scarce. Probably not quite full size, measures 9 1/4 inches, maybe 3/4 size? Excellent all original paint, with very nicely done scratch paint patterns on back & side and has no wear! This is cedar body bird with metal tack eyes. Has splined bill thru head. This is a tuff piece by Hancock, shorebirds are nearly impossible by him & a rare addition for any collection.
SOLD!

Rare & very early Black Duck decoy by Ira Hudson (1873-1949), Chincoteague Island, VA. Circa possibly pre-1900, in unused all original condition. Very good strong, dry, all original paint with edge wear as expected. No repairs or touch ups of any kind. Has thin partial neck crack that doesn't go thru neck, and both side bottom edges of neck to shelf have thin cracks, as would be expected from a 100 year old gunning decoy. But all is secure & clean, worst side shown, more pics avail. This is Hudson's earliest documented style & examples are rarely ever found in all original paint. Solid body measures approx 15 1/4 inches long & has a nice shelf carving. Has painted eyes & was never weighted, decoy was never used as no evidence of a line tie exist. . This is the earliest Hudson Black Duck I have ever seen in original paint & the only one I have seen in unused condition. Great bird here & formerly in the collection of Grayson Chesser.
SOLD!

Superb & very scarce Mark McNair hollow carved Wood Duck decoy, Eastern Shore of VA. Circa 2004. Outstanding all original paint that has been aged & shows a stunning patina. Measures approx 14 inches. Glass eyes & raised wing and hollow body carving. Has leather line tie & is weighted. This is a neat style & looks 100 years old, its all Mark's style & that is what makes it superb. Its tuff getting any McNairs & this is a pure beauty. Carved McNair signature. Hard to find these at any price & probably your only chance to ever get a McNair Wood Duck. SOLD!

Superb, early & rare sleeper Canvasback pair by R. Madison Mitchell (1901-1993), Harve de Grace, MD. Signed & dated 1954. Excellent never gunned all original condition. Excellent all original paint thats strong, dry & clean, great brush work on these early beauties, with just a couple of handling rubs from age. Measure approx 14 inches long each. This early matched pair have never been used & is as nice a Mitchell matched pair of sleeper Canvasbacks as you will ever find at any price. Retains original single nail end weight & staple rig line tie in each bird. Also have the "brad nail in butt" that marks them as his best quality wood. More pics avail. You have seen the Mitchell market soar this year & this being a matched sleeper pair of this vintage & high quality puts them in a class all their own, a sleeper Black Duck from the 40s sold for over 6K at Guyette and Schmidt April 2004 sale. This pair was sold earlier this past year from a small group that was fresh to market from the shelf of the original purchaser, which he bought from Mitchell in 1954. A superb & rare old decoy pair by the dean of Upper Chesapeake Bay makers & for the Mitchell collector looking for only the best. Priced to sell, you will be thrilled with this pair.
SOLD!

Very rare 1929 edition of "SHOOTING-STANDS OF EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS" by John C. Phillips. This book was a private printing by Phillips in 1929 in which monies raised were to benefit the Mass. Fish and Game Association, Boston Mass. John C. Phillips is best known for his fabulous group of decoys made for him by Elmer Crowell, including the world record Pintail. Crowell was his live decoy handler & is mentioned in this book, as is Joe Lincoln & others from the area. Book is 157 pages & in very good shape with the exception of some wear to the spline. Great hunting history book with details on kills & predominate species at each blind. Very rare book here for the collector of Mass hunting history or the collector of decoys from the area, especially decoys by Elmer Crowell. SOLD!

Superb & early Canvasback pair by R. Madison Mitchell (1901-1993), Harve de Grace, MD. Circa early 1950's. Never used & excellent all original condition. Excellent all original paint thats very strong & clean. Measure approx 15 1/2 inches long each. Hen has no faults, drake has a hair thin age line around neck & lost the puddy over head of 1 nail head. This pair has the original flat bottoms and were either made as Christmas Ducks or as mantel birds, the extra nice paint work on them is excellent and the head carving is extra nice. Not signed but these were made way before Mitchell started signing his decoys, and is guaranteed 100% Mitchell. More pics avail. You have seen the Mitchell market soar this past year & this being a matched pair of this vintage & quality puts them in a class all thier own, early Mitchells have brought 5 figuires at Guyette and Schmidt April 2004 sale. A superb 50+ year old perfect matched pair by the dean of Upper Chesapeake Bay makers. Priced to sell, you just don't find Mitchells this early & in this condition anymore, very good buy on these. SOLD!

Very rare A.E. Crowell (1862-1952), miniature Semi-palmated Plover shorebird carving. East Harwich, Mass. Circa 1900-20s. Excellent all original paint & condition, with only fault being small bottom edge of part of bill chipped on side shown & small paint chip on tail as shown, but neither shows when displayed. Paint blending & colors on this bird are superb! Bottom is stamped "A.E. Crowell Maker, East Harwichport, Mass." Has #22 wriiten in pencil by Crowell on bottom to signify it is from a set. Approx 2 7/8 long & 2 3/4 high. More pics avail. Very nice mini & rarely found species. These have soared in value over the last couple of years & are a solid investment and a joy to own, and Crowell mini shorebirds are at the top of the list. SOLD!

Very rare unused drake Redhead by William Heverin (1860-1951) , Charlestown, Maryland. Circa 1925-35. Strong, dry & clean all original paint & condition, & has never been rigged, only a line tie attached. Fat & full size bird at approx 14 1/2 inches, no checks or cracks. No eye model bird with great feather back painting & swirls, and classic Heverin form. Extra pics avail. Nicely done head & bill that are deeply carved. No faults at all on this one. A classic & very clean Heverin bird for any Chesapeake Bay decoy collection. Rare one here, in impossible to find condition. Formerly in the collection of Evans McKinney. SOLD!

Superb & scarce full size flying Mourning Dove by Eddie Wozny, Cambridge, Maryland. Circa 1991. Signed & dated in ink & carved "W" in bottom. Very nice piece that is life size & wall mount style, Eddie told me he thinks he only made about 4 of these that are flying & wall mount. Paint is all original & very rich in color. Glass eyes & measures approx 11 1/2 inches long & 15 1/2 tall wing tip measurement. Nice lifelike colors & very detailed carving. Eddie is one of the best carvers out there, & his minis will rival any ever made by anyone. He is quick to sell out at any of the shows he does & his carvings are rarely offered for resale. Good piece here, its sure to please. SOLD!

Excellent Oscar Peterson (1887-1951), Cadillac, Mich., 7 inch Pike, fish spearing decoy. Circa 1936, this fish is a late Period 3, early period 4 (1935-38) decoy. This fish has excellent all original paint & condition with only small wear to edges & some loss on fins & line tie area. Paint is very clean, & very strong with excellent color & brush work & nice thick original varnished finish. This fish is a pellet tack eye model. See Ron Fritz's excellent book "Michigan's Master Carver OSCAR W. PETERSON ", for like examples. Any Oscar Peterson in condition this clean, strong & honest is desirable & rare. This fish is guaranteed 100%, & would make a nice addition to any old fish decoy collection. More pics avail. This is a beauty! SOLD!

Early, rare & near mint "Running" style flattie Yellowlegs decoy from the collections of Dr. George Ross Starr & Dr. Jim McCleery. Circa 1890-1920. Retains McCleery Collection stamp. Paint is all original & superb. Bill is all original & its hard to believe this thing survived when you see how long & thin it is. Measures approx 10 1/2 inches tail to end of bill. Has glass eyes & inserted bill, with split tail style carving. These style birds have been sold in past as "Lumberyard flatties", but according to the Richard Bourne 1986 catalog of the Starr collection it is "Factory made & used by E.B. VanWinkle of the New Jersey marshes", this may have been the description that Starr provided before his passing. This is the exact bird sold in Starr sale (page 33, lot 90), and sold again at the famous McCleery sale (page 210, lot 555). Lots of good pics available. Very good buy on this one & a piece from two of the most famous & historic collections ever to come to auction. SOLD!

Very early & rare drake Widgeon decoy by Charlie Joiner (Born 1921), Chestertown, MD. Signed & dated 1954. Excellent all original paint, with very stylish, clean finish, the paint swirls on sides are a killer. A very hard to find species by Joiner. Full size with painted eyes, measures approx 14 inches long. Has thin neck crack but is secure. I was told that Charlie made one rig of 44 of these & are his earliest Widgeon & this is one of the survivors. You will never find another one of these as Widgeon by Charlie are scarce, but with a 50's vintage is impossible. Serious Joiner piece here & priced to sell. Sold

Early, bold & very folky, oversize Willet shorebird decoy, Cape Cod, Mass. Circa 1880-1900. Very nice original paint & condition, including original nail bill. Paint is very clean, dry & strong, with nice feather strokes on front neck area. This bird has a great color with a perfect patina. Has a nice split wing style carving, and 2 holes in bottom for stick. Has a few small size shot scars. This is a big & bold bird measuring approx 15 inches long. Shown approx 1/2 actual size in photo. Very neat alert body style with outstreched neck. Very stylish old Massachusetts shorebird with great primitive, folk art form. Good looking old decoy for any collection of folk art or antique shorebirds. SOLD!

Rare small size Oscar Peterson (1887-1951), Cadillac, Mich., 4 3/4+ inch Brown Trout with original rare breeding spotted finish, fish spearing decoy. Circa 1936, this fish is a late Period 3, early period 4 (1935-38) decoy. This fish has very good all original paint & condition with only small wear to edges, wear to belly & some loss on fins & line tie area, has one flake to primer on top back as would be expected of a fish that was used of this vintage. Paint is very clean, & very strong with excellent color & brush work & nice thick original finish. This fish is a pellet tack eye model & is a very rare to find size. See Ron Fritz's excellent book "Michigan's Master Carver OSCAR W. PETERSON ", for like examples. Any Oscar Peterson in condition this clean, strong & honest is desirable & rare. This fish is guaranteed forever to be 100% Oscar Peterson, & would make a nice addition to any old fish decoy collection. More pics avail. This is a beauty and fresh to market from one of the top Oscar Peterson private collections in the world! SOLD!

Superb & scarce Goldeneye pair by Charlie Joiner (Born 1921), Chestertown, MD. Signed & dated 1995 on drake & 1996 on hen. Excellent all original paint, with very clean finish, the paint work on these birds are a killer. A species that has become very hard to find by Joiner. Full size with glass eyes, measures approx 14 3/4 inches long on hen and 15 3/4 on drake, which is proper for species as drake is slightly larger then hen in the wild. Both have slightly turned heads. Great examples here & sure to please any collector looking for top quality Joiners for their collection. SOLD!

Early & rare old Dowitcher or Yellowlegs shorebird decoy from Hingham or Newberryport area of Mass. Circa 1860-1900. This bird is part of the pair that sat on the mantel of the "DEWS ISLAND HUNTING LODGE", in Jarvisburg, NC. Paint is clean & all original, with areas of flaking & wear to bare wood as would be expected on bird of this vintage. Very nice V-wing style of raised wing carving, bottom edge of both have wood wear. Has neat raised & crossed wing carving & dropped down carved tail, has small chip on right side tail. Bill is possible replacement, if so it shows good age with blacklight test. Has neat old tiny shoebutton glass bead eyes. Full body style carving with a nice style and form, and measures approx 9 1/2 inches long. Detailed pics avail. This is a great old example of a Massachusetts shorebird decoy with good historic background. SOLD!

Art Kilmon Wood Duck pair, Pocomoke City MD. Circa 1980s. Mint & all original pair, both are carved signed "KILMON". Approx. 14 inches each. Hollow carved & painted in oils, this is a beautiful pair of decoys. Weighted & leather line ties. Art was taught by Mark McNair & Grayson , but he no longer carves. Sold,

Superb and outstanding 1/4 size standing Hooded Merganser drake by William J. Koelpin (1938-1996), West Allis, Wisconsin. Excellent all original paint & condition. Signed but not dated by maker. Circa 1960-80's. Measures approx 9 inches tall on driftwood base. Raised wingtip carving & cast metal feet, with glass eyes. Koelpin was a world class wildfowl artist in every medium he did. His oil paintings, including a duck stamp win, his bronzes, and his wildfowl carvings in wood. He became one of the top decorative decoy carvers in the world in a span of just 4 years. In 1974 he won "Best In The World" at the Ward World Championship contest. He also did a set of 26 birds for the Franklin Mint, which they cast & sold sets of the copies in 1982. Koelpin's original carvings are very rare & seldom come to market. Good rare piece here for the money. SOLD!

Superb & rare sleeper Black Duck by R. Madison Mitchell (1901-1993), Harve de Grace, MD. Signed & dated 1954. Perfect all original condition. Excellent all original paint thats very dry & clean, no faults of any kind. Scratch paint style is excellent. Measure approx 15 inches long. This bird has never been used & is as nice a Mitchell Black Duck hunting bird as you will ever find. Retains original single nail end weight & staple rig line tie. Also have the "brad nail in butt" that marks them as his best quality wood. More pics avail. You have seen the Mitchell market soar this year & this being a sleeper of this vintage puts it in a class all its own, a sleeper Black Duck from the 40s sold for over 6K at Guyette and Schmidt April 2004 sale. This is fresh to market from the shelf of the original purchaser, which he bought from Mitchell in 1954. A superb old decoy by the dean of Upper Chesapeake Bay makers. Priced to sell. Sold

Superb & tiny Peep shorebird decoy from Nantucket, Mass. Circa pre-1900.
Excellent all original paint & condition, including unbroken original bill. Measures just 6 inches long including bill. Very neat in that it has a dual position hole to mount bird in feeder or standing position. Has a couple of tiny shot marks. Somebody wrote "Wachapreague, VA" on bottom. It was found & probably used here, but others that have surfaced are attributed to Nantucket. Great little shorebird & rarely offered specie.
Sold