Nathan Cobb, Jr., Redhead
Nathan Cobb, Jr. (1825-1905), Cobb Island, Virginia. Rare hollow carved redhead. Inlet neck seat, carved eyes, and raised wingtips. Serif “N” carved in underside. Slight eye groove carving. Measures 14” long. Original paint with moderate wear; very early and thin wash to black areas; an old chip in bill was reset with tightly wrapped twine; tight drying cracks near tail and breast; very lightly hit by shot.
Arthur Cobb, Bluebill, 1885-1895
Arthur Cobb (1836-1890), Cobb Island, VA.
Hollow carved bluebill with raised, down sloping neck seat and carved eyes. Early in use repaint with moderate wear.
A. Elmer Crowell, Redhead Pair
A. Elmer Crowell (1862-1952), East Harwich, MA.
Right: Early redhead hen. Pre brand model with slightly turned head and relief tail feather carving. “Q” branded on the underside for the Quandy collection. Original paint with minor to moderate wear.
Left: Redhead drake. Excellent redhead with slightly upturned head. Oval brand. Never rigged or weighted. Original paint with almost no wear.
Ward Bros., “Shooting Stool” Canvasback Pair, 1966
Finest known “shooting stool” canvasback decoy pair by the Ward Brothers, Crisfield, MD. Dated 1966, signed and marked “shooting stool” on bottom of each. Made for and ex-collection of Dr. Kramer. Hot branded MK on bottom. Signed on bottom “Made by Steve, Painted by Lem.” All original paint and condition.
James T. Holly, Black Duck, Late 1800s
James T. Holly (1855-1935), Havre de Grace, MD.
Moderate gunning wear. Slight slope forward Where head is attached to body. Upswept tail.
James T. Holly, Black Duck, Late 1800s
James T. Holly (1855-1935), Havre de Grace, MD.
Branded “wigeon”. Slight slope forward where head is attached to the body. Upswept tail.
Keyes Chadwick, Mergansers
Keyes Chadwick (1865-1958), Oaks Bluff, Massachusetts. Excellent sigmate pair of mergansers with slightly turned heads. Measure 17.5” and 18.5” long. Original paint with fine crazing and minor wear; some scattered paint rubs and dents; slight separation at hen’s neck seat. Provenance: Ted and Judy Harmon collection.
Ira Hudson, Red Breasted Merganser Hen, ca. 1920
Ira Hudson (1873 - 1949), Chincoteague, VA.
A very rare early special order by Hudson, used by some hunters for spring sport shooting since red breasted mergansers were hard to hit and hard to cook. The decoy is in all original paint, including the vivid red bill and tack eyes, a scarce color on Chincoteague which Ira obtained from the local fire department. The thin body, long paddle tail and carved teeth are a tour-de-force even for Hudson.
The beak was restored, leaving the line where the beak meets the head straighter than other Hudson decoys.
John “Daddy” Holly, Bluebill, Early 1800s
John “Daddy” Holly (1818-1892), Havre de Grace, MD. He was considered the Father of the Havre de Grace Carving school.