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Excellent pair of miniature bobwhite quail by George Wilmer Reinbold (1885-1946), Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, circa 1940. Both the carvings and the original paint are expertly detailed and beautifully accomplished with the latter exhibiting a nice patina. Both quail have detailed wing carving including raised wing tips. The male is unusual in that it has an open beak as if calling. The burl upon which the male is mounted is signed "W. Reinbold". Each quail measures just over 2" bill to tail. The beveled walnut base is 4" in diameter, 1/4" thick and covered with red felt on the underside. Wilmer’s work was represented in the most popular outdoor outfitters, wildlife-themed gift shops and galleries of the day, notably Richard Stockton’s Shop in Bryn Mawr, PA, Caldwell's in Philadelphia and Crossroads of Sport and Abercrombie & Fitch in New York City. His work is highly regarded and much sought after today. Wilmer was the father of noted carver Bill Reinbold of Chestertown, Maryland. SOLD
Rare solid-bodied decoy with marble eyes by Frank Buchner (1871 - 1947), Erie, Pennsylvania, circa 1890s. Buchner is the "father" of the Erie school and is recognized as the most prolific and talented carver from the area. It is estimated that he carved between 300 and 500 decoys in a career that spanned nearly 50 years from the 1890s to 1940. Buchner was Chief Engineer of the Erie Sand and Gravel Sand Sucker, a barge-mounted dredging machine that cleared channels for navigation into the bay. His use of artistically inscribed patterns to delineate anatomical areas such as wings, speculums and tails attests to his German-American heritage. One such pattern identifies this decoy as being one of Buchner's oldest carvings from what was called his "heart rig". Jon Deeter and Gene Kangas wrote in Decoy Magazine in Nov/Dec 2008, pages 24 - 29, "It seems logical that the dynamic simplicity of this heart design originated close to the beginning of his carving career, and it's assumed they were made in the 1890s". As that rig was reportedly made up only of bluebills, this decoy in old working paint was repainted by the hunter as a redhead drake. Remnants of the original paint, probably that of a bluebill drake, can be seen where the ballast weight was removed. While the body is sound structurally, there is a crack through the neck. Buchner's decoys earned their reputation among hunters because they worked. Their strong folk art appeal assures their standing among collectors. SOLD
Life-size hollow swimming mallard drake decoy by Rick Brown, Brick Township, New Jersey, circa late 1980s. Rick was the founder and owner of Barnegat Bay Decoys which he started on the old Wildfowler Decoy Company site in the 1970s. Though the company closed its doors more than two decades ago, Rick continues to hand carve the competition quality decoys that have earned him hundreds of ribbons for more than a quarter of a century. His decoys are highly collectible and very much sought after. This decoy, done in the "Head of the Bay" style of Taylor Johnson and John Dorsett, is hand carved from air-dried Jersey white cedar with an outstretched head and neck, hollow body, high quality glass eyes and lead pad weight with leather line tie. In mint original condition, the detailed feather paint is in a word, "superb". The decoy is signed "Frederick C. Brown, Jr." on the bottom. It measures approximately 17.25" in length, 5" in width and 6.25" in height. SOLD
Excellent feeding wood pigeon decoy attributed to Robert Lange of Yorkshire, UK, circa 1900. There is a possibility, however, that the decoys attributed to Lange were actually made by an unnamed Scottish carver. Regardless, they were limited in production and are some of the finest early decoys the UK has to offer, perhaps second only to those of Trulock & Harriss. Stylistically, they are similar to some of the better North American shorebird decoys of the same period, with smoothly carved bodies and a deft brushstroke applied in what has been called a "Spenserian style". Please see my other website, www.woodpigeondecoys.com, dedicated to the identification and documentation of these decoys and their carvers for additional information. The decoy is in mint original paint other than touch up to the bill where approximately one-half of it was professionally restored. Measuring 13.5" in length, this decoy is hollowed out from below to both allow for storage of the mounting stake and to make it lighter and hence more mobile. It has early white glass eyes, and applied wings with extended tips. The sensitive spring steel blade at the top of the stake allowed motion of the decoy simulating a feeding pigeon in even the gentlest breeze. A rare example, this is the only Lange feeder I've encountered. Stand included. SOLD
Excellent English wood pigeon attributed to Robert Lange, Yorkshire, UK, circa 1890s. They were limited in production and some of the finest early decoys the UK has to offer. Stylistically, they are similar to some of the better North American shorebird decoys of the same period, with smoothly carved bodies and a deft brushstroke applied in what has been called a "Spenserian style". This glass-eyed example is in bright breeding plumage with mottled breast, neatly scalloped neck patches and fluid but precisely applied wing markings. The original paint shows light to moderate with some flaking. The bill is a professional replacement. The decoy measures 13" in length. Stand included.
SOLD
Classic wood pigeon decoy from the famous gunsmith firm of Trulock & Harriss, Suffolk, England, circa 1880s. Their decoys are considered to be the premier examples of English wood pigeons known. This example is finely crafted with detailed shoulder, wing and tail carving, glass eyes and its original molded lead bill. The softly-blended paint is strong and original with an excellent patina. The decoy exhibits overall feather carving with the breast and throat feathers carved in a fine scallop pattern, deeply carved edging on the wing coverts and a rasped or linearly carved texture to the primaries and fluted tail. The head is carved in an unusually animated and down-peering position as if the bird were examining something on the ground below. Even the eyes of the decoy are set in appropriate positions for this posture. The underside of the tail retains a portion of an original woven textile covering that is seen on a number of, but not all of, the Trulock and Harriss decoys. It is believed that this covering was meant to add strength to the rather fragile tail. There are small slivers missing from the outer edges of the tail feathers on both side and a chip missing from the body of the bird around one of the stick holes. Otherwise the structural condition of the carving is exceptional. Although who carved these decoys for Trulock and Harriss is not known, a strong argument can be made that the birds were made by the same craftsmen tasked with making the gunstocks for the gunsmith's primary product, perhaps on a seasonal basis or as a filler during slack periods. See my other website, www.woodpigeondecoys.com, dedicated to the identification and documentation of these decoys and their carvers for additional information. SOLD
Rare hollow blue winged teal drake decoy, circa 1940s, in excellent original condition with only a few small scrapes and dings, by Paul Lipke of Whiting, Indiana, at the southern tip of Lake Michigan. This glass-eyed decoy, with head turned slightly to the left, measures 12" in length, 5" in width and stands 6" high at the head. It is pictured on page 180, Great Lakes Decoy Interpretations, Kangas, and on page 117, Bird Decoys and Duck Calls, Luckey and Lewis. Who made the decoy is known. What isn’t known is who Paul Lipke was. In April of 1985, depending upon which source you hear it from, a picker showed up at the Midwest Decoy Collectors Association show in St. Charles, Illinois, with between two dozen and four dozen decoys by this maker. All the picker knew was the carver’s name and hometown. The decoys were hollow-carved and flat-bottomed with weights bearing the initials “P.L.â€. They had varying head styles with a fat, cheeky appearance and exhibited a strong Mason Factory influence, particularly in the paint patterns. They were estimated to have been made between 1940 and 1950. A buying frenzy ensued and when the dust cleared, the decoys were scattered from Illinois to New England. Little has been learned of Lipke since, and some collectors even question his existence. What is without question, however, is the fine quality of these decoys. Lipke is believed to have made only one rig of decoys, consisting of roughly 50 bluebills, blue-winged teal, redheads, canvasbacks and mallards. Further information on Lipke can be found in Decoy Magazine, Summer 1985, pgs. 32-33 and in The Great Book of Wildfowl Decoys, Enger, pgs. 224-227.
Price: $3250.00
A very animated carving of a swimming pintail drake by Jerome "Jerry" Dupre of New Orleans, Louisiana. This is one of Jerry's earlier working decoys, circa the late 1960s, carved while he was working in the Thibodaux's oil fields. The decoy's outstretced head with glass eyes is turned roughly 15 degrees to the left and canted slightly to the right. The expertly carved bird exhibits raised and crossed primaries, incised feather carving on the upper sides and a lightly fluted tail. There is a small amount of old touchup at the tip of the tail where it appears a small sliver was glued back in place; otherwise the decoy is in excellent detailed original paint. Measuring almost 22" in length and 6" in width across the shoulders, the feather-light decoy was carved from cypress root. SOLD