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Welcome to Decoy-Dux, specializing in quality representative antique, vintage and contemporary duck, goose and shorebird decoys and carvings, as well as miniatures, books, paintings and other related collectibles.
M366: Bobwhite Quail Pair, Joe Ahearn, Circa 1940s
Fine pair of bobwhite quail (male and female) by James Joseph "Joe” Ahearn (1904-1963), Stamford, CT, circa 1940s. An excellent effort, these roughly half-scale carving measure 7.25" in length (tip of bill to tip of tail) and 7” in height including the birch branches they are perched on. The carvings are in excellent original condition with highly detailed feather paint, glass eyes and wire legs with lead feet. They are each in excellent structural condition. Each is signed on the beveled end of oneof the birch branches. Ahearn became well-known in the mid-1940's as a carver of miniatures. It is unclear when he began carving them although it is presumed that he started in the late 1930's, if not sooner. When Joe lived in the New York City area where he was a salesman for the National Cash Register Company, he was known to have carved miniatures while on the road. At the onset of World War II, he and his wife moved to Stamford, Connecticut. The first documentation of his carvings being offered for sale is in the 1945-46 catalog of the Sporting Gallery and Bookstore in New York City. This catalog featured a wide selection of Ahearn's "functional hunter and "sportsman oriented" items such as lamps, wall thermometers, letter openers, coat racks, tie racks, pipe racks, book ends and ashtrays in a variety of configurations. It was around this time that he also began offering his miniature carvings of waterfowl and upland game birds. One of the first and certainly the most important retailer to carry his carvings was the Crossroads of Sport store in New York City. They were enjoying a huge demand for A. J. King's miniatures and were more than eager to complement his products with another carver's work. Ahearn is featured in "Birds in Wood and Paint" by Joe Ellis. SOLD
Wood Pigeon Decoy Article: Yorkshire School of English Wood pigeon Decoys
Viewable here at no charge. An article I have written on the wood pigeon decoys of various carvers of the Yorkshire school, Yorkshire, United Kingdom. published in the November - December 2019 issue of Hunting and Fishing Collectibles Magazine. If you would like to subscribe to or purchase a copy of the magazine itself, please contact Stan Van Etten, Publisher, at HFCollectibles.com.
Wood Pigeon Decoy Article: The British Are Coming!
Viewable here at no charge. An article I have written on the wood pigeon decoys of Harry Boddy and Ted Grace, published in the January - February 2017 issue of Hunting and Fishing Collectibles Magazine. If you would like to subscribe to or purchase a copy of the magazine itself, please contact Stan Van Etten, Publisher, at HFCollectibles.com.
D0897/D0898: Don Gearhart Green-Winged Teal Pair, Circa 1931-1932
Excellent glass-eyed green-winged teal pair by Donald R. Gearhart (1900 - 1987), Tulsa, Oklahoma, circa 1931-1932. The drake is in lightly worn, well-executed original feather paint exhibiting a pleasing patina. It has deeply carved wings with raised wingtips, a slender neck and high head turned slightly to the left. Its "face mask" is incised as are the specula and tail feathers. There is a crack through the neck that was reglued many years ago and remains stable as well as some "puppy chew" to the tip of the bill. The hen is in excellent structural condition with lightly worn, well-executed patinated original feather paint. It, too, has deeply carved wings with incised specula and tail feathers. These carvings, known for their small size as "pocket teal", measure 10 1/2" in length, 5 1/4" height and 4 1/4" in width. The keel is missing on both. They are inscribed on the bottom in Gearhart's hand, "J. H. Abbott, McPherson, Kansas". Abbott was apparently a friend, business associate or hunting companion for whom Gearhart made the decoy. Gearhart was a senior executive with the Sinclair Oil Company. His decoys were slightly undersized, designed for use in the marshes of Louisiana. Please see Decoy Magazine, Jul/Aug 2013, for an excellent article by Gene Kangas on Gearhart and his work. SOLD
D0899: Ted Grace Content Green-Winged Teal Decoy
Excellent solid-bodied green-winged teal drake carved in the low-head "content" position by Edward Arthur "Ted" Grace (1914-1985), Walderslade, Kent, United Kingdom, circa mid-1950s. This glass-eyed teal is in nicely blended and stippled feather paint with only minor wear. It measures 11" in length, 5" in width and 3-1/2" in height. Grace was mentored by his neighbor, Henry Ernest "Harry" Boddy. After a short apprenticeship, Grace purchased the decoy business in 1951, continuing to make wood pigeon and waterfowl decoys full time until 1957 and part time until 1977. Between the two men, they might well have been England's most prolific carvers. SOLD
M365: Fine Swimming Blue-Winged Teal, Leo McIntosh, Dated 1984
Outstanding carving of a blue-winged teal drake by Leo H. McIntosh, Jr. (1953 - 2007), Stony Creek Decoys, Woodville, New York, circa 1984. This carving was named "Best in Show" in the 1984 U. S. National Decoy Show. McIntosh also won 1st place for blue-winged teal in the 1984 Ward Museum World Championships, Division A1 (Professional), Decorative Decoy, Marsh Ducks, possibly for this same entry. Recognized as one of the best contemporary carvers before his untimely death, Leo apprenticed with Ken Harris for five years before founding Stony Creek Decoys. This glass-eyed teal is feather-textured over its entirety and is in near-mint, highly detailed feather paint with only some slight rubbing on the edges of the bill and a 1/4" professional repair to the tip of the primary feather on the right wing. The carving is in a very realistic swimming or feeding posture with the head slightly uplifted and turned a little to the left. The bird exhibits relief wing and shoulder carving with raised wing tips, a fluted tail with carved feathers, well-developed body musculature and a well detailed bill. The carving measures 12-1/2" in length, 4-1/4" in width and 3-3/4" in height at the top of the raised wing tips. It is signed, dated and remarqued by Leo on the bottom. The commemorative plate pictured will be included with the carving. SOLD
M365: Best in Show Blue-Winged Teal, Leo McIntosh, 1984
Outstanding carving of a blue-winged teal drake by Leo H. McIntosh, Jr. (1953 - 2007), Stony Creek Decoys, Woodville, New York, circa 1984. This carving was named "Best in Show" in the 1984 U. S. National Decoy Show. McIntosh also won 1st place for blue-winged teal in the 1984 Ward Museum World Championships, Division A1 (Professional), Decorative Decoy, Marsh Ducks, possibly for this same entry. Recognized as one of the best contemporary carvers before his untimely death, Leo apprenticed with Ken Harris for five years before founding Stony Creek Decoys. This glass-eyed teal is feather-textured over its entirety and is in near-mint, highly detailed feather paint with only some slight rubbing on the edges of the bill and a 1/4" professional repair to the tip of the primary feather on the right wing. The carving is in a very realistic swimming or feeding posture with the head slightly uplifted and turned a little to the left. The bird exhibits relief wing and shoulder carving with raised wing tips, a fluted tail with carved feathers, well-developed body musculature and a well detailed bill. The carving measures 12-1/2" in length, 4-1/4" in width and 3-3/4" in height at the top of the raised wing tips. It is signed, dated and remarqued by Leo on the bottom. The commemorative plate pictured will be included with the carving. SOLD
D0894: Ted Grace Feeding English Wood Pigeon Decoy, Circa 1952
Feeding wood pigeon decoy by Edward Arthur "Ted" Grace, Walderslade, Kent, United Kingdom, circa 1952. The bird, painted in fall plumage, is in original feather paint with light wear. It has screw eyes set in separate grommets to simulate eye rings, a cast metal beak and relief carved shoulders. The pigeon is hollowed from below with an inset metal plate marked "Pat. 431190" (Issued to Grace's mentor, Harry Boddy in 1935) to hold the included metal spike for setting the decoy in the ground. The decoy measures 14.5" in length and 4" in width. It was made in two pieces with a convex lower piece of wood cut from the body. That piece had the center cut out by jig saw to form an elongated "horse collar" hollow and was then nailed back onto the body. This method was found to be easier to accomplish than otherwise hand-hollowing the one-piece decoy from below as seen in earlier examples. There is a clasp at the back of the tail to secure the spike when stored in the hollow body. The hollowed body allowed a light breeze to cause the decoys to bob up and down, effectively simulating live feeding birds. Stand included.
Price: $435.00
