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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.
D0600: James Rolph Pigeon Decoy, Circa 1925 - 1935
Excellent early English wood pigeon decoy, circa 1920s - 1930s, attributed to James Rolph of Elveden, Suffolk, United Kingdom. A fat-bodied bird measuring 14.5-inches in length, it has glass eyes, its original bill, deeply incised shoulder and wing outlines, raised wingtips and some feather carving. The original paint has a nice patina and is in near-mint condition with very minor wear other than a rub on one edge of the tail. Rolph carved from roughly 1910 until the 1930s. Made after the end of WWI when Rolph acquired a bandsaw for cutting out the rough decoy, this decoy has a more rounded body and raised wingtips, features his earlier decoys lacked. His earlier birds were somewhat rectangular and blocky in cross section, reflecting the exclusive use of hand tools in the making of his decoys. Rolph was the son of Francis Rolph, himself a decoy maker, and the father-in-law of William Jaggard who joined the family business in the early 1930s. One of James's decoys, unidentified as to maker, can be found in the Guyette/Sotheby catalog of Dr. Jim McCleery's collection (Lot 559, Jan 2000). See my other website, www.woodpigeondecoys.com, dedicated to the identification and documentation of these decoys and their carvers for additional information. SOLD
D0771: Matched Pair of Delaware River Pintail Decoys by Rick Brown
Beautiful matched pair of life-size hollow Delaware River pintail decoys by Fredrick C. "Rick" Brown, Brick Township, New Jersey. 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 it's 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. These decoys are hand carved in the traditional Delaware River style from air-dried Jersey white cedar with detailed bills, raised primaries, fluted tails, hollow bodies, high quality glass eyes, lead pad weights and leather line ties. The incredibly detailed feather paint is in a word, "superb". Each bird is signed and dated 2015 and bears Rick's personal copper ID tag. The drake, with its head turned about fifteen degrees to the left, measures approximately 20" in length, 5-1/4" in width and 7-1/4" in height. The hen is 18" long, 5-1/4" in width and 6-1/4" in height and has its head turned about fifteen degrees to the right. SOLD
D0778: Jess Heisler Black Duck Decoy
Classic Delware River black duck decoy by Jess Heisler (1891 - 1943), Burlington City, NJ, circa 1935. Heisler was known as a quality boat builder as well as a first class professional decoy maker whose work approached that of John and Dan English. This decoy has a hollow three-piece body; raised, grooved and deeply notched primaries and a head in a tucked or contented position. It measures just over 15" in length, sits 6-1/2" high at the head and is 5-1/2" wide. The detailed scalloped feather paint shows very little wear other than a scrape on the left cheek and several small dings near the neck seat below that cheek. The decoy is rigged with a leather tie and Heisler's beveled lead pad weight secured by ten brads. It is branded "R. A. Stockon" on the bottom, indicating that it came from the rig of Russell Augustus Stockton of Burlington. His rig is known to have included quality decoys by the Englishes as well as by Heisler. I purchased this bird directly from Stockton's granddaughter. SOLD
D0695: Classic Nathan Cobb, Jr., Black Duck Decoy
Exceptional hollow-carved black duck by Nathan Cobb, Jr., Cobb Island, Virginia, with good serifed "N" carved in bottom. Circa 1890. The decoy has an inlet head with fine bulbous neck, glass eyes and typical Cobb's Island wing carving. An eye groove extends from the bill to the back of the head. The bottom board of this hollow carving is pegged to the upper body from below. The bird is in outstanding structural condition with a few tight age lines in body. The paint on the head of the decoy appears to be original while the body has traces of original that has been strengthened. Formerly in the collection of William L. Butler, Jr., this is a highly collectible classic southern decoy with superb form and an impeccable provenance. It is pictured in Plates 407 and 408 on page 197 of Southern Decoys of Virginia and the Carolinas by Henry Fleckenstein, Jr.
D0146: Os Bibber Oldsquaw Drake Decoy
Superb winter plumage oldsquaw drake decoy in exceptional original paint in a very stylized pattern with a fine patina, by Orlando S. "Os" Bibber (1882 -1971), South Harpswell, Maine, circa 1st quarter, 20th century. The solid-bodied decoy has painted eyes with the head turned approximately 15 degrees to the right. It has a finely carved bill with "dimples" where the bill meets the face. It is in excellent structural condition with a rectangular plug "in-the-making" centered in the back, behind the head. It isn't known whether the plug was inserted to prevent cracking or simply to repair a flaw in the wood. Regardless, this characteristic shows up in other decoys by Bibber, including a similar decoy from Doc Starr's (and later, Dr. Jim McCleery's) collection. Starr described these as "One of the finest quandies (oldsquaw) I have ever seen". Other collectors agree. Bibber's birds are recognized as being among the best, if not the best, from the Maine coast. An engineer by trade, the influence of his training can be seen in the precision execution of his carvings. Delicately carved, they do not have the inlet heads found so often on decoys from the region. This decoy is the best of no more than a half dozen in this style and paint pattern known to exist. SOLD
D0637: Heavily Carved English Wood Pigeon Decoy, Circa Late 1800s
Heavily-carved English wood pigeon decoy, circa late 1800s. The decoy shares characteristics with the early wooden decoys sold by both R. Ward Co. and Trulock and Harriss, but differs enough to open the possibility that it was crafted by another as yet unidentified maker. It is also possible, however, that it is a later example from Ward or an earlier example from Trulock and Harriss. Almost certainly commercially made, the tail is most similar to the Ward decoys while the wings are more similar to the offerings of Trulock and Harriss, yet the head style differs from both. The breast is laminated in a manner similar to that found on a number of examples by Trulock and Harriss. Overall, it is more accomplished than the Wards, but lacks the sculptural finesse of the Trulock and Harriss birds. Full-bodied and measuring about 16-inches in length with raised wing tips, glass eyes and an inset tail, it is one of the largest pigeon decoys I've seen. Other than a professional tail repair with touch up to that area, it is in original paint. Stand not included. SOLD
D0764: William Jaggard Wood Pigeon Decoy, Circa 2nd Q, 20th C.
Excellent wood pigeon decoy by William Jaggard of Elveden, Suffolk, United Kingdom, circa late 2nd quarter, 20th century. In original paint with very minor wear, this stylish pigeon has carved shoulders and wings, a cast metal bill, glass eyes and a pleasing patina. Painted in the species' fall plumage, the full-bodied carving measures just under 14" in length, 3.75" in width and 3" in depth at the breast. Jaggard, who carved from the late 1930s through the mid-1950s, continued the carving business of his father-in-law and mentor, James Rolph. Judging from the number of examples found today, he, along with Rolph and Harry Boddy, was one of England's most prolific makers. English wood pigeons have garnered the well-deserved attention of American collectors. Similar in time frame to North American waterfowl and shorebird decoys, they have been used in the United Kingdom since the latter part of the 1800s with examples ranging from the deeply carved examples sold by Trulock and Harriss and R. Ward Co. to the more stylized examples of Jaggard, Boddy and Robert Lange. See my other website, www.woodpigeondecoys.com, dedicated to the identification and documentation of these decoys and their carvers for additional information.
D0775: James Rolph Wood Pigeon Decoy, Circa 1915 - 1920
English wood pigeon decoy attributed to James Rolph of Elveden, Suffolk, United Kingdom, circa 1915 - 1920. Rolph carved from roughly 1910 until the 1930s. Like all of his early decoys, the body is somewhat rectangular in cross section, reflecting the exclusive use of hand tools in the making of his decoys. Shortly after the end of WWI, Rolph acquired a bandsaw for cutting out the rough decoy, resulting in a more rounded body, sometimes with raised wingtips. Lightly used with a pleasing patina, this fat-bodied bird measures 14.5-inches in length with glass eyes and deeply incised shoulder and wing outlines. The original paint depicting the species' fall plumage is strong, well-patinated and original except at the bill which is an excellent professional replacement. Rolph was the son of Francis Rolph, himself a decoy maker, and father-in-law of William Jaggard who joined the family business in the early 1930s. One of James's decoys, unidentified as to maker, can be found in the Guyette/Sotheby catalog of Dr. Jim McCleery's collection (Lot 559, Jan 2000). See my other website, www.woodpigeondecoys.com, dedicated to the identification and documentation of these decoys and their carvers for additional information. SOLD
