REDHEAD DRAKEThomas Schroeder (1886-1976)
Detroit,MI, 1958
13 in. long
According to author Bernard Crandell, Schroeder was motivated to make his finest works in the hope of competing against the top competitive carver of...
[more like this]
EARLY PREENING SCOTERAlbert Davids Laing(1811-1886)
New York, NY, and Stratford, CT, c. 1850
14 in. long
A hollow, turned-head decoy by the father of the Stratford School. Laing, originally from New York City,...
[more like this]
MACKEY-WHEELER BLACK DUCKCharles E."Shang" Wheeler (1872-1949)
Stratford, CT, c. 1940
17 1/4 in. long
This Connecticut classic features a refined hollow pine body, turned head, and Shang’s signature scratch...
[more like this]
BLUEBILL PAIRHarry L. Cook (1909-1993)
Vallejo,CA, c. 1930
11 3/4 in. long
A well-documented turned-head pair by Harry Cook. A lifelong resident of Vallejo, California, he worked for his father's painting business starting...
[more like this]
GREEN-WINGED TEALRay Baliel (1910-1979)
RioVista, CA, c. 1935
11 1/2 in. long
"The dramatic swept-back heads and very life-like appearances have few equals in California," writes California decoy historian Michael...
[more like this]
EARLY CANVASBACK"Fresh Air Dick" Janson(1872-1951)
Sonoma, CA, c. 1910
15 in. long
An early carving by the Pacific Coast's premier carver showing Janson's thin raised wing-tip carving and no aft-keel.
In...
[more like this]
PINTAIL"Fresh Air Dick" Janson (1872-1951)
Sonoma,CA, c. 1915
18 in. long
A classic early Janson decoy with raised wing tips and a flat bottom. This decoy may have been used in Janson's early market-gunning rig prior to...
[more like this]
PINTAIL PAIR"Fresh Air Dick" Janson(1872-1951)
Sonoma, CA, c. 1930
17 in. long
Recognized as one of California’s greatest decoy carvers, Janson was also a commercial fisherman, a ship carpenter, and a professional...
[more like this]
COOTLuigi Andreuccetti (1898-1978)
Vorden,CA, c. 1940
9 1/2 in. long
A well-documented coot decoy with a large body and slightly turned head. It appears to have the maker's signature affixed to the underside along...
[more like this]
PINTAIL PAIRLuigi Andreuccetti (1898-1978)
Vorden,CA, 1948
17 1/2 in. long
In the "The Great Book of Waterfowl Decoys," the West Coast contributor Gerald Rosenthal introduces Andreuccetti as "the Sacramento stylist." In...
[more like this]
CANVASBACK PAIRLeo Tocchini (1904-1989)
Oakland,CA, c. 1945
17 in. long
A magnum pair of balsa canvasbacks. The hen bears the maker's "LT" signature brand, while the drake has a "V" or "L" brand on the underside.
Drake...
[more like this]
PINTAIL PAIRLeo Tocchini (1904-1989)
Oakland,CA, c. 1950
17 in. long
Leo lived in Oakland, but enjoyed hunting on Suisun Marsh at the Rich Island Duck Club. An accomplished carver, Leo sold his decoys to fellow club...
[more like this]
FEEDING PINTAIL PAIRHarold "Pappy" Kidwell(1895-1982)
Berkeley, CA, c. 1980
20 in. long
This well-documented pair of rare feeding pintails in two poses were made by one of California's more colorful characters, who...
[more like this]
PACIFIC BLACK BRANTVancouver Islands,BC, Canada, c. 1920
19 1/2 in. long
Interestingly, the global population of Pacific black brant can be found feeding on eel grass, their favorite food, at the Izembek National...
[more like this]
TWO BLACK BRANTPacific Northwest, c.1930
16 1/2 in. long
Two black brant, one is from Humboldt Bay and has a look-down head on a high neck. The other may be the work of Jim Jensen from Astoria, Oregon.
Both...
[more like this]
HIGH-HEAD BLACK BRANTVancouver Islands,BC, Canada, c. 1930
17 in. long
A Pacific brant with a high head that can be pointed in any direction and removed. The head and breast are stamped with a "3." The bottom...
[more like this]
CANVASBACK DRAKEJim Titus Sr. (1879-1956)
Burnside,OR, c. 1930
16 in. long
The son of pioneering homesteaders, Jim trapped on the lower Columbia River and was an avid duck hunter. In addition to decoys, Titus also made duck...
[more like this]
GREEN-WINGED TEALWilliam "Bill" Pinches(1944-2017)
Humboldt, CA, c. 1980
12 in. long
A lifelong outdoorsman and hunter, Pinches made scull boats as well as decoys. His carvings have earned the maker many ribbons...
[more like this]
PINTAIL HEN"Artie" Azevedo (1921-2005)
RioVista, CA, c. 1950
14 3/4 in. long
A classic collaborative Azevedo-Snyder balsa pintail hen with pronounced and animated features finished with Ed Snyder's (1928-2011) excellent...
[more like this]
EARLY PINTAIL DRAKECharles Bergman (1856-1946)
Astoria,OR, c. 1925
21 in. long
Charles Bergman is perhaps the best known decoy carver in the Astoria area. A Finn by birth, he immigrated to the United States by jumping ship in...
[more like this]
EARLY HOLLOW COOTFred Cutting (1858-1936)
Sacramento,CA, c. 1880
9 in. long
This plump little decoy has a hollow body, a thin neck, and a chip-carved head. A competitive shotgun shooter, Fred also used his Winchester for market...
[more like this]
MALLARD PAIRHorace "Hi" Crandall (1892-1969)
Westwood,CA, c. 1935
16 1/2 in. long
A slightly turned-head rigmate pair. The hen has a slightly uplifted head.
Original paint with light gunning wear.
Provenance: Les Vache Collection,...
[more like this]
RARE GREEN-WINGED TEALJohn Vitalie (1912-1986)
Collinsville,CA, c. 1945
12 1/2 in. long
Vitalie was a market hunter and commercial salmon fisherman, as well as a decoy carver. He grew up on the edge of Suisun Marsh, though he died...
[more like this]
SWIMMING BRANTPaul F. Keeney (1897-1965)
Oakland,CA, c. 1935
20 1/2 in. long
Keeney hunted brant in Humboldt County and possibly Tomales Bay. This swimmer was made with seven-piece body construction and is outfitted with...
[more like this]
FEEDING BRANTWesley Batterson (b. 1909)
Batterson,OR, c. 1950
22 in. long
According to "Wildfowl Decoys of the Pacific Coast," Wes "...is the most important, and certainly the most famous, brant hunter in the state of Oregon."...
[more like this]
THE CRANDALL SLEEPY-EYED MALLARDHorace"Hi" Crandall (1892-1969)
Westwood, CA, c. 1935
15 in. long
One of California's best decoy carvers, Crandall is also considered by some to be its best painter. Born in Rhode...
[more like this]
CANADA GOOSEEd Vidmar (1922-1991)
Pittsburg,CA, c. 1951
25 in. long
Early collectible Canada geese by named makers from California are difficult to source. This classic Vidmar goose displays fine paint and a grand...
[more like this]
MALLARD DRAKEArt Jensen
Hayward, CA,c. 1952
14 in. long
A distinctly Jensen mallard with a turned head, raised wings, and a pleasing carved wing and feather design in its balsa body. This drake is illustrated...
[more like this]
CINNAMON TEALArt Jensen
Hayward, CA,c. 1950
12 in. long
A refined teal with a turned head, raised wings, and a pleasing carved wing and feather design. Jensen was a painter as well as a hunter and a decoy carver....
[more like this]
LOS BANOS PINTAIL DRAKELos Banos, CA,c. 1925
17 1/2 in. long
This decoy hails from an elite group by a highly celebrated, yet unknown maker. They have been referred to as the "Los Banos Unknowns" nodding to...
[more like this]
FLYING BRANTGeorge William McLellan(1897-1987)
Eureka, CA, c. 1941
24 in. long, 41 in. wingspan
One of only nine flying decoys originally created for this legendary rig. Few would argue that Bill McLellan’s...
[more like this]
A FLINTLOCK PISTOL BY WHEELER AND SONOF LONDON with an attractive engraved decoration to the action of the pistol, the plate maker marked Wheeler and Son of London, the gun can be dry fired and is tight at full...
[more like this]
WHEELER & SON, LONDON FLINTLOCK PISTOLWheeler& Son, London flintlock pistol , approximately .45 caliber, with engraved box lock inscribed Wheeler & Son and London , underside of barrel with proof marks, spring bayonet,...
[more like this]
* Colt Aircrewman AF-1 Presented toGeneral Hoyt S. Vandenberg .38 spl. cal. 2" barrel S/N 4903LW. On the bottom of butt marked AF.-No.1; marked on the backstrap Property of The U.S. Air Force; on the inside...
[more like this]
Wheeler and Son Indian Trade Rifle .660bore diameter 37" round barrel with British proofs at breech. Lockplate marked Wheeler and Son with a standing fox in circle.? Brass buttplate and side plate. Walnut stock....
[more like this]
MARKLIN PADDLE WHEELER ''CHICAGO'' Germanyc. 1900-1902 #1080/2 the ship that graces the dust cover of the book ''Allure of Toy Ships '' now becomes an offering for collectors overall detail especially to upper deck...
[more like this]
