FOUR AMERICAN PAINTED BIRD DECOYS, 20THCENTURYFour American painted bird decoys20th centurytallest 11 3/4in (30cm) Provenance:Property from a Private Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles Collection....
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AMERICANA CARVED & PAINTED WOOD DUCKDECOYS, 4 Group of Four Americana Hand-Carved Wood and Painted Duck Decoys, one a bluebill scaup and possibly by Samuel Denny (American, 1873-1953). Largest: 7" H x 17" W...
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YELLOWLEGSWilliam J. Matthews (1855-1930s) Rig
Assawoman Island, VA, c. 1890
9 1/4 in. long
Mackey acquired the Matthews rig from the hunter's estate. The underside of this decoy is marked with the Mackey Collection...
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MACKEY RED KNOTCape May, NJ, c. 1860
10in. long
This bold running decoy displays a hard chine, a chip-carved breast, and an underside with provenance markings. There is a Joe French Collection white label and...
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MACKEY BOYD YELLOWLEGSGeorge H. Boyd(1873-1941)
Seabrook, NH, c. 1910
11 in. long
A classic Boyd yellowlegs with a faint Mackey Collection ink stamp.
Original paint with light wear and an original neck crack.
Provenance:...
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BLUEBILLCarriage House Rig
Lacon, IL,c. 1880
12 1/4 in. long
A very hollow decoy, with raised upper wing delineations, originating from the Carriage House rig. This celebrated rig was found in a carriage house...
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CANVASBACKRobert Elliston (1847-1925)
Bureau,IL, c. 1890
15 3/4 in. long
This exact decoy is illustrated in Mackey's "American Bird Decoys," where the author notes the rarity of this example and that "Robert Elliston's...
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AMERICAN EGRETc. 1900
45 in. tall andbird is 26 in. long
This silhouette was carved from a three-quarter-inch board and could be made to represent and egret, stork, or crane. It has a lively weathered surface...
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MACKEY LONG-TAILED DRAKELong Island,NY, c. 1880
11 1/4 in. long
An early hunting decoy that saw use along the rugged waters of the Atlantic Coast. William Mackey owned this decoy and illustrated a pair of rigmates...
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THE SURACE FEEDING PLOVERObediah Verity(1813-1901)
Seaford, Long Island, NY, c. 1870
9 3/4 in. long
“Verity’s most distinctive form is a feeding shorebird, with its bulbous head bent down and forward, its...
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THE MULLER VERITY PEEP PAIRObediah Verity(1813-1901)
Seaford, Long Island, NY, c. 1880
6 3/4 in. long
This exceptional peep pair showcases identical form in two distinct plumages. The first is in a rarely seen darker-backed...
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MACKEY REDHEADCapt. Benjamin F. Dye(1832-1896)
Perryville, MD, c. 1880
12 3/4 in. long
This early Upper Bay decoy bears the Mackey Collection ink stamp. He illustrated this decoy in his book, noting that "stylized...
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THE WARD FLYING MALLARD PAIRThe WardBrothers
Lemuel T. (1896-1984) and Stephen (1895-1976)
Crisfield, MD, 1936 and 1937
21 in. tall and 19 in. wingspan
The Wards’ ability to capture likeness of species is...
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EXEMPLARY DOWITCHERA. Elmer Crowell(1862-1952)
East Harwich, MA, c. 1910
12 1/2 in. long
A rare and important working Crowell dowitcher decoy displaying glass eyes, richly painted detail, and split-tail carving...
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THE SAFFORD SLEEPING GOOSECharles A.Safford (1877-1957)
Newburyport, MA, c. 1920
24 ½ in. long
“It leaps into the pantheon of the greatest American goose decoys ever made, sculpture and function in perfect...
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THE MACKEY-MULLER SHOURDS LONG-TAILHarryV. Shourds (1861-1920)
Tuckerton, NJ, c. 1890
13 1/2 in. long
This Shourds carving is considered one of the pinnacle gunning decoys out of New Jersey. In addition to its...
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"WHITE MALLARD CLUB" PINCH-BREAST PINTAILTheWard Brothers
Lemuel T. (1896-1984) and Stephen (1895-1976)
Crisfield, MD, c. 1932
18 3/4 in. long
“The Ward Brothers made pintails early on in their craft and they were...
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THE O'BRIEN CHAMBERS WOOD DUCKThomasChambers (1860-1948)
Wallaceburg, Ontario, Canada, c. 1900
15 in. long
“There are few, if any, areas in North America which provide such accessible hunting for such a large...
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BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERDaniel Lake Leeds(1852-1922)
Pleasantville, NJ, c. 1890
9 1/2 in. long
Describing a rigmate and its maker in "Classic Shorebird Decoys: A Portfolio of Paintings," William J. Mackey Jr. writes,...
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O'BRIEN VERITY PEEPObediah Verity (1813-1901)
Seaford,Long Island, NY, c. 1870
8 in. long
An excellent Verity runner with strong provenance and stippling, which includes red-phase plumage. The underside bears the serifed "J.B."...
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RARE GOLDEN PLOVERElisha Burr (1839-1909)
Hingham,MA, c. 1870
8 3/4 in. long
This diminutive Burr decoy is one of only two like it; the other of which resides in a prominent Cape Cod collection. These two gems are distinctive...
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RARE AND EARLY TUCKED-HEAD BLACK DUCKFerdinandBach (1888-1967)
Detroit, MI, c. 1926
19 in. long
This decoy and its rigmate, lot 457, represent half of the known black ducks by Bach. These rare and highly distinct birds...
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RARE AND EARLY SLEEPING BLACK DUCKFerdinandBach (1888-1967)
Detroit, MI, c. 1926
16 in. long
This decoy and its rigmate, lot 458, represent half of the known black ducks by Bach. These rare and highly distinct birds...
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MACKEY GREAT BLUE HERON DECOYMid-Atlantic,c. 1880
36 in. long
This Mackey Collection decoy is a rare authentic root-head heron with a grand body measuring over two feet from the breast to the tail. The head was fashioned...
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EARLY HOLLOW GOLDEN PLOVER WITH RAISEDWING TIPSFolger Family
Nantucket, MA, c. 1840
9 in. long
“To me,” wrote Donal C. O’Brien Jr. “...these are the greatest of all the Nantucket Golden Plovers; very...
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GOLDEN PLOVERMr. Webster
Nantucket,MA, c. 1850
10 in. long
This early plover with a sharp tail cut is among the best of its kind from the iconic Webster rig. It has resided on the island since it was made...
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EARLY HOLLOW FOLGER GOLDEN PLOVERFolgerFamily
Nantucket, MA, c. 1840
11 in. long
“Nantucket decoys are hard to come by and historically they are of great interest. Since they were used for relatively short periods...
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GRAND CURLEWCharles Sumner Bunn (1865-1952)
Shinnecock,NY, c. 1900
17 1/2 in. long
In 1971 Milton Weiler’s “Classic Shorebird Decoys” portfolio was published with text by William J. Mackey Jr. Across from Weiler’s Plate...
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THE HARMON RUNNING COBB CURLEWNathanF. Cobb Jr. (1825-1905)
Cobb Island, VA, c. 1880
15 1/2 in. long
“Every Nathan Cobb decoy had its own natural pose. Even his Hudsonian Curlews…seemed to run, feed, and...
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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...
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RARE WHIMBRELMason Decoy Factory (1896-1924)
Detroit,MI, c. 1910
16 1/2 in. long
A rare Mason Factory shorebird decoy with excellent form. In reference to this special model, which they call a Hudsonian Curlew or whimbrel,...
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BLUE-WINGED TEAL PAIR WITH "DOUBLE BLUES"MasonDecoy Factory (1896-1924)
Detroit, MI, c. 1905
12 1/4 in. long
An early rigmate pair of premier-grade teal. Each has classic early Mason form with snakey heads and long bills....
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CHARLES PERDEW (1874-1963) CROWA carvedcrow in the classic carving of Charles H. Perdew, Illinois (1874-1963). In black paint with glass eyes, long beak and a long tail and mounted with original heavy wire legs...
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TEN AMERICAN CARVED AND PAINTED BIRDS.Fourth quarter 20th century. Nine are duck decoys. Two are "Swan Quarter'' red head by K. Kulin, dated 1982 and brow head by L. Dustier (?), dated 1982. Approx 6.5"h. 13"l....
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DOWITCHER SHOREBIRD. North Carolinalate 19th century wood. Root-head dowitcher shorebird in original paint with original bill. Early crack on right side is filled with wax/pitch. On iron stand. 9''l. Similar...
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GROUP OF ANTIQUES REFERENCE BOOKS. The Pine Furniture of Early New England Russell Hawes Kettell English Domestic Brass 1680-1810 and History of its Origins Rupert Gentle and Rachael Feild Living With Antiques:...
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