Guyette & Schmidt's Latest Proves Demand for Decoys Remains on Solid Ground

One of a pair of woodducks by the Peterson Decoy Factory which fetched $66,000.

EASTON, MD. - On November 7 and 8, Guyette and Schmidt, Inc., conducted its annual fall decoy auction in Easton at the Talbot County Community Center. The event immediately preceded the Easton Waterfowl Festival. The two-day gross came in at $1,225,000, with 13 items bringing over $10,000.

According to the gallery, while some segments of the market are off because of economic and political reasons, prices at the sale were over estimate. A crowd of some 350 people took an hour to get warmed up before it became as aggressive as bidders were at the firm's April and July decoy sales.

Canada goose by Sam Soper, $46,750.

The top lot was a rare pair of woodducks, circa 1880s, by the Peterson Decoy Factory of Detroit, Mich., which fetched $66,000. A Canada goose by Sam Soper of New Jersey brought $46,750.

The hottest items turned out to be in miniature. A group of 19 miniature shorebirds by Elmer Crowell sold for a record $77,000, and a very rare group of 22 miniatures by A.J. King sold for an unheard of $107,700.

A Canada goose by Clark Madera reached $20,900; a pintail drake, by Tom Chambers, realized $27,500; and a Mason Factory special order Willet, found at an antiques auction in Massachusetts for a few hundred dollars, brought $11,500.

A decorative creation by Crowell, a Kingfisher, sold for $26,950, and two fish decoys by Oscar Peterson reached $3,125 and $2,425.

The firm's next auction will be conducted in conjunction with the National Antique Decoy Show, St. Charles, Ill., in April.