Rare Joseph Lincoln Canada Goose Decoy Sells For $78,200 At Decoys Unlimited Sale

BOURNE, MASS.

:Select shorebirds and decoys by mainstream established carvers continued to follow the trend set over the past few years as they dominated yet another auction, this one presented by Ted and Judy Harmon of Decoys Unlimited.

The two-day auction was filled to the brim with ordinary decoys, shorebirds and decorative carvings that all brought ordinary prices. Sprinkled in amongst the 800 lots offered were some real gems that caught the eye of both the seasoned collector and well-advised newbies.

Day one of the sale offered up a good selection of 300-plus middle-line decoys, yet the top lot of the auction came midway through the session as a rare early Nineteenth Century Joseph Lincoln Canada goose in a rich thick, near mint original paint was offered. "It surprised a lot of people," stated auctioneer Ted Harmon after the sale, "but it didn't surprise me one bit. There has not really been a Lincoln goose this good on the market for the past six to ten years."

The rare decoy had come from a North Shore rig and had been discovered some 25 years ago by a dealer who sold three of them to the consignor. "It is about as crisp and clean as they come," said Harmon. Estimated at $35/45,000, the rare goose decoy was chased by several in the room with it eventually hammering down at more than twice the low estimate at $78,200.

Two Elmer Crowell decorative carvings from the same session also stirred the crowd as they were hotly competed for. A life-size split-tail walking yellowlegs, circa 1915, mounted on a carved "rock" base did well. The rare decorative had been made for a family who knew Crowell personally as he took care of their decoys at the family hunting camp and also hunted there himself.

"It is obvious he [Crowell] took great care in the execution of this piece," stated Harmon in the auction catalog. The piece had been in the same family since originally acquired by Crowell, although there had been restoration to the bill. Bidding on the lot was quick paced with it selling for $28,750.

A rare life-size preening sanderling in a wing-up pose executed by Crowell in the early 1900s was mounted on a life-size carved quohog shell. Harmon called this brid "a delicate and marvelous jewel by America's decorative carving pioneer." Estimated at $15/25,000, the lot sold after active bidding for $31,625.

Mondays session was buoyed by the good results on Sunday and spirits were high. Dealers who set up in the auction's parking lot selling their own selection of decoys and carvings were upbeat and looking forward to another good session.

The second session got off to a brisk start with a dozen Mason bluebill decoys that were sold along with their original shipping crate. The decoys were in near mint unused condition with a few having ink stains that had transferred over the years from the newspaper in which they were originally wrapped. While crates for Mason decoys have been seen previously, there has never been one offered with the original unused decoys intact. It had, however, apparently been sold at the Swift family estate auction in the late 1950s, well before there was a collectible factor involved.

Substantial interest was paid to the lot and it opened for bidding at $24,000 with strong absentee bids. A phone bidder battled with several in the room with the lot hammering down at $37,950.

A host of Joseph Lincoln miniatures were offered next with a Canada goose once again claiming top honors for an individual bird at $8,050. A rare pair of hooded merganser minis sold at $12,650, a pair of buffleheads brought $9,200, as did a pair of miniature bluebills.

Crowell continued to dominate the sale with both his workingbirds and decoratives as witnessed by a rare and early canvasback drake working decoy in original paint that was marked with the oval brand. The piece opened at $10,000 with several in the room hitting the lot on its way to a selling price above estimates at $31,050.

The canvasback was followed with a working swimming merganser that was termed one of Crowell's "most imaginative designs." The rare bird had recently been found in a home on the Cape and had some chew marks on the bill restored. Also marked with the early oval brand, the decoy sold at $19,550 going to a telephone bidder.

A mallard hen working decoy with "outstanding soft brushed feather paint" also attracted a great deal of interest. The decoy had been discovered in the attic of a New Hampshire home in the 1980s and had a provenance of the collection of George Thompson. Minor restoration to a neck crack kept bidding in check with the lot selling to a buyer in the room for $20,125.

Prices on Crowell miniatures have once again risen to a new level with the expert in the field, Russ Goldberger, commenting that he sold a pair of buffleheads in the parking lot for $3,850 on Sunday morning; Sunday afternoon it cost him $3,850 plus premium to replace them for his inventory.

Leading the miniatures during Monday's session was a rare flying Canada goose that measured more than nine inches in length and had an extended wing dropping seven inches. Bidding on the lot was frenzied with it selling at more than three times the high estimate at $17,250.

The highlight of the Monday session came a couple hours into the sale as a group of shorebirds were offered. The star of the group was an extremely rare longbilled dowitcher in excellent original paint. The unusual feature of the bid was that the head had been mortised into the body with a dovetailed joint so that it could be removed for storage and during travel.

"While a lot of people would like to believe that this is a Massachusetts shorebird; I feel based on other similar decoys from the Susquehanna River Valley that it needs a Pennsylvania attribution," stated Harmon, "perhaps even a John Blair decoy that had the heads inlet by a local cabinetmaker." This decoy had been found in a camp in South Harpswell, Maine, many years ago and is extremely similar in construction to a goose owned by Adele Earnest that was pictured in her book The Art of the Decoy. Two examples of dowitchers made by the same maker are also illustrated.

Conservatively estimated at $15/25,000, the shorebird opened for bidding at the high estimate and took off. A bidder seated in the rear of the auction hall hit the lot at $30,000, and a phone jumped in at $32,500. Bids progressed methodically with several in the room taking a turn at executing what they hoped would be the winning bid until the lot stalled at $45,000; a phone bidder eventually hit the lot at $47,500, then the original bidder jumped back in from the rear of the gallery at $50,000. His bid was quickly countered at $52,500 where it hammered down resulting in a final price after premium of $60,375.

A sweet little golden plover by Fred Nichols was up next with it selling between estimates at $19,550. A rare Massachusetts curlew sandpiper, the only known example of this species, was hampered by an overpaint that had been removed though it still realized $20,125, while a Chincoteague plump sandpiper by David "Umbrella" Watson brought $17,250.

Two Massachusetts shorebirds would finish out the hot and heavy action with a Crowell lesser yellowlegs in outstanding original paint selling at $42,550, while a Lathrop Holmes yellowlegs hammered at $19,550.

Two other lots of interest included a Joseph Lincoln folky canvas over frame old squaw decoy that sold below estimates at $10,350, and the bargain of the auction, according to Harmon, was a pair of hooded mergansers carved by Arthur Tuell of Westport, Mass., circa 1890, that sold for $28,750.

Prices include the 15 percent buyer's premium. Decoy's Unlimited is looking forward to a fall auction that will feature a good collection of decoys combined with a strong selection of Americana.

For further information contact Ted and Judy Harmon at POB 206, West Barnstable MA 02668, or call 508-362-2766.