PLYMOUTH, MASS. — On July 25, a trio of shore birds carved by Elmer Crowell, East Harwich, Mass., around 1900, sold to collectors for $1,140,000. The birds were sold individually at $420,000, $396,000 and $324,000; two went to the same buyer. They were part of a sale that grossed just under $3,000,000. The term “Dust Jacket Plovers” derives from another trio pictured on the dust jacket of American Bird Decoys by William Mackey, published in 1965. The three offered at Copley were consigned by Ted and Judy Harmon, who were conducting their own decoy auction the following day. All three decoys had been purchased by the Harmons in 1977 — two from Roger Bacon and one from Sy Rappaport. Auctioneer Stephen B. O’Brien Jr produced a separate 48-page catalog for these birds. Another Crowell carving earned $174,000. The Copley sale included hundreds of other decoys, miniatures and decorative carvings, sporting art, folk art and more.
