Guyette & Deeter – Decoy and Sporting Art Auction
April 24 & 25, 2025 | Lombard, Illinois
410-745-0485 • guyetteanddeeter.com
1210 S Talbot St, Unit A • St. Michaels, MD 21663

LOMBARD, ILL. — A very young Ted Harmon, Massachusetts native and lifelong resident, began collecting old waterfowl decoys after finding a derelict old Mason Factory decoy on a hunting trip to the Great Marshes of Barnstable, Mass. That chance discovery sparked a passion for carved wooden decoys that Ted and his wife Judy would build a life around.

By 1970 Ted had already begun traversing his native Bay State, buying, selling and trading decoys. His collecting bug would take him to decoy shows and auctions around the United States where he got to know and deal with collectors from other states. Judy Harmon recounts that she knew Ted had the bug when, with two babies in diapers, she asked Ted to go to Sears and buy a clothes dryer with a new credit card they had received. When Ted returned home, he did not have a dryer but instead had bought two large boxes of decoys for resale at the local Richard Bourne auction. He did eventually sell those decoys for profit and bought Judy the clothes dryer. In 1986, the Harmons got their start in the decoy auction business, eventually forming Decoys Unlimited, conducting auctions until just a few years ago. Their summer sales on Cape Cod attracted collectors from all over the United States.

Over the years, the Harmons’ personal collection steadily grew into the most comprehensive grouping of decoys from Massachusetts that has ever been assembled. From Newburyport and the North Shore, through Cape Cod and the islands, down to Westport and the South Shore, examples by many of the most sought-after carvers are represented in the Harmon collection. The histories of the decoys and the men who carved them, the rigs they were made for, or hunting stands they were used at, were always as important to Ted as the condition.

Though some decoys and shorebirds from the Harmon collection were periodically included in museum exhibits, various collector club displays and decoy reference books over the years, the collection as a whole was never displayed together. The Harmons lived in the same Cape-style home for 52 years and never had adequate space to display such a large collection. Many stories abound about Ted’s safe deposit boxes and bank vaults that housed many of the Harmons’ best birds. Those stories are true. When the Harmon family began talks with Guyette and Deeter about offering the collection at auction, a public exhibition of the entire collection along with a printed exhibition catalog was a must. Mike Tarquini, president of the Havre de Grace Decoy Museum in Havre de Grace, Md., agreed and the entire collection was on display there for the first time, until January of this year.

The corresponding 145-page exhibition catalog, produced by Bill Lapointe and Mike Stevenson of Guyette and Deeter, is the most comprehensive history of water fowling in Massachusetts. It includes biographical details of dozens of carvers, plus essays on the regional characteristics, most of which is not elsewhere available. It contains more than 100 color and vintage photographs of the birds and their makers, as well as maps. It can be purchased for $20 from either Guyette and Deeter or the Havre de Grace Decoy Museum (410-939-3739).

Session one of the Harmon collection will be offered at Guyette and Deeter’s April 24 and 25 auction, conducted in conjunction with the National Decoy Collectors Association Show, at the Westin Lombard.

Highlights of that sale include a selection of rare decoys and shorebirds by Elmer Crowell of East Harwich, as well as shorebirds by Melvin Gardner Lawrence, Elisha Burr and Lothrop Holmes. Decoys by other Massachusetts carvers including Keyes Chadwick, Charles Hart, Joseph Lincoln and James Look are also included in the first offering of the Harmon Collection.

The April 24-25 auction catalog started mailing on March 20. To receive a copy of the auction catalog, 410-745-0485, or register to bid online at www.guyetteanddeeter.com.

Celebrating 40 years in partnership with North American Vintage Decoy & Sporting Collectibles Show!
Preening black duck by Elmer Crowell. $100,000 – 150,000
Outstanding wood duck by Elmer Crowell. Made for Dr. John Cunningham. $175,000 – 225,000
Pair of red-breasted mergansers by Elmer Crowell. $40,000 – 60,000
Early carved wing sandpiper by Elmer Crowell. $40,000 – 60,000
Pair of redheads by Elmer Crowell. $80,000 – 120,000
Tiny sleeping peep by Melvin Gardner Lawrence. $30,000 – 40,000
Long-tailed duck by Lothrop Holmes. $60,000 – 90,000
Eider with mussel by Gus Wilson. $40,000 – 60,000
Running yellowlegs from the Dr. John C. Phillips rig. $25,000 – 35,000
Merganser hen by Capt. Samuel Augustus Fabens. $40,000 – 60,000
The only known preening swan by Charles Birch. $30,000 – 50,000
Important long-billed dowitcher from the Dr. John C. Phillips rig. $60,000 – 90,000
Part of an outstanding selection of decoratives by Elmer Crowell.
The only known pair of challenge grade wood ducks by William J. Mason, circa 1885. $60,000 – 90,000
Excellent Canada goose by George Warin. $40,000 – 60,000
Oil on canvas by Richard Benno Adam, 42” x 30”
Oil on canvas by Oliver Kemp, 29.5” x 23.5”
Oil on canvas by Osborne Mayer, 26.5” x 20.5” Pictured on cover of November 1913 Field and Stream Magazine
Vintage 23.5” tall whirligig
Cow weathervane attributed to Cushing and Company Boston
Carved wooden eagle by John Haley Bellamy
Cigar store Indian trade signs from the Mark Goldman collection.
Vintage 7.25’ tall barberpole
30” long Adirondack guide boat model
Part of an excellent selection of carvings by Frank Finney
Horse and jockey weathervane circa 1900
42.5” wooden swordfish weathervane carved by Robert Culver (1873-1958) Stratford, Connecticut
Rainbow trout birdhouse by John Tax
Part of an excellent selection of fresh to the market fish decoys
410-745-0485 • guyetteanddeeter.com
1210 S Talbot St, Unit A • St. Michaels, MD 21663
Jon Deeter • 440-610-1768 | jdeeter@guyetteanddeeter.com
Zac Cote • 207-321-8091 | zcote@guyetteanddeeter.com