Celestial globe on stand by J. Wilson and Sons, $11,275.
Ward Pintail Flies to $74,500 at Guyette & Schmidt Decoy Auction
Continued Strong Market Noted
OGUNQUIT, ME. – Guyette & Schmidt, Inc. conducted their annual summer decoy auction at the Cliff House resort hotel. The event drew a crowd of more than 300. The auction grossed $1.25 million with 22 lots selling for over $10,000.
Top lot in the sale was a very rare “lowhead” style pintail drake by the Ward Brothers, which sold for $74,500. A rare blue wing teal drake by Robert Elliston sold for $33,000 and a pintail drake by Charles Walker sold for $33,000.
Many new faces were noted at the sale and a lot of new phone and absentee bidders easily “took up the slack” created by many regular buyers still recovering financially from the McCleery sale in January, the firm reported. In addition, auction catalog sales continue to rise – up approximately ten percent over last July – with each auction, indicating a strong future decoy market.
Frank Schmidt and Gary Guyette assembled more than 700 decoys and related rdf_Descriptions from collections and directly out of houses all over the United States and Canada. A large consignment of Illinois River decoys brought high prices even though sold in Maine, a growing trend toward a national decoy market instead of a regional market.
Prices were high for many carving regions, particularly Illinois and Maine, and decoys by contemporary carver Mark McNair also brought very good prices.
