January 18, 2003 - The Collection of Russell B. Aitken
New York, NY - Guyette & Schmidt, Inc. teamed up with Christie's, New York to sell the Waterfowl Decoy Collection of Russell B. Aitken. A preening pintail drake circa 1915 by Elmer Crowell established a new record price of $801,500 at the January 18, 2003 sale. The auction gross was in excess of $2.8 million, and featured just less than 400 lots of decoys consisting of other early working decoys and later decorative carvings
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Pintail by Elmer Crowell WORLD AUCTION RECORD
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Pair of mergansers by Lothrop Holmes
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Widgeon drake by Mark McNair
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Hooded merganser drake by Ken Harris
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"Shang" Wheeler preening black duck
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Decorative shorebirds by "Shang" Wheeler
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"Shang" Wheeler ruddy duck
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Snow goose by "Shang" Wheeler
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Joel Barber mallard hen World Auction Record
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Preening yellowlegs by Elmer Crowell
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Yellowlegs by Lothrop Holmes
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Feeding knot by Obediah Verity
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Mallard by Charles Allen
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Black bellied plover by John Dilley
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Willet by Elmer Crowell
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Yellowlegs by George Boyd
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Pair of hooded mergansers by Bob White
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Wood duck by Bob White
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Ward Brothers black duck
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Augustus Wilson merganser
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Lothrop Holmes plover
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Tulley salmon
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William Bowman plover
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Thomas Gelston curlew
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Ruddy turnstone by Elmer Crowell
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Gadwall hen by John Blair