November 12 & 13, 2008 Decoy Auction - Easton, Maryland

The sale grossed $1.9 million with 34 lots selling for over $10,000 and 2 lots selling for over $100,000. As was the case in their April and July 2008 auctions, prices were strong. Top lot in the sale was a pintail hen found in Kankakee, Illinois. It sold for $142,500, which was around 4 times its presale estimate. An Elmer Crowell (East Harwich, MA) bluewing teal decoy sold over its high estimate at $109.250, as did a John Dilley (Long Island, NY) dowitcher at $66,125. A Charles Birch (Willis Wharf, VA) swan consigned by the Maryland Historical Society sold at mid estimate at $92,000. The auction was accompanied by a 50 table decoy show with decoy dealers from all over the US.

Frank Schmidt and Gary Guyette assembled over 850 decoys and related items from collections and directly out of houses all over the United States and Canada. Prices for shorebird decoys and decoys from New England and New Jersey continued their rise. The sale featured decoys from the collections of Richard Coale, Ralph Campbell, Knute Bartrug, Miles Hancock Estate and the Maryland Historical Society