Guyette & Deeter Summer Decoy Auction Hits $4 Million
Spirited bidding pushes Guyette & Deeter’s Summer auction to the $4,000,000 mark.
This was our second auction conducted exclusively by phone, absentee and online bidding, our buyers’ enthusiasm was certainly not diminished in the least!
Collectors continue to feel comfortable bidding even if they have not viewed the items in person because of our company's guaranteed condition reports. Most auction houses sell items “as is”.
Eight decoys sold for over $100,000, and 56 sold for over $10,000. Seven of the $100,000+ decoys came from the estate of legendary decoy collector, Dr. Lloyd T. Griffith of Mt. Holly, Virginia.
The top lot of the sale was an incredibly well preserved, 140 year old, Canada goose made by Nathan Cobb, Jr. (Cobb’s Island, VA). Which sold for $336,000. The decoy was formerly owned by William Mackey, Jr. Dr. Griffith bought it for $2,600 in the early 1970’s.
Shorebird decoys accounted for the remaining top lots. A Nathan Cobb, Jr. curlew sold for $210,000. William Bowman curlew sold for $168,000, Luther Nottingham curlew for $168,000 (a world record for the maker), and an Obediah Verity feeding plover sold for $156,000.
Guyette & Deeter’s next sale will be held November 20 and 21 in Easton, Maryland. Consignments will be accepted for the sale until September 20.
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Canada goose, Nathan Cobb, Jr.
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Large curlew, William Bowman
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Feeding black bellied plover, Obediah Verity
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Brant, Nathan Cobb, Jr.
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Merganser, George Boyd
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Yellowlegs, William Bowman
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Slot neck black bellied plover from Massachusetts
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Pike trade sign, Oscar Peterson
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Merganser, Franklin Pierce Wright
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Pair of canvasbacks, Charles Barnard
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Pair of black ducks, Lou Rathmell
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Original Mason Factory crate with 12 unused bluebills
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Redhead, Elmer Crowell
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Merganser, Mason Decoy Factory
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Old squaw, David Goodspeed
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Widgeon, Elmer Crowell
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Redhead, Harvey Stevens
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Flying greenwing teal, Elmer Crowell
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Brant, Eli Doughty
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Oil on canvas, Harry Curieux Adamson. 22" x 30"
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Black bellied plover from Cape Cod, MA
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Two old squaw, Captain Clarence Bailey
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Preening pintail hen, Mitchell LaFrance
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Decorative Canada goose, Ward Brothers
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Old squaw, Joseph Lincoln
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Mallard, Charles Walker
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Redhead hen from the Markham rig
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Miniature snipe, Elmer Crowell
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Pintail, Bert Graves
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Bluebill, Harvey Stevens
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1/2 size standing blackduck, Elmer Crowell
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Curlew, Charles Clark
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Curlew, McCarthy family
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Mallard, Ward Brothers
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Hanging game carving, Alexander Pope, Jr.
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Watercolor, Ogden Pleissner. 7" x 9.5"
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Preening bluebill, Albert Laing
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Watercolor, Frank Benson. 7.5" x 10.5"
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Original aquatint engraving, John James Audubon
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Mallard, Dan English
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Curlew, Nathan Cobb, Jr.
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Curlew, Luther Lee Nottingham
World auction record for maker
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Full set of 25 miniatures, Elmer Crowell
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Merganser, Capt. Samuel Augustus Fabens
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Willet, William Bowman
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Eider from Deer Isle, Maine
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Dowitcher, Elmer Crowell
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Redhead, Elkanah Cobb
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Mallard hen, Bert Graves
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Mallard, Charles Walker
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Black duck, Ivar Fernlund
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Yellowlegs, Ira Hudson
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Canvasback hen, Ward Brothers
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Yellowlegs, Ira Hudson
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Oil on canvas, Frank Stick. 34" x 24.5"
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Oldsquaw, Steven Badlam
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Oil on canvas, Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait. 11.5" 15.5"
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Pair of bluebills, Ward Brothers
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Large heron from New Jersey
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Miniature yellowlegs, Elmer Crowell
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Pair of pintails, Elmer Crowell
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Pair of pintails, Ward Brothers
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Preening scoter, Albert Laing
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Hanging game carving, Alexander Pope, Jr.
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Brant, Walter Brady
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Brant, Dave "Umbrella" Watson
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Black bellied plover, Obediah Verity
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Canada goose, George Warin
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Miniature merganser, Elmer Crowell
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Golden plover, Elmer Crowell
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Oversize mallard, Bert Graves
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Canvasback, George Stevens
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Canada goose, Joseph Lincoln
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Sunfish plaque, Oscar Peterson
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Original aquatint engraving, John James Audubon
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Peep, Elmer Crowell
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Two miniature penguins, Elmer Crowell
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Early yellowlegs, William Bowman
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Mallard, Elmer Crowell
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Curlew, Mason Decoy Factoy