Easton, Maryland – Held at the Country School on Saturday, November 11 and Sunday, November 12, the St. Michaels auction company, Guyette and Deeter held their fifth and final major auction of the year. The event totaled $2.35 million in sales with 61 items bringing $10,000 or more.
The top two items of the auction were made by Crisfield, Maryland's favorite sons, Lem and Steve Ward. A rare and outstanding pintail hen at $84,000 and a sleeping mallard drake at $72,000. The mallard was made for the National Sportsman's Decoy Contest in 1948, where it won first prize and put the carving duo on the map.
An excellent selection of decoys from Havre de Grace, Maryland were offered, including an important, high-head model canvasback hen by Charles Nelson Barnard at $33,600 and its mate at $9,600. When early carvers made a rig of decoys for use, the number of drakes created outnumbered the hens by 4 or 5 to 1, making the hens harder to find and more valuable to collectors.
The sale also featured a quality selection of sporting art for collectors. "Duck Shooting: Chesapeake Bay," a large oil on canvas by James Brade Sword (1839-1915) sold for $37,200 and an oil on canvas by Edmund Henry Osthaus (1858-1928) of two English setters sold for $39,000.
The auction caps off a record year for the local company, who added two major Fine Sporting Arms sales to their 2023 schedule. With three auctions in Talbot County, two out-of-state auctions, and online-only sales held every week, the company saw a 50% increase in revenue over 2022.
The future looks bright for 2024 as well, as the company will be offering the important decoy collection of Alan and Elaine Haid in the April and July auctions. Starting their collection in 1967 the Haid's were staples at decoy collectors shows and auctions around the country. Many of the decoys from the Haid collection are extremely rare, with many being the only known examples of their kind.
Guyette & Deeter's next sale is their winter fine sporting arms sale that will be held February 10 at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, Maryland.
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Pinched breast style pintail hen, Ward Brothers
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Mallard drake, John English
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Oil on canvas, Edmund Osthaus, 22" x 26"
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Robin snipe, Albert Cobb
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Indian chieftress trade sign, Samuel Robb
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Full size otter, Frank Finney
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Full size Baltimore oriole, Elmer Crowell
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Canada goose, member of the Doughy family
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Working scoter, Elmer Crowell
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Tadpole spearing decoy, Oscar Peterson
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Special order willet, Mason Decoy Factory
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Pair of bluebills, Ferdinand Bach
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Merganser hen, Elmer Crowell
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Bluewing teal, Pat Godin
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Watercolor, Joel Barber, 18" x 26"
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Cigar store Indian trade sign, William DeMuth & Co.
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Pair of black ducks, Oliver Lawson
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Black duck, Nathan Cobb, Jr.
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Pair of canvasbacks, James Holly
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Back preening greenwing teal, Jim Schmiedlin
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Pair of canvasbacks, Charles Nelson Barnard
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Pair of ringnecks, Jim Schmiedlin
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Green herons, Gary Yoder
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Black bellied plover, George Boyd
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Fat jaw style bluebill hen, Ward Brothers
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Full size cardinal, Elmer Crowell
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Goldeneye, Jett Brunet
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Flying redhead, Ira Hudson
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Curlew from Chincoteague, Virginia
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Curlew by a member of the Verity family
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Bluebills with chicks, Elmer Crowell
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Pair of mallards, Charles Perdew
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Curlew, Luther Nottingham
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Oil on canvas, Charles Waldron, 23.5" x 35.5"
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Black duck, Joseph King
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Bufflehead from the maker of the Schick rig
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Watercolor, Arthur Burdett Frost, 14" x 19"
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Robin snipe in fall plumage, Harry V. Shourds
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Pintail, Ward Brothers
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Coot, Mason Decoy Factory
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Mallard, Mason Decoy Factory
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Canvasback, Ned Burgess
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Bluebill hen, Orel Leboeuf
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Canada goose, Ward Brothers
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Livingstone's turaco, Thomas Horn
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Canada goose, Doug Jester
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Mallard, Jess Heisler
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Mute swan, Oliver Lawson
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One of the most iconic Ward brothers decoys
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Great horned owl plaque, Oscar Peterson, 26.25" x 11.5"
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Oil on canvas, James Brade Sword, 23.5" x 35.5"
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High head canvasback hen, Charles Nelson Barnard
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Cigar store Indian trade sign, Samuel Robb
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Mallard, Nathan Rowley Horner
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Brant, Nathan Cobb, Jr.
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Hollow mallard, James Holly
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Bird tree with hummingbirds, Frank Finney
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Oil on canvas, Lynn Bogue Hunt, 21.25" x 15.5"
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Dowithcer, Elmer Crowell
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Pair of American mergansers, Sam Archer
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Canada goose, Harry V. Shourds
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Pair of canvasbacks, Ward Brothers
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Merganser drake, Frank Kellum
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Pintail hen, Lloyd Sterling
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Dowitcher, William Bowman
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Pileated woodpecker, Larry Bart
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English/Dawson pintail hen, John English
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Canvasback, Lee Dudley
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Sleeping black duck, Lou Rathmell
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Canada goose, Elmer Crowell
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Robin snipe in spring plumage, Harry V. Shourds
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Full size robin, Elmer Crowell
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Pair of pintails, Ward Brothers
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Pair of widgeon by a member of the English family
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Brant, Nathan Cobb, Jr.
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High head canvasback, Charles Nelson Barnard
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Pair of stickup goose decoys, New Brunswick
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Pair of redheads, Jim Schmiedlin
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Mallard hen, Bert Graves
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Pair of greenwing teal, Ward Brothers
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Green tailed towhees, Gary Eigenberger
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Mallard, Ward Brothers
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Rocking head black duck, Gus Wilson
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Pintail, Lloyd Sterling
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Canvasback, Tan Brunet
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Pair of canvasbacks from Heron Lake, Minnesota
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Bluebill hen, Ward Brothers
Bufflehead from the maker of the Schick rig
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Ink & gouache, Arthur Burdett Frost, 12" x 14.5"
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Carved walking stick, Frank Finney
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Canada goose, Ward Brothers
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Watercolor, George Viavant, 20" x 15"
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Pair of standing pintails, William Gibian
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Ruddy duck, Doug Jester
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Mallard, Elmer Crowell
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Pair of pintails, Leo McIntosh