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\"MINT\" RARE SPECIAL ORDER 1963 WILDFOWLER FACTORY \"HOLLOW CEDAR\" Wood Duck Decoy
Price: US $260.99
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\"MINT\" RARE SPECIAL ORDER 1963 WILDFOWLER FACTORY \"HOLLOW CEDAR\" Wood Duck Decoy a.imagelink {color:#000000;} a:hover.imagelink {color:#000000;} a:visited.imagelink {color:#00A8A8;} a.imagelink img.saleimage { border: 2px solid #000000; } a:visited.imagelink img.saleimage { border: 2px solid #00A8A8; }

THIS IS ONE OF THE NICEST PAIR of WILDFOWLER DECOYS I HAVE EVER HELD....and  THESE \"EGGSHELL HOLLOW\" CEDAR DECOYS ARE VERY RARE & VERY LIGHT...(Each Weighs a Mere 1-lb. 4-ozs.)

  • UNBELIEVABLE PATINA to the \"AWESOMELY CRAZED\", BENJAMIN-MOORE \"OIL-BASED\" OWNER and NEW HOME was POINT PLEASANT, NEW JERSEY in 1961;

    • (PHOTO BELOW):  MR. CHARLES BIRDSALL (Feb. 1920 -to- Oct. 1986);  THE MAN WHO CARVED THIS AWESOME \"SPECIAL ORDER\" HOLLOW DECOY;  POINT PLEASANT, NEW JERSEY 
    • Charlie Even Had to Make a Special Trip to Trenton Himself to Pick Up The Cedar for these \"SPECIAL ORDER\" LIMITED EDITION, by BILL CRANMER \"BROADBILL DECOYS\" Up For sale!! 

    WILLIAM CRANMER; THE NEW JERSEY CARVING LEGEND THAT DESIGNED THIS AWESOME PAIR OF BLUEBILLS UP FOR sale & MOST LIKELY HAD A HAND IN MAKING THEM WITH CHARLIE!

    • (PHOTO BELOW):  MR. WILLIAM CRANMER (Apr. 1917 -to- Jun. 2008);  BEACH HAVEN, NEW JERSEY (Ocean County, Long Beach RARE!  WILDFOWLER\'S CHARLIE BIRDSALL ONLY MADE -and- PAINTED a Few of These \"SPECIAL ORDER\" , SPECIAL MODEL \"Hollow\" Cedar \"SUPERIOR MODEL\" Duck DECOYS!!    

      MINT, PRISTINE CONDITION!!  c1963 \"Hollow Cedar\" Wildfowler Factory;  DRAKE BROADBILL; by \"Charlie Birdsall (1920-1986)\";  William \"Bill\" Cranmer Model;  Wood Duck Decoy; 

      • Awesome Carving & Painting by Wildfowler Owner \"Charlie Birdsall\" and Most Likely Bill Cranmer who Carved the Pattern Pair & Often Helped Charlie with the Gunning Decoys From Carving and Painting Standpoints!\"  
      • AWESOME ORIGINAL PAINT by CHARLIE BIRDSALL & ANNE MADSEN or \"WILLIAM to the 50+ Year Old Paint!!   -Taxidermist Grade Yellow Glass Eyes!!

        • William Was Taught by His Uncle Joe Tom Cranmer!!
        • Bill CRANMER WAS KNOWN AS:  \"NEW JERSEY\'S WARD\",  A Testament to his Carving Talent & the Comparison to Crisfield Maryland\'s Ward Brothers\".

        This Rare & Important Wildfowler Was Awesomely Carved and Crafted by Owner Charlie Birdsall!!!

        This Decoy Exhibits all of the Classic Form of a Wildfowler, Right Down to the Spindle Cut or Burned Head/Bill Delineation!!

        • RARE:  SPECIAL ORDER \"HOLLOW CEDAR\" SUPERIORS!! 
        • RARE:  SPECIAL ORDER \"BILL CRANMER\" MODEL!!! 
        • RARE:  SPECIAL ORDER 1-INCH x 1-INCH, \"FACTORY KEELS\"!!! 
        • RARE:  INCREDIBLE AND MINT, PERFECT BOTTOM \"WILDFOWLER\" ROUND STAMP OR BRAND!!!!
        • RARE:  ABSOLUTELY MINT, IMMACULATE 100% ORIGINAL PAINT AND 100% ORIGINAL CONDITION!!!!
        • RARE:  ABSOLUTELY PERFECT CARVING TO THE VERY, WIDE AND VERY WIDE SPATULATED BILLS!!!
        •  RARE:  BEAUTIFUL & VERY EARLY SPINDLE CUT or PRECISELY BURNED IN BILL/HEAD SEPARATION!!! 
        • RARE:  INCREDIBLE AGED PATINA TO THE OIL PAINT!!
        • RARE:  THIS DECOY HAS THE MOST DESIRABLE AND \"WELL-CRAFTED\" HOLLOWING METHOD IN THE \"NEW JERSEY DUGOUT STYLE\" AS OPPOSED TO BOTTOM BOARDS!!
        •  RARE:  THESE HOLLOW CRANMER MODELS ARE THE MOST BALANCED, PORTABLE, SYMMETRICALLY CRAFTED AND OUTSTANDINGLY CARVED AND PAINTED WILDFOWLERS MADE!!!
        •  RARE:  THIS INCREDIBLE PAIR OF RIG-MATE DECOYS HAVE A FORM & STYLE THAT IS SO INCREDIBLE AND UNIQUE IT MAKES THEM ONE OF THE MOST SOUGHT AFTER STYLES & MODELS BY DISCERNING COLLECTORS!!

        THE VERY RARE HEN RIG MATE TO THIS DRAKE IS ALSO ON IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A MATED PAIR THAT HAVE BEEN TOGETHER SINCE THEY WERE MADE A HALF-CENTURY AGO!!

        SHIPPING INCLUDES INSURANCE

        This Vintage, 52 year old, Extremely Rare and Wonderfully Carved and Painted \"POINT PLEASANT WILDFOWLER\"  Drake Broadbill or Greater Scaup \"Hollow\" Cedar Duck decoy was carved by Wildfowler\'s Owner Charles Birdsall (1920-1986) and Most Likely by William H. \"Bill\" Cranmer (1917-2008) of Beach Haven, New Jersey.  This Special Edition Bill Cranmer Decoy was Made at Wildfowler\'s Headquarters, which at the time was with its 3rd Owner, Charlie Birdsall in Point Pleasant, which was a mere 50 miles north of Beach Haven and the home of New Jersey\'s legendary carver Bill Cranmer.  Beach Haven is in Ocean County, New Jersey, and on the southern end of Long Beach Island.  Long Beach Island is 18-miles long and 1/2-miles wide and is a Barrier Island with the Atlantic Ocean on its eastern shores and Little Egg Harbor and Manahawkin Bay on its western side.  Long Beach Island is located right in the middle of some of the most historically significant waterfowling grounds in the country.  To get to the resort communities on Long Beach Island, you must cross the Manahawkin Bay Bridge which takes you over the famous gunning waters of Manahawkin Bay.  And Manahawkin is located 4 miles south of Barnegat and the world famous duck hunting grounds of Barnegat Bay, and a mere 8 miles north of Tuckerton and Egg Harbor, the home of the Great Harry V. Shourds.   The earliest form of tourism for this area of New  involved the guiding of hunting parties on South Jersey\'s rich tidal bays, salt marsh ponds, clean streams and fast rivers.  During the Victorian period (1837-1901), market gunners headed in droves to their favorite hunting grounds like Barnegat Bay, Manahawkin Bay, Great Egg Harbor Bay, Corson Inlet and Cape May among many others.  And a great many of these Victorian era gunners eagerly sought out the decoys that were made in the area and in the 1900\'s the decoys and sink-boxes made by Gene Hendrickson and Harry V. Shourds.  In general, the huge pine forests, vast coastal cedar stands, sweeping marshes and unpolluted waters saw the area grow into a major hub for deer hunting, salt water fishing, clamming, shorebird hunting and waterfowl hunting and to the degree that it had few equals.  The advent of the sink box and market hunting helped dictate the design and construction of the \"dugout\" Jersey style decoys in the area because of its limited capacity and weight constraints of the smaller boats.  In addition to the sink boxes, the area had a long history of modestly sized gunning boats and thus the decoys needed to be hollow and very rarely over-sized.

        Wildfowler\'s third home of Point Pleasant, New Jersey, was Located a Mere 50 Miles North of Beach Haven and has an Awesome Waterfowling, Fishing and \"Bayman\" legacy and heritage of its own.  Point Pleasant is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, and it is bounded on the north by the Manasquan River, on the east by Point Pleasant Beach and Bay Head, on the south by Beaver Dam Creek and on the west by Brick Township.  The town is home to the Point Pleasant Canal, completed in 1925, at the northern end of the Intracoastal Waterway. The two lift bridges over the canal, at Route 88 and Bridge Avenue, can be opened as many as 300 times per day during the summer to allow boats to pass underneath as marine traffic has the right of way.  Around 1500, the area that included the future Point Pleasant was the ceremonial meeting place of the Lenape Native Americans, who called it the \"Land of Tall Timber\". In approximately 1665, the first European settlers arrived in the area, who were mainly fishermen, farmers and boat builders.  The town was initially a logging town, although logging was never a significant part of the local economy.

        In 1924, the Manasquan River-Bay Head Canal was completed as part of the inland waterway. The canal, which divides Point Pleasant in half, provides a passage for boats, and is the northern most leg of the Intracoastal Waterway which traverses the East Coast of the United States along the Atlantic Ocean between New Jersey and Florida. In 1964, Senator Case introduced legislation that changed the canal\'s name to the Point Pleasant Canal.

        Though often regarded as a summer resort, the borough\'s website emphasizes that it is a \"year round community of approximately 19,000 residents\".

        ABOUT THE POINT PLEASANT, NEW JERSEY WILDFOWLER FACTORY!!

        • How Wildfowler Found It\'s New Home in 1961 and Its Years There!!
        • ALL ABOUT HOW CHARLIE BIRDSALL CAME to MAKE RARE Decoys LIKE These VERY RARE, EGG-SHELL \"HOLLOW\" CRANMER BLUEBILLS!

        In the late winter of 1961, Charlie Birdsall of Point Pleasant, New Jersey, took a trip to the south shore of Long Island.  Whether he was going to look at antique cars at the Automobile Museum in Southampton or to the racetrack at Bridgehampton is unclear, but he made a stop in Quogue to visit the Wildfowler factory. To his surprise there was a sign on the shop door: \"Closed.  Business for Sale.\" Since he knew the 2nd man to own Wildfowler, Mr. Rab Staniford, Charlie contacted him at his home in nearby Westhampton.  Before the day was over Charlie had called his wife Pat in Pt. Pleasant and the Birdsalls made a commitment to purchase the Wildfowler operation.

        (above photo): Pages from a Point Pleasant Wildfowler Catalog Trumpeting Their Many Contest Winners!! 

        A few weeks later Charlie and some auto racing friends drove to Quogue and began to move the Wildfowler stock, patterns and machines to the Birdsall’s backyard in Pt. Pleasant.  They utilized an existing garage to set up the operation. The garage at the head of the driveway became a paint shop. Space was laid out for a second building. The carving machines, which had made the trip from Long Island in a racecar trailer, were placed first and the new building was built around them. This building became a combination showroom and workshop.

        (above photo): A Couple of the Other Specialty Decoys Made at the Point Pleasant Wildfowler Company!! 

        Charles R. Birdsall was the fourth generation of a Barnegat Bay family that included several carpenters, decoy makers and watermen.  Jesse had been the captain of a coastal schooner,  Nathaniel was a boat builder and Eugene was a blacksmith and gunsmith.  Eugene, Charlie’s grandfather, moved first to Toms River in 1883 and then moved again to Loveland Town (Pt. Pleasant today) in 1890.  Charlie’s father and uncles were all decoy makers in the tradition of Charlie’s great-uncle, Jesse Birdsall.

        After WW II Charlie Birdsall and his brother James went into business as Birdsall Brothers Builders.  In the early 1950s he began to work with a local mason named Johnny Hillman. A friendship developed that was to last for the rest of Charlie’s life. They hunted and made decoys together. For many years Tuesday night was their regular visiting time at one or the other’s home.

        (above photo): Beautiful Point Pleasant Wildfowler Ringed Neck Decoy!!! 

        In 1958 Charlie was injured in a stock car race and while convalescing was diagnosed with a rare form of tuberculosis.  He was hospitalized for nearly a year and after recovering could no longer practice his trade, building houses, although he never gave up his trademark cigars. When he discovered that Wildfowler was for sale in 1961, he was thrilled. During that phone call from Quogue, Pat had encouraged him to buy Wildfowler. Here was an opportunity to own and operate a business from home. Although he had some physical limitations after his illness, Charlie had enormous energy, and making decoys was a business he could easily handle. The house and the \"factory in the back yard\" became a social center for many local carvers and baymen.

        (above photo): Another Rare Pair of Beautiful Wildfowler Gunning Decoys!! 

        The Birdsall family’s daily schedule ran around the decoys.  Pat ran the household, manned the phone in the house and communicated by intercom with the operations in the workshops. Dinner was served at 4 P.M. because by five o’clock friends dropped by to chat or help out.  According to Bernadine Pierce, Charlie’s youngest daughter, the entire family worked in the business, often until late in the evening.

        (above photo): Wow, An Excellent Pair of Point Pleasant Wildfowler Balsa Blue-Winged Teal!!

        During her high school days, Charlie\'s daughter Bernie helped with most everything.  She recalls sanding the assembled birds and sealing the pine ones with shellac for her father to paint. (The balsa birds weren’t primed.)  During the daytime Don Kitchen, a local police officer who worked part-time at Wildfowler, often did these jobs.  Later Bernie learned how to insert the eyes and paint the base colors for the gunning birds before Charlie finished the feathering and details. As time went on she learned to burn feather details into the unpainted decoratives by using a wood-burning pen. Bernie’s feathered birds became a very popular gift shop item. Quite a few of these feathered decoys were made into planters by boring a hollow 3-inch hole in the back that was filled with half of a Styrofoam ball. Many of the burned and stained birds are dated and signed \"Charles R. Birdsall\" and \"Bernadette Regan.\" Regan was her married name after high school and these birds are dated in the early 1970s. Between 400 and 500 stained mallards and pintails were made; most of the planters were pintails.

        (above photo): A Very Neat Pair of Gunning Model Wood Ducks and a Decorative Woodcock Carving Made of Choice Pine!!! 

        Patti, Bernie’s older sister and Charlie\'s elder daughter, was a nurse and helped by accompanying her father to decoy and wildlife shows where she sold decoys to the public.   She married Tommy Gamble and after his tour in Vietnam, he came to work full time for his father-in-law. Tommy did everything but painting. He carved, assembled, sanded, boxed, shipped the finished birds and sold items in the retail shop. Charlie Tilton, another full time employee, did most of the machine carving.  Artie Birdsall, Charlie’s nephew, came to work in the fall of 1972.  He also worked in all phases of the operation.  Charlie himself did the painting of all the gunning birds.  (This Early Pt. Pleasant Decoy Up for sale Carved By Charlie Birdsall with Possible Help from Bill Cranmer as it Is One of Wildfowler\'s Special Editions Following Bill\'s Master Pattern Decoys).  Charlie did all of the planning for the business and could often be found manning the show room.

        (above photos): Various More Point Pleasant Wildfowler Gunning Decoys!! 

        Several people painted the decorative birds.  They worked on a piecework basis and usually worked at home. Charlie used the paint shop primarily to paint the gunning decoys. The painters of the ornamental decoys can be identified by the initials painted under the bills of the birds. \"DC\" was Dottie Clayton, \"AB\" was Anne Bennett, \"LB\" was Lettie Bennett and \"AL\" indicates birds done by both Anne and Lettie, who were sisters.  Some of the finest decorative decoys, marked \"WC,\" were done by Bill Cranmer of Beach Haven, a well-known carver in his own right.  Bill Keim of Neptune, one of Charlie’s former gunning partners, also painted decoratives. Some of Keim’s birds are marked \"WKeim\" and some \"WK.\" Many decorative decoys have a rubber –stamped \"Charles R. Birdsall,\" an ink signature by Charlie, and the painter’s initials under the bill. Many of the later (1970s) models have a \"cats-eye\" speculum.  

        (Charlie Painted most or all of the Gunning Decoys, but the Stamp on the Bottom of AB?, AH? AW? Possibly Indicates Anne Bennett Helped with the Feathering.  But Seeing as Bill Cranmer Painted Many Special Order Decoys, it is Logical to Assume That He Had a Hand in Painting His Own \"Special Order Models\" and hence, this Pair of Beautiful Decoys Up For sale!!)

        (above photos): Various Decoratively Carved Decoys Made at Point Pleasant Factory!! 

        Slowly the Wildfowler paint patterns changed to reflect Charlie’s style.  All of the puddle ducks and geese have a right-angle slash across the leading edge of the primaries. It’s assumed this distinctive mark was used continuously on the gunning birds from 1961 until 1977.  Some decoys stamped \"Old Saybrook\" exhibit this slash, suggesting that Charlie must have completed and/or painted decoys inherited from the Connecticut and Long Island operations. In general, the feathering is much more detailed than the paint on birds from Quogue. One important identifying mark is the absence of lathe carving around the bills of all but the earliest decoys from Point Pleasant.  However, many of the gunning birds do have a wood-burned separation of the bill from the face.  (This decoy up for sale has either a Late Spindle Cut Bill/Head Separation or Early \"Burned\" Delineation.)

        Benjamin Moore oil-based house paint was used exclusively on the gunning birds.  The resulting finish has more depth and a higher sheen than the paint on the Quogue decoys. The pine and cedar birds have already begun to develop a fine patina such as is associated with Old Saybrook decoys.  And This Beautiful Pair of Bluebills Up For sale are Great Examples of Point Pleasant Gunning Decoys with \"INCREDIBLE PATINA\".

        SPECIAL ORDER, FAMOUS CARVER EDITIONS:  Part of Charlie’s vision for the future of the company was to include birds carved by well-known decoy carvers.  He developed a line of historical decoys that included a black duck and a goose copied from Harry V. Shourds.  He did two traditional New Jersey style brant, one by Shourds and the second modeled from a Rowley Horner decoys.  Inserts in the 1962, 1966 and 1971 catalogs list a Barnegat model brant that could be ordered as a snow goose (white brant), white front goose (speckled belly) or blue goose. They were all special order only.

        Several active carvers during the Point Pleasant Years contributed designs that became popular Wildfowler items.  Full-size and ½-size swans were sent by Charlie’s good friend, Madison Mitchell, of Havre de Grace, Maryland.  Lem Ward of Crisfield, Maryland contributed patterns for broadbill, canvasback, pintail and goldeneye decoys. 

        • BILL CRANMER CARVED A PAIR OF BROADBILLS FOR WILDFOWLER\'S COMPANY LINE OF \"SPECIAL EDITIONS\" AVAILABLE ON A SPECIAL ORDER BASIS ONLY!!!
        • -and-  THIS PAIR OF THOSE SPECIAL ORDER CRANMER MODELS that I HAVE HERE up for sale, MAY BE the MOST PRISTINE AND BEAUTIFUL PAIR to EXIST!!  THEY DIDN\'T MAKE MANY OF THESE!!!!!! 

        George Walker made a loon and Lloyd Johnson of Bay Head, New Jersey carved a Mason style curlew. \"The Ward style birds were good gunners and quite a few of them were sold locally,\" says Artie Birdsall. Surprisingly, few of these special birds have come to the decoy market in recent years.

        • As a gunner himself, Charlie had come to appreciate the stability of the flat-bottomed Wildfowler pattern compared to the more stylish, round-bottomed Barnegat Bay birds.  He produced 5000 or more gunning decoys a year largely following the Wildfowler style. The 1960’s catalogs even use the same photos that were originated in Old Saybrook.  Superior model birds were produced in balsa, select pine and \"HOLLOW CEDAR\".   Atlantic Coast freshwater coots were available in pine.  All oversize birds were made of high-density balsa with flat ¾ by 1-inch keels. Occasionally a run of large balsa birds would be hollowed because the wood was so dense. Teals were made of pine with ¾-inch square keels that were later ½-inch square. No production records are known, but surviving decoys suggest that most gunning birds were made in balsa or select pine.
        • THE MOST EXPENSIVE DECOYS MADE WERE THE \"HOLLOW CEDAR\" SPECIAL ORDER DECOYS LIKE THESE SPECIAL EDITION CRANMER BROADBILLS or BLUEBILLS UP FOR sale!!  -additionally-  CHARLIE WENT TO TRENTON HIMSELF TO PICK UP THE CHOICE CEDAR FOR DECOYS EXACTLY LIKE THESE BROADBILLS!!!

        Under Charlie’s ownership the production of ornamental decoys began to outstrip that of the gunning birds and the method of distribution changed significantly.  \"Uncle Charlie had the best of both worlds. He made lots of fine gunning birds and also many decoratives,\" says Artie Birdsall.  In addition to a small but very active retail shop, Birdsall developed several large commercial accounts. In the early days he rented several tables at the Asbury Park boat show each year.  For many years Point Pleasant Hardware carried an excellent selection of Wildfowler decoys, as did Abercrombie and Fitch and Crossroads of Sport in New York City.  He developed a major account with the Lane Chair Company of Spring Lake, New Jersey, manufacturers of Lane cedar chests. Lane marketed many decoratives to smaller retailers through the Gift Distribution Center at 225 5th Avenue in NYC. Lane also showed Wildfowler decoys at major merchandising shows in Texas and the Middle West. The decoys produced for Lane were largely stained birds with a heavy emphasis on small birds, such as teal and bufflehead.  Charlie Birdsall\'s broad marketing efforts resulted in orders from all 50 states and several foreign countries. In addition, he continued to advertise gunning decoys in sporting magazines, such as Outdoor Life, as well as the new decoy magazines, Decoy Collectors Guide, The Toller Trader and Decoy World.

        For the first two years the business struggled a bit.  In the first year he had to chisel the word \"Quogue\" off the tool used to burn the brand before he could afford to get a new electric branding iron. Some early Point Pleasant birds are found without a location evident in the seal. But within two years, with Charlie’s business acumen and energy, plus the family’s total commitment, the business was doing very well.

        With success came many innovative ideas and he increased the number of styles offered for some species. For example, four different brant were made: oversized, undersized, Shourds model and Horner model. Standing black ducks were made for field or marsh use. In addition to standard geese, some turned head and hissing birds were made. The historical models were certainly innovative among decoy factories. The number of decorative models was significantly increased, as ornamentals became a larger share of the market. One rig of 36 Horner style brant was made by Charlie and painted by Johnny Hillman for their personal use. It can be identified by the Roman numerals I to XXXVI hand carved in the bottoms.

        Not all Point Pleasant birds are branded, but the vast majority of the gunning decoys were marked with a round seal containing a canvasback.   THIS PAIR OF BLUEBILLS UP FOR sale HAVE BEAUTIFUL, CLEAN AND CRISP FACTORY WILDFOWLER STAMPS ON THE BOTTOMS!!   An electric branding iron was mounted in a cradle that held the decoys, assuring uniform placement of the brands. As the hot brand was used it began to gum-up, and the brand became less distinct or lopsided. Therefore collectors often find birds with partial brands on Point Pleasant as well as Old Saybrook and Quogue decoys.

        The bottoms of the decorative birds, or their bases, were marked with a rubber stamp.  Most are also signed in ink, \"Charles R. Birdsall.\" After he sold the business in 1977, Charlie would sometimes sign previously unstamped Point Pleasant Wildfowlers. He also had a rubber stamp inscribed \"Charles R. Birdsall\" that he used in addition to a personal signature.  His own personal rigs from the 1962 to 1977 period had both the Wildfowler brand and \"CRB.\" He also drove a small brass escutcheon pin in the eye of the canvasback inside the Wildfowler seal on these birds.

        Charlie was a fascinating and multi-talented man with enormous energy.  A lifelong racing enthusiast, he raced stock cars and during the Wildfowler years owned five Harley-Davidson motorcycles, including a pink model with \"Charlie and Pat\" inscribed on the gas tank.  Racing was often a family affair with everyone going off on Sundays to tracks in New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania.

        Charlie was also an excellent musician.  He was a stand-up bass player and even played with Nelson Riddle’s big band in the 1940s. He was well known in the jazz clubs of New York City.  He and his family band often played locally. Charlie played bass, Bernie played guitar, Patti played vibes and Tommy Gamble was the drummer.  In retirement in southern Florida, Charlie played in a 16-piece jazz band called The Second Time Around.

        Charlie ran the business until his retirement in 1977.  He sold the business to Amel and Karen Massa of Babylon, New York who moved Wildfowler back to Long Island.  After he moved to Florida, and until his death in 1986, he continued to carve.  Each summer he would return to Point Pleasant to visit and sell his own decoys at the Barnegat Bay Decoys showroom owned by Rick Brown and housed in the very buildings Birdsall had used to operate Wildfowler so successfully.  More recently the house and the former factory buildings have returned to the family and Bernie lives in the family home.

        The Point Pleasant era was a very successful one for Wildfowler. The business would continue to prosper in Babylon, as Karen and Amel Massa were to incorporate and expand on the innovations begun by Charlie Birdsall. These Babylon years saw many innovative ideas and how the Massa\'s adapted to a changing decoy market.

        William Cranmer\'s uncle, Joe Tom Cranmer (1864-1944), found the time in 1931 to teach his eager 14 year old nephew William the art of decoy making.   William couldn\'t have picked a better mentor as Joe Tom was known as the very best Bayman from Manahawkin.  His decoys, like these \"Special Order Wildfowler BILL CRANMER Models\" of his nephew Bill\'s up for sale, were known to be of the best quality of the decoys from his area and yet with a clean, pure appearance.  Joe Tom\'s paint jobs were well known for their perfect blending of feather groups and his decoys were widely considered to \"rival\" the world famous decoys carved by Harry Vinuckson Shourds of Tuckerton, New Jersey.   All of his decoys were sanded, have a primer and finish coat and have simple yet effective paint patterns.  Well the apples didn\'t fall too far from the tree as William H. \"Bill\" Cranmer would go on to become one of New Jersey\'s most respected and sought after contemporary carvers in the state\'s history.

        PHOTO OF THE MAN THAT DESIGNED & POSSIBLY HELPED CARVE & PAINT THESE GORGEOUS AND RARE BROADBILL DECOYS UP FOR sale; 

        1991 Photo of William \"Bill\" Cranmer Behind His Shop with a Pair of Mallard Decoys He Carved!!

        BELOW IS A BIOGRAPHY OF BILL CRANMER, THE MAN THAT CARVED THESE SPECIAL ORDER BROADBILL DECOYS FOR WILDFOWLER & THIS PAIR OF SPECIMENS UP FOR sale MAY BE THE MOST MINT EXAMPLES TO EXIST!!

        William H. Cranmer was born on April 9, 1917 to Frank Cranmer (1867-1923) and his wife Maggie Cranmer (1884-1958) in Manahawkin, New Jersey.  William\'s father, Frank, had a variety of jobs earlier in life but there is no record of him being employed after 1915.  Frank Cranmer passed away prematurely at the age of 57 on October 10, 1923 and young William Cranmer was young 5 years of age at the time.  

        William grew up with sisters and the following is the 1920 census for the Cranmer family when William was 2:  

        The 1920 U.S. Census lists the following residents and their basic demographical information at their Ocean County, Stafford Township residence:

        FRANK CRANMER   (BORN:  1867)  HUSBAND   OCCUPATION:  NOT EMPLOYED AGE 53 MAGGIE (Nee Crane)  CRANMER   (BORN:  1884)  WIFE     OCCUPATION:  HOUSE CLEANER AGE 36 MARY CRANMER   (BORN:  1911)  DAUGHTER AGE  9 RUTH S. CRANMER    (BORN:  1914)   DAUGHTER AGE  6 WILLIAM H. CRANMER   (BORN in MANAHAWKIN, NJ:  April 9, 1917)  SON AGE  2 WESTON CRANE (MAGGIE\'S BROTHER)    (BORN:  1878)  WIFE   OCCUPATION: HOUSE CARPENTER AGE 42

        William H. Cranmer, or Bill as he was referred, grew up fatherless, yet he managed to learn the ropes of being an outdoorsman and frequently hunted and fished Barnegat Bay with Maine Point being his favorite gunning spot.  At the age of 25 and on September 3, 1942 Bill Cranmer enlisted in the U. S. Army and would serve as a Warrant Officer until he was honorably discharged from service on February 10, 1946 after the end of World War II.  Upon his return to the states Bill moved to Beach Haven on Long Beach Island and would never relocate again and passed away there on June 17, 2008.  Bill was an adept carpenter and builder by trade and this would be his occupation until his retirement.  Because Bill did not have the funds to buy decoys,  he carved his first rig of birds in 1931 at the age of 14; and since his father had passed away, his uncle Joe Tom would take him under his wings.  Uncle Joe Tom was named so because there was 3 other Joe Cranmer\'s in the area.  Uncle Joe Tom was always accessible to the younger Bill and he certainly was around to help Bill whenever he could.  Uncle Joe Tom was also known to lend Bill his hand gouge to make decoys but eventually Bill had the tool duplicated by a local blacksmith for $1.25.  This first rig of Bill\'s decoys were hollowed out in the typical Barnegat manner, but he would soon grow dissatisfied with the somewhat fragile thin necks, tails and bills that prevailed at the time.  He soon began to \"bulk up\" his carving and around 1945 when he returned from the war he also took notice that the local gunners much preferred the performance of flat-bottomed decoys.  His first rig that deviated from the typical round \"Barnegat\" bodied birds was a personal rig of black ducks.  However, Bill recognized the fact that the round bodied were irreplaceable when it came to righting themselves and this was a necessity for a large rig of divers.  He would later switch back to flat-bottomed decoys his decoratives would not only be flat on the bottom but also would have solid wood bodies.  Bill was a pioneer as far as paints and painting were concerned and he developed his own style and techniques.  Bill also began adorning his decoys with oil-based paints but would later switch to exterior acrylic-based paints.  Bill also credited the book, \"Ducks, Geese and Swans\", by F. H. Kortright as being the tool that he studied and used as inspiration for the various paint schemes on his decoys; he derived from it not only colors but also plumage patterns.  In 1948 Bill entered his first decoy in a carving competition after noticing the ad for the contest in a sporting magazine.  The contest took place in New York City so Bill sent the bird there and the black duck he entered won an honorable mention.  This result inspired the 31 year old and the next year he not only attended the competition, but brought with him six decoys which won him several more ribbons.  He soon began to notice that the people that were buying his decoys were primarily collectors so in the early 1950\'s he branched out and began to carve miniatures.  As Bill Cranmer\'s prowess as a realistic decoy carver and painter grew, he would soon earn the nickname, \"New Jersey\'s Ward\", a reference to Crisfield, Maryland\'s world famous brothers, Lem and Steve Ward. 

        • Bill also befriended the Ward brothers and would become good friends of the legendary brother team.  Bill Cranmer noted that when people visited the Ward brothers at their shop they would always stop what they were doing so they could socialize.  Bill also said that he had only seen Lem paint a decoy once, a hen mallard, and it was only after his insistence.  Whether or not Bill Cranmer learned any of Lem Ward\'s painting techniques is not known, but Cranmer did however value their friendship greatly and said he was inspired by Lem\'s gift of talent as an extraordinary decoy painter.

        Bill Cranmer would eventually go on to carve most every species of North American Duck and goose but often expressed his admiration of the drake pintail and he once said, \"They are the handsomest of all\".  Although Bill is most remembered for his outstanding decoratives, he was well known back in the day as a maker of gunning decoys on a par with anyone in the region, and this Pair of Bluebills up for sale are a Great Testament to Charlie\'s Prowess as a Gunning Bird Carver!!  

        • Bill Cranmer\'s decoys were not only sought out by many local gunners, but his birds were also the decoy of choice for several gun clubs including the Bonnet Island Cub!!

        Bill Cranmer\'s prowess as one of the most talented and capable decoy painters around did not go unnoticed and like this decoy up for sale, in 1962 Wildfowler decoy Company owner Charlie Birdsall commissioned Bill Cranmer to paint a limited number of decorative mallards for him, in addition to the Special Line of Broadbills Like these Great Decoys Up For sale.  This decoy up for sale is one of those \"Bill Cranmer for Wildfowler\" Broadbills!!!  However, what makes these decoy up for sale so rare is that Bill Cranmer was so busy with his own orders that he could only help Birdsall on Special Occasions, and in Addition to that these, Mega-Rare Decoys Are \"Special Orders\" Themselves!!  Finally, as far as Wildfowler is concerned, Charlie Birdsall was also quite enamored with Bill\'s carvings and he eventually convinced Cranmer to make him a bluebill master blank that he could use as as the model-master for a special series of Cranmer versions of Wildfowler bluebills.

        (above) Another Pair of Bill Cranmer Bluebills; These Were Painted by Friend and Fellow New Jersey Carver John Egelli (1913-1979) of Roebling, photo): An Outstanding Bill Cranmer Flying Mallard!!

         (above photo): Outstanding Bill Cranmer Drake Wigeon!!! 

        Another reason that Cranmer could not accommodate doing very many decoys for Birdsall\'s Wildfowler is that his own production limitations already put a strain on his available time for painting.  Cranmer once said that he preferred carving to painting because he carved 2 decoys to completion in the same time it took him to paint one.  At some point in time Bill Cranmer\'s numerous orders convinced him that he could benefit from the use of a duplicating machine.  But after only 4 years of using the lathe he became disgruntled with the product it produced and he stopped using it altogether.  He was convinced that not only did these machine-made decoys not look anywhere near the quality of his hand-made decoys, but he also realized that he was fast enough that he could make as many by hand as he could with the machine.  Although Bill Cranmer was not very good at keeping production records, all of the decoys he produced by lathe or duplicator were made of white pine, as opposed to cedar like some of the Decorative Mallards that he made for Wildfowler.  In January of 1991 he finally parted ways with his albatross and he sold his duplicator to Charlie Birdsall\'s nephew Artie, and I\'m sure he never looked back.

        (above photo): Another Beautiful Pair of Bill Cranmer Bluebills!!  photos): Pictures of Other Bill Cranmer Divers; a Hen Bluebill and a Drake Redhead!!!! 

        William \"Bill\" Cranmer never caught the bug for collecting decoys, but he was fascinated by British shotguns.  He collected them as his means would allow and his favorite shotgun was one made by British gun-maker \"Hussey\" and he compiled the history of the gun all of the way back to the original purchaser and owner in 1897.  Over the years, Bill Cranmer\'s gregarious nature encircled him with many close friendships with both fellow carvers and collectors alike.  This impressive list of friends included the likes of Lloyd Johnson, Johnny Hillman, Bill Mackey, Walt and Bill Oler, the Ward brothers, Hurley Conklin, Rube Corliss, Sommers Headley, Chris Sprague, Dr. George Starr and of course Charlie Birdsall.  Bill Cranmer carved well into his later years although this production was almost primarily for family and his closest friends.  As with all of the greatest carvers, Bill Cranmer allowed his techniques and form to evolve with his experimentation, hence, he was always striving to improve on what was already outstanding.

        (above photo):  Bill Cranmer decorative and Gunning Black Ducks!! 

        Dr. George Starr was so impressed with Cranmer\'s knowledge, skills and generosity that he included the following excerpt in his book, Decoys of the Atlantic Flyway:  \"I very much wanted an example of his (Cranmer\'s) fine decoys but I found that there was none available for sale, and might not be any for a long time.  As I packed away my camera gear, my disappointment really showed.  Suddenly Bill walked over to me quietly, held out a bird and said, \'Here, George, take him up home with you\'.\"  This is how a great many carvers and collectors remembered the great William Cranmer as he passed away on June 17, ABOUT CHARLES BIRDSALL BELOW -and- THIS AWESOME PAIR  OF BROADBILL DECOYS UP FOR sale!!!!!!! 

        As far as the carving of this great decoy up for sale is concerned, it comes from the hands of a member of the legendary decoy making Birdsall family.  And more specifically, it was made by Mr. Charles Birdsall (Feb. 5, 1920 - Oct. 15, 1986), who also happened to be the 3rd owner of one of this countries most prolific decoy factories, Wildfowler.  Charles R. Birdsall was the fourth generation of a Barnegat Bay family that included several carpenters, decoy makers and watermen. Jesse had been the captain of a coastal schooner, Nathaniel was a boat builder and Eugene was a blacksmith and gunsmith.  Eugene, Charlie’s grandfather, moved first to Toms River in 1883 and then moved again to Loveland Town (Pt. Pleasant today) in 1890. Charlie’s father and uncles were all decoy makers in the tradition of Charlie’s great-uncle, Jesse Birdsall.

        PHOTO OF THE MAN THAT CARVED THIS DECOY UP FOR sale;  c1965 Photo of Charlie Birdsall Behind His Table at a Decoy Show!!  (Note His Wildfowler Decoys on the Table)

        (above photo): A PERFECT STAMP & THE EXACT STAMP ON BOTH OF THESE BEAUTIFUL BROADBILL DECOYS UP FOR sale!!

           

        This Vintage Pair of Wildfowler Broadbill decoys are also rare in that they are the result of a coordinated effort between 2 of New Jersey most respected names in decoy making.  This wonderful bird was painted by Charlie Birdsall and Most Likely, \"The Ward of New Jersey\", Bill Cranmer and the carving was done by a member of one of New Jersey\'s foremost families in waterfowling, Charlie Birdsall and most likely with Cranmer as a collaborator.  This William Cranmer Pair of Bluebills up for sale encompasses all of the great characteristics of their finest work and it is in MINT, IMMACULATE condition. 

        The paint is all original and has outstanding patina.  This decoy also exhibits some of Charlie Birdsall\'s most incredible carving and paint work with fantastic feather group blending and tiny feather detailing that in many cases gets down to the individual feather detail like the primaries.  The finest part of this Charlie Birdsall and Possibly Bill Cranmer paint job is the exquisite detailing paint that he did on the wing\'s primary feathers and not withstanding, the tail feathers.  This decoy is in excellent, Mint original condition and is as solid as the day it was made.  Lastly, the paint was applied by Birdsall absolutely perfectly and his heavy brush strokes stand out wonderfully in most areas just like the beautiful brush strokes on a Mason Factory decoy.  

        Not only was this decoy painted perfectly symmetrically, the carving job by Charlie Birdsall is extraordinary in its own right.  The contours on the body are outstanding and the head and tail were proportioned perfectly to the form and size of the body.  The head is carved perfectly also and is turned about 5 degrees to its right.  One feature that makes this decoy scream out Wildfowler is the unmistakable head/bill delineation that was done with a spindle bit. or possibly an early wood burner.  The spindle bit little technique dates way back to 1938 when the very first Wildfowlers were made by Ted Mulliken at the original Old Saybrook factory.  The yellow taxidermist-grade glass eyes were carved in and located perfectly and from a short distance this bird looks exactly like its wild cousin in its vary late fall plumage.  In addition to the finely carved and mounted head, the feather groups on the back were perfectly painted in so that there is a beautiful transition and soft separation between feather groups including the primaries.  This decoy has an awesome mid-height and contented posed head and neck which was quite a typical posture for a Wildfowler decoy from any of the various locations where they were made, but with the beauty and uniqueness that Bill Cranmer\'s carving and patterns lent themselves to these outstanding and quite rare decoys.  The bill is extraordinarily accurately carved and has perfect head/bill separation.  The head is as solidly mounted as the day it was made and it was attached with a drilled and glued internal dowel.  This decoy is as solid as the day it was made and shows perfectly.  This Awesome Drake Broadbill Decoy was life-size carved and measures 14-1/8\" long x 5-5/8\" wide x 7-1/2\" tall and weighs a very hollowed out and feather-weighted 1-lb., 4-oz.  The Hen Rig-Mate to this drake is almost exactly the same and this Hen that is also on measures 14-1/8\" long x 5-5/8\" wide x 7-1/4\" tall and also weighs 1-lb. 4-ozs.; that means this pair of Broadbill\'s weigh the exact same amount and their dimensions are also almost identical as they are only 1/4\" different in their height and all other dimensions are identical.  A real Greater Scaup or Broadbill in the wild is around 18\" long from bill nib to tail, and if you stretched these Point Pleasant, Bill Cranmer Model decoys out, they would come to a little over 18\"; a pretty good life-sized depiction for a Broadbill decoy. That is pretty neat.  These decoys are in MINT condition and it they have beautiful paint with very nicely executed feather detail, including the tiny feather detail on the wings, sides, tail.....Well the entire decoy actually.  This decoy is in Mint condition other than a couple tiny and hard to see paint smudges from Charlie Birdsall as he was painting this Rare and Perfect decoy.  I can only imagine how neat it would be to see a dozen of these great Broadbill decoys riding in tandem over 1 foot waves on Manahawkin Bay with a flock of gun-shy and decoy-shy birds circling a couple times before they dive bomb into the blocks.  This truly important part of New Jersey decoy making history would make a great addition to any collection of historic duck decoys and shorebirds.  If you have any questions or would like any additional photos feel free to email me. Thanks for looking. 

        The first Photo are of this Awesome Drake Bluebill Decoy from the hands of legendary new Jersey Makers William Cranmer and Charles Birdsall.  The Next 10 Photos are of this Drake together with the Beautiful Hen Rig Mate that is also on .  The Last 13 Photos are again of this Awesome Drake Broadbill decoy by Itself for your perusal.

        THE FOLLOWING PHOTOS OF SOME OTHER AWESOME BILL CRANMER




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