ALL OF THE BEAUTIFUL & ORIGINAL BRUSH MARKS & PAINT SWIRLS & THICK FEATHERED PAINT MAKES THIS A NICE DECOY TO FIND....and QUITE RARE AS IT IS A PAINTED EYE MODEL...THE RAREST OF THE STANDARD GRADES BY PAINT and GRAY BILL!! It\'s Not Often You Come Across VERY NICE, ORIGINAL PAINT & GREAT CONDITION MASON DECOYS; THAT ESPECIALLY GOES FOR 110-YEAR OLD PAINTED-EYE BROADBILLS!!
- PAINTED EYE DECOYS in the STANDARD GRADE WERE THE \"ENTRY LEVEL\" STANDARD MODELS!!
- BEAUTIFUL PAINT DETAIL to the GRAY-BLUE BILL, CRISPLY EXECUTED BREAST EDGE and SPECTAUCLAR SPATULATED BROADBILL BILL!!!!
This Decoy Also Has All of the Great Paint Brush Swirls & Feathering From The Thick & Beautiful Original Paint!!!
Gorgeous Detail Paint to the Stippled Back Feathers Done By a Mason Artist Over a Century Ago!!
OUTSTANDING SPINGE STIPPLING TO THE BACK THAT YOU DON\'T ALWAYS SEE ON STANDARD GRADE PAINTED-EYE MODEL DECOYS!!
-also- THIS DECOY IS ALSO A GREAT DECOY AS ALMOST ALL OF THE ORIGINAL NECK PUTTY IS IN BEAUTIFUL CONDITION AND PERFECTLY INTACT!!
THE EXCELLENT HEN & DRAKE, GLASS-EYE RIG-MATES TO THIS DECOY ARE ALSO ON IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A TRIO OF MASON GUNNING DECOYS THAT HAVE BEEN TOGETHER SINCE THEY WERE MADE A CENTURY AGO!!
PAINTED EYE ARE THE RAREST OF ALL THE STANDARD MODELS BECAUSE OF THEIR THINNER BODY and MORE RELAXED QUALITY STANDARDS COMPARED TO THE TACK-EYE AND GLASS-EYED MODELS!! FOR THAT VERY REASON AND THE FACT THAT TACK-EYED WERE A NOMINAL UPCHARGE CUSTOMERS WERE EASILY TALKED INTO UPGRADING TO TACK EYES ANDF QUITE OFTEN TO GLASS EYED MODELS!!
- WAY FEWER PAINTED EYE MODELS WERE MADE THAT THE 2 OTHER STANDARD GRADE DECOYS!!! IT MAKES THESE LITTLE GEMS RARE AND A GREAT FIND!!!
PAINTED EYE MASONS ARE ALSO THE RAREST BECAUSE FAR FEWER OF THESE MODELS WERE MADE BECAUSE IT WAS EASIER FOR A HUNTER TO JUSTIFY BUYING THE STEP-UP GLASS EYE OR TACK EYE MODELS fro A NOMINAL UPGRADE FEE!!
This Decoy Also has All of the Tremendous and Much Sought After Great Paint Brush Swirls From The Thick, Original Paint!!!
A WONDERFUL AND VERY CLEAN AND CRISPLY EXECUTED PAINTED EYE MASON BROADBILL DECOY, THE RAREST OF THE GROUP!!!
SHIPPING INCLUDES INSURANCE
This 104+ year old decoy was made by the Mason Decoy Factory in Detroit, Michigan and is a Painted Eye, Standard Grade Drake Broadbill or Greater Scaup Duck Decoy. The Painted eye model was their entry grade of the standard grade model of wood decoy, one below the tack eye. The painted eye was the entry model of wood decoy but the was the version that was made in the fewest numbers. The painted eye standard grade decoys, like this decoy up for sale, were the quickest made with the least amount of attention to detail of all of the Mason decoys. They were quickly painted and carved and normally they were made with no frills or detail and simply made to resemble the species. This decoy up for sale, however, is an incredibly nicely painted decoy, which was not always the case with this model. The heads were attached to the bodies with scored dowels and the quality control on standard models where the attachment wasn\'t flush was simply hid with a quick swath of putty to fill and then evened flush. AND AN AWESOME THING ABOUT THIS DECOY AND SOMETHING THAT MAKES IT ONE IN GREAT DEMAND IS THE 100% ORIGINAL NECK PUTTY IS NEAR MINT WITH ONE HARD TO SEE CHIP FROM MANY YEARS AGO & CERTAINLY IN USE!!
Although the standard grade was the largest seller in the Mason product line, the Paint Eye Model was the least demanded and was sold in far fewer numbers than tack or glass-eyed models which makes them significantly rarer. The reasons for far fewer numbers produced was that the painted eye models had much narrower bodies which added to rolling and the lower quality standards and aesthetics made it much easier for a consumer to justify a step-up to a tack-eye or glass-eye purchase for a nominal upgrade fee. All Standard decoys were carved solid and hand-made and hand-painted not long after the turn of the century. Of the several wood decoy factories in Detroit, Mason would outlive them all and have a 30 year existence. This decoy is structurally in outstanding original condition and as you can see this decoy retains the awesome brush marks and paint swirls from the day an artist painted it some 100 years ago; even the \"Awesome Paint Detail\". The paint on this decoy is thick, original and outstanding paint. The Paint is so Nice that it looks like what you would find on a Glass eye model, which was their Top-of-the-Line Model of the standard grade wood decoy, one above the the Tack Eye and two above the Painted Eye Models! This decoy up for sale, however, is a Very Nice, Painted Eye Model and it has a Very Textured and Rich, Burnished Patina!! This decoy is structurally in Excellent 100% Original Condition and as you can see this decoy retains the awesome brush marks, paint brush Marks and Swirls from the day an artist painted it some 110 years ago; even the \"Awesome Paint Detail\". The paint on this decoy is thick, original and artfully textured paint like no other decoy factory other than Mason was able to achieve.
(Above:) PHOTO SHOWS The DIFFERENCE BETWEEN The BODY STYLE of the GLASS-EYED & TACK-EYED MODELS -versus- THE PAINT EYE MODELS!!
(The Glass and Tack-Eyed Models Had a Wider and More Contoured, Bulkier Body Than the Paint Eye Model Shown on the Right, Which is the Exact Same Decoy up for sale!!)
- THIS AWESOME PAINTED EYE BROADBILL DECOY Up For sale Has EXACTLY The SAME FORM, YEAR & STYLE on the BEAUTIFUL DECOY SHOWN ON THE RIGHT SIDE ABOVE!!
(Above:) PHOTO SHOWS The DIFFERENCE BETWEEN The BODY STYLE of the PAINTED-EYE BROADBILL DECOY Up For sale -versus- THE GLASS EYE RIG-MATES THAT ARE ALSO UP FOR sale!!!!
THE PAIR OF GLASS-EYED BROADBILLS are on THE BOTTOM -and- THE PAINTED-EYE BROADBILL DRAKE RIG-MATE THAT IS IN THIS LISTING is ON THE TOP!!
- THIS AWESOME TRIO of BROADBILL DECOYS Up For sale Are SUPERB AND REPRESENT a NEAT MIX of TWO MODELS THAT SOME ORDERED FOR A MAN\'S RIG from MASON OVER 100 YEARS AGO!!
This awesome decoy up for sale is also not just one of Mason\'s standard Bluebill decoys. Mason made Bluebills or Scaup in two different models, the Bluebill Model and the Broadbill Model. The \"Bluebill Model\" was intended to Nicely Depict the \"Lesser Scaup\" species and the \"Broadbill Model\" was intended to Nicely Copy the Appearance of the \"Greater Scaup\" species. This Awesome Decoy up for sale is a \"BROADBILL MODEL\" and it is a real beauty and does an excellent job of capturing the essence of a Greater Scaup. The main feature that differentiates the two models of scaup that they made is that the Broadbill Model has a Wonderful and Very Wide Flared Bill that Superbly Spatulates at the end (see photo below).
(Above:) PHOTO SHOWS THE \"SPECTACULAR\" WIDE BILLS on the \"BROADBILL MODEL\".
- THIS AWESOME BROADBILL DRAKE DECOY Up For sale Has a SUPERB 1-3/8\" WIDE, EXACTLY LIKE The BILLS in the 2 BEAUTIES SHOWN ABOVE!!
(Above:) PHOTO SHOWS THE \"SIGNED & DATED\" WIDE BILL on the DRAKE \"BROADBILL MODEL\" That is Also Up For sale!!
- THIS AWESOME RIG-MATE BROADBILL DRAKE DECOY Has Painted on the Bottom of the Bill: \"W. L. WOOD, JR.\" -and- PHOTO SHOWS THE \"SPECTACULAR\" WIDE BILLS on a PAIR of GLASS-EYED \"BROADBILL MODEL\". WHAT IS VERY AWESOME IS THAT THIS PAINTED EYE MODEL UP FOR sale HAS THE EXACT SAME HEAD AS THOSE USED ON THE TACK-EYE AND GLASS-EYED MODEL!!!!
- THIS AWESOME BROADBILL DECOY\'S Up For sale HAS A BILL THAT IS EXACTLY LIKE The FORM, SIZE & STYLE in the 2 BEAUTIES SHOWN ABOVE!!
(Above:) PHOTO SHOWS THE \"SPECTACULAR\" PAIR of GLASS-EYED \"BROADBILL MODELS\" That I Also Have Up For sale!!
- THIS AWESOME PAIR of BROADBILL DECOYS That I Also Have Up For sale ARE SUPERB RIG-MATES THAT HAVE BEEN TOGETHER WITH THIS PAINTED EYE MODEL SINCE THEY WERE ALL 3 MADE AT THE SAME TIME BASED ON HOW ORDERS WERE PROCESSED & ALL ARE FROM THE SAME RIG TO BOOT!!
This decoy displays wonderfully and based on the awesome condition, I am sure that this decoy was has spent its entire retirement in a few collections and it has always been in collections that were Temperature-Controlled settings with No Direct Sunlight to Fade this Beautiful Decoy\'s Bright and Vibrant 100% Original Paint!! The Very Nice, Original Yellow-Orange Painted Eyes are nicely located and the paint on the \"Warm-Grayish\" bill and white detail paint looks perfect and it is wonderfully original and perfectly intact. Many Mason Decoys typically have had some type of loss to the original neck putty, which is quite normal as a great many of the vintage Mason decoys that you see have had some type of restoration or replacement done to their neck putty. This Broadbill decoy up for sale however, is an awesome example of a decoy with outstanding neck putty retention, as the neck putty is for all pratical purposes entirely intact, and the head is as tightly attached to the body as if it were made yesterday!! This decoy is as solid as the day it was made with no looseness in the neck whatsoever and the deep, bright and vivid original paint is excellent and it hasn\'t darkened one bit from age; this decoy truly has outstanding original, textured and swirling thick brushed paint. Additionally, this decoy is in excellent original condition with beautiful and fully intact original paint as you can see in the pictures, and overall it is very dry and nice old and original paint with a beautiful and naturally burnished semi-sheen or slightly shiny matte finish to it from being handled over the years. The outstanding patina on this decoy really is excellent and although it is very hard to capture it in photos, but you can use the zoom feature in this listing to get a good look at the wonderful \"character\" that the surface that this antique and important old gunning decoy has. This decoy was obviously rigged and possibly gunned over more than a century ago, and it looks awesome and almost near mint for an old gunning bird from over a century ago. The original paint was done extremely well and as you can see by the many photos, the famous Mason Paint Brush Marks, Feather Swirls and wonderful Sponged-Dabbed Back is 100% Completely intact and has all of the thick original paint perfectly intact. But even more awesome is the back paint, which is always a bonus on the standard grade decoys and it looks beautiful!! This decoy is in excellent 100% Original Condition on the entire top and sides of the decoy and the bottom is free of any of the typical checking, but it obviously had its lead ballast removed at some point in time which caused the minor checking near the holes on the bottom, but that is quite typical and it is quite natural as it often occurred when original rigging was removed. If you ask me, the rigging or the absence of rigging on the beautiful old Mason\'s old adds to the Aura of this Important Pieces of Decoy Carving History. It was also quite normal for people to cannibalize the rigging for other decoys from these old decoys as they were retired onto a shelf or into a display case!! This Near Mint Drake Broadbill decoy measures 13-3/4\" long x 4-1/2\" wide x 6\" tall and weighs 1-lb. 8-ozs. These Dimensions are Perfect for a Painted Eye Model and as you can see from the following dimensions and mass, the Glass-Eyes were made slightly wider, longer and taller. The Hen and Drake Glass-Eyed Rig-Mates that are also on both measure 14-1/2\" long x 5 wide x 6-1/2\" tall and also weighs 2-lbs. exactly. That means the Rig-Mate Pair of Glass-Eyed Broadbills that are also on weigh the exact same amount and their dimensions are identical. That Makes for an Outstanding Pair of Decoys That Truly Go Together and have Been Together Since the Day That They Were Made Over a CENTURY AGO!!! That really is incredible and it is also a testament to Mason\'s Incredible Quality Control and Exacting Standards that were outlined for their carvers and artists and they expected these standards to be executed with little or no tolerances. That is Truly Incredible and Awesome. Don\'t Miss Your Chance to Own an Awesome Painted Eye Mason Broadbill Decoy and also the Rig-Mate Pair of Scarce Broadbills also on !!! This is Just an outstanding decoy that will complement any collection of vintage duck and shorebird decoys from a company that represents as big a part of American Decoy History as any other maker or carver. Thanks for looking and if you have any additional questions or would like another photo feel free to email me.
The First Photo is of This Awesome and Quite Hard-to-Find Drake Painted-Eyed Broadbill Decoy Up for sale!! The Next 2 Photos are of this Drake Painted-Eye, along with the Hen & Drake Glass-Eyed Rig-Mates along with this Excellent Painted Eye Model!!! The Next 11 Photos are Again of this Drake painted Eye Model By Itself and the Last 5 Photos are of Other Vintage Mason Bluebills and Broadbills for Your Comparison!!
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