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NICE \"ORIG RIGGING\" 1925 Robert \"BOB\" McGaw BLACK DUCK Wood Decoy Havre de Grace
Price: US $219.50
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NICE \"ORIG RIGGING\" 1925 Robert \"BOB\" McGaw BLACK DUCK Wood Decoy Havre de Grace 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; }

RobertF."BOB" McGaw (1879-1958)

EXCELLENT, VINTAGE; c1925RobertF."BOB" McGaw (1879-1958);"BLACK DUCK" Wood Duck Decoy;Havre de Grace, MARYLAND;(Susquehanna Flats; UPPER CHESAPEAKE BAY)

  • CLASSIC McGaw original Rigging "DOG-BONE LEAD BALLAST WEIGHT"-and- "BENT NAIL with RING LINE-TIE"

-Excellent "Glazed" Patina to Original Paint & Old, In-Use Gunning Paint!!

-Very Neat Patina to the Bottom with the Nicely Burnished Original brown Paint, Gold/Tan Primer and Natural Exposed Wood!!

  • WONDERFUL OLD & VINTAGE EARLY LATHE-SHAPED, GUNNING BIRD!!
  • EXCELLENT OLD FINE BRUSH PAINT DETAIL TO THE HEAD!!

-All Original Rigging; Including Staple & Ring Line-Tie &Dog-Bone Lead Ballast Weight!

-AWESOME & FLAW-LESS FORM!! Beautiful Line Contours on Both the Head and Body!!

-GRACEFUL & SOMEWHATDELICATE STYLED DECOY with VERY THIN HEAD, NECK & BODY STYLE!!

-Awesome Vintage Old Hunting Decoy!!OutstandingCondition!!Mix of Original Paint, Original Primer and Very Old, In-Use Gunning Paint!!!

SHIPPING INCLUDES INSURANCE

This94+ year oldBlack Ducksolid cedar wood duck decoywas carved and painted by Robert F. "Bob" McGaw (1879-1958)of Havre de Grace, Maryland. McGaw started making decoys shortly after 1900 and continued to make hand chopped birds until about 1924 when he became the first maker in Havre de Grace to design and have built, a duplicating lathe for turning decoy bodies. This is One of His Earlier Lathe Formed Decoys!! After each body was turned, one at a time, theywere worked extensively with hand tools before they began to take shape. To say that these decoys were machine made is partially true as the lathe was only used to rough thebodies' form.

This classic and typical, fairly earlyMcGaw gunning bird is inexcellent structuralcondition and as you can see by the photos thedecoyhad gunning touch-up to the original old gunning paint,and I am sure it was done in-use while still being gunned overbased on the patina.The original paint most likely was finely scratch-painted by McGaw, the second coat of gunning paint that now adorned this decoy was brush-detailed, although it did follow the exact same paint pattern right down to the tiny speculums that are very high up on the back.

Great seamless transition from the head to the neck withabsolutely Noneck puttyand the original 3 nails that were used to hold the head on are perfectly intact and the head is as tight as the day this decoy was made.This is always a plus, as a great many of the decoys from the Susquehanna Flats have some type of neck damage or signs of repair because of the inherent inadequacies of this method of head attachment.

The tail has McGaw's early to middle periodgradual and smoothly contoured upsweep to it. He was well known for his T-Bone anchor weights and this decoy has the original weight perfectly intact, as well as the typical Upper Bay ring and bent nail line tie. This old hunting decoy has great lines andall of theof characterof his wonderfulhunting blocks.This extraordinary decoy saw, I am sure, a decent amount ofhunting action, but was so well made it is in excellent structural condition and although there ismedium to heavyrubbing to the high points and edges, it retains much of the thick and perfectly appliedgunning repaint that was done quite possibly as early as the 1930's, which makes these gunning touch-ups almost as old as the decoy itself. This decoy hasoutstanding oldpatina as well. Like I say earlier, the head and neck on this decoy are beautiful, original and damage-free, but that is what makes this a great decoy to own, as thisconstruction techniquewas prone to having damaged neckswhen you consider the large percentage of Upper Chesapeake decoys that have some sort of neck checkingor signs of repair from picking up these very heavy, solid birds up at the end of the day by the head and neck. Not this decoy, it is damage free and quite beautiful.This decoy is in excellent structural condition and the head, neck, ballast weight and line tie are perfectly intact and the patina is remarkable.Part of the allure of this decoy's patina, is the beautiful and very old tan/gold original primer coat that is burnished to a nice glow. There is two extremely tiny and hard to see pin holes on the head, where someonethought of adding a pair of glass eyes to this decoy when the gunning paint was touched up. This very nice and vintage decoymeasures 15-1/2" long x 5-5/8" wide x 7-1/4" tall and weighs 2-lbs. 6-oz. An excellent decoy from the hands of one of the more renownedcarvers that called Havre de Grace their home.Great addition to your decoy collection from one of the true East Coast Master Carvers.Thanks for looking.

The first 13 photosin the Description Part of this Listing are of this Vintage Robert McGaw Decoy up for sale. The last 10 Photos are Pictures of other Bob McGaw Decoys, as wellas Photos of Mr. McGaw During Different Eras and Points-in-Tine in His Career!!

BelowIs Photos of Some Other Beautiful and Vintage Bob McGaw Black Duck




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