NOTE: The AWESOME FORM and STYLE pf HIS GUNNING BIRDS!! KEEP IN MIND HOW DATED THESE sales ARE!!! THIS DECOY WOULD EASILY SELL FOR DOUBLE TODAY IF IT ALREADY HOW CLOSELY THIS BEAUTIFUL MALLARD Up For sale FOLLOWS the FORM and STYLE of CROWELL\'S BEST GUNNING BLOCKS!!!!(ABOVE): Another sale Recap from More Than 20 Years Ago with the $24,150.00 Selling Price of an Elmer Crowell Mallard Like This Beauty Up For sale!!!! (TODAY THIS WOULD BE A $45,000.00+ sale ITEM!!)
- NOTE: The AWESOME FORM and STYLE pf HIS GUNNING BIRDS!! KEEP IN MIND HOW DATED THESE sales ARE!!! THIS DECOY WOULD EASILY SELL FOR DOUBLE TODAY IF IT ALREADY HASN\'T!!!
RARE, IMPORTANT OLD GUNNING DECOY; c1922 ANTHONY ELMER CROWELL (1862-1952); DRAKE MALLARD GUNNING BLOCK; \"MIDDLE PERIOD\" OVAL BRAND; Wood Duck Decoy; East Harwich, New Jersey
EXCELLENT FORM: Head & Neck Dowel Construction on this \"Well, Set-Back\" Head & Well-Rounded, Full-Bodied \"Middle Period\" Form!! (Awesome Long, Narrow, Right-Turned Head)
- FANTASTIC, ORIGINAL IMPORTED BROWN GLASS TAXIDERMIST-GRADE EYES!!
- Great Old Gunning Decoy with 100% Original Paint on the Bottom and Elmer Crowell Touch-Up to the Top of the Body and Head!!
- INCREDIBLE PATINA to this ENTIRE GUNNING DECOY that is 90+ YEARS OLD and STRUCTURALLY PERFECT!!!
PERFECT, MIDDLE PERIOD \"HOT BRAND\" on BOTTOM; \"A. ELMER CROWELL\" -and- \"EAST HARWICH, MASS.\" -circled around- \"DECOYS\"
IF YOU LIKE OLD GUNNING DECOYS that SAW GUNNING ACTION and REMAINED IN EXCELLENT CONDITION, This is a Great Decoy for You!!
- AWESOME CARVING DETAIL to the BILL INCLUDING HEAD/BILL SEPARATION, MANDIBLES, NAIL and NOSTRILS!!!!
- SUPERB ROUNDED & BOLD BODY STYLE with FLAT BOTTOM, RAISED NECK SEAT & SUPER LONG AND POINTED TAIL!!
- SPLIT SWAMP CEDAR BODY with a PINE HEAD!!
MAYBE NOT A RARE SPECIES -and- BUT AWESOME OLD HUNTING BLOCKS FROM THIS TIME PERIOD SURE ARE!!
This Very Large, Rare and Antique Anthony Elmer Crowell Wood Decoy Measures a Very Formidable 17-1/8\" long x a Sturdy 6-1/2\" wide x 7-3/8\" tall and Weighs a Very Hefty 2-lbs. 14-ozs. (almost 3-lbs.)
SHIPPING INCLUDES Drake Mallard was hand carved and hand painted by by one of the World\'s Most Renowned and Highly Regarded carvers, one Anthony Elmer Crowell (1862-1952) of East Harwich, Massachusetts. East Harwich is a village in the town of Harwich in Barnstable County, on Cape Cod, which is a peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts. It is bordered by the town of Brewster to the north and the town of Chatham to the southeast.
(ABOVE): PAINTING (A Portrait of Elmer Crowell) NAME: \"THE DECOY MAKER\"; ARTIST: by Frederick Wight (1902-1986)
(ABOVE): THE 3 STYLES OF DECOY THAT REPRESENT THE 3 DIFFERENT ERAS OR CLASSES THAT HIS DECOYS FALL INTO!!
Perhaps the best known decoy carver in the world, Anthony Elmer Crowell was born in East Harwich, Massachusetts in 1862. In his youth Elmer Crowell was a cranberry farmer and hunter. He started making a rig of black ducks for his own use when he was 14. He recalled the days when he worked at hunting camps, handling the live decoys. When the live decoys were outlawed he gave up hunting and started making serious decoys out of wood. There is no evidence that Mr. Crowell ever benefited from the help and experience of an older hand, however, by 1898 he excelled at carving decoys, with his favorites being native Cape Cod ducks and shorebirds. Although these early works were not marked or signed, they are choice collector’s items today as the quality of the carving and paint make them undeniably the work of this master THE 2 DECOYS SHOWN ABOVE ARE PRE-1915 AND WERE NOT IDENTIFIED WITH ANY STAMP ON THE BOTTOM!!
The oval brand eventually used by Mr. Crowell dates to around 1915, and is the exact stamp on the bottom of this beautiful Drake Mallard up for sale. The rectangular mark came much later and was also used by Elmer Crowell’s son, Cleon Crowell. Around Cape Cod Elmer Crowell was thought of as a kind man and his shop became an open forum for carvers and hunters alike. Keyes Chadwick and Joseph W. Lincoln, who are both well known Massachusetts carvers, called on him for advice that he generously gave. Mr. Crowell died in 1952, a true legend in his own time, yet his legend lives on today and the prices that his incredible carvings command are as strong as ever. In the 1960′s, when plastic, inexpensive decoys became “all the rage”, carved decoys became folk art collectibles. Books and newsletters followed shortly after and in 1968 the first ever decoy sale was held and history was made when a black duck decoy sold for $900. The carver of this decoy: Anthony Elmer Crowell. This record lasted only a few years, but one thing was made evident, “decoys are collectible”. In 2002, Mr. Crowell’s legend was again on top when Guyette & Schmidt Decoy saleeers sold a Crowell Preening Pintail from the Aiken Collection for a world record price of $801,500.
January 18, 2003: Christie\'s and Guyette & Schmidt
Crowell preening pintail breaks
the record again, brings $801,500
at sale of Aiken collection
By Jackson Parker
Photos courtesy Christie’s and Guyette & Schmidt
\"Déjà vu all over again,\" as Yogi Berra would say about this Crowell preening pintail, which broke the $205,000 record in 1986 when Russ Aitken bought it for $319,000, a record that would last for 11 years, and broke the $684,500 record when it was sold out of the Christie’s sale in cooperation with Guyette & Schmidt of the Aitken collection on January 18,2003 for $801,500.
Elmer Crowell was a master carver of solid, flat-bottomed working decoys and decorative ones as well. Most of his decoys are made with cedar with a pine head, and he even made some traditional, over-sized slat goose decoys. He was considered a better painter then a carver even though he was extraordinary on both fronts. His earliest shorebird decoys were breathtaking. His decoys were so breathtaking that when shorebird shooting was outlawed in 1918 he took his decoys and put legs on them, or put them on a stand for decorative display without altering the actual carving.
(ABOVE): ONE OF CROWELL\'S TYPICALLY OUTSTANDING SHOREBIRDS AND THE \"$247,500.00\" PRICE IT GARNERED!!
Again, exactly like this Mallard up for sale, Elmer Crowell Hot Branded His Decoys After 1915 and it identified his works by branding a large oval on the bottom that read; “A. Elmer Crowell/ Decoys/ East Harwich, Mass.”
Elmer Crowell also made miniatures that were exceptional at the time and now are commanding exceptionally high sale and private sale prices!! He made them in singles and in pairs, usually standing on the distinctive round mound with webbed feet painted on the mound, and in various positions of the live bird. He made miniatures in sets of 25.
(ABOVE): A VERY SMALL SAMPLING, BUT VERY NICE SPECIMENS OF CROWELL\'S WONDERFUL MINIATURES!!
Elmer Crowell routinely worked with his son,Cleon, who quickly adapted his father’s sense of carving and painting. Cleon continued carving after his father’s death in 1952.
A. Elmer Crowell is popularly regarded as one of the premier makers of waterfowl decoys and decorative bird carvings in North America, if not the famous famous world-wide maker. Crowell was a prolific artisan and very successful marketer of his wooden aviary. He was known to present gifts of his birds to prominent and influential people. In return, they placed orders for his best carvings. He also sold through sporting goods stores and to the many, many tourists visiting the Cape. In 2007, two of Crowell\'s elegant life-size waterfowl sculptures brought in excess of one million dollars each in a private transaction. Elmer Crowell\'s mantle birds, by design, were finished with a high level of detail compared to his functional hunting decoys, although the paint that is on this Mallard up for sale is a clear indicator that on occasion he afforded a gunning decoy a paint job consistent with the detail and realistic flair as his decoratives. His ornamentals were deftly imbued with delicate features and visually exquisite plumage patterns, unnecessary for those lures destined for service on the water. Crowell decoratives are consistently high quality and represent his mastery of the art of waterfowl carving. He is recognized for his \"wet on wet\" blended painting technique, which helped create an illusion of realism and softness to each species portrayed. Thousands of miniatures to life-size birds were fashioned in that manner during a career spanning from approximately 1890 to 1943.
(ABOVE): THE BEST OF ALL ERAS!! THIS EARLY PHASE BUFFLEHEAD AND LATE PHASE PLOVER ARE JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG AS ALL OF CROWELL\'S FINEST WORK ARE ROUTINELY HAULING IN SIX-FIGURES!!
Indeed, bird carver A. (Anthony) Elmer Crowell, one of the Cape’s most famous figures, led an interesting life. A life-long Cape Codder, he was born at the family homestead in East Harwich (Route 139) in 1862. From an early age he was interested in nature and wildlife. He was given his first 12-gauge shotgun by his father at age twelve. It was his love of hunting that eventually led to his affinity for bird carving. At age fourteen, his dad bought him a large tract of land on the south shore of Pleasant Lake in East Harwich which had an ideal beach for his bird decoys. In 1900, Crowell was hired by Dr. John C. Phillips to manage his hunting camp at Wenham Lake, north of Boston. This was a formative time in his young career. There he stayed for ten years as a waterfowling guide. It was at this time that he started selling his many decoys and decorative carvings. At this time, his going rate was $24 a dozen or $2 a piece. In 1912, he started carving full-time, working out of a small shop in his home in East Harwich. Unlike other decoy carvers of that time, Crowell signed his pieces. This practice helped to carry his name beyond Cape Cod and build his fame as an outstanding craftsman. He was, and still is, known for having paid meticulous attention to detail both in the carving of bills and feathers, but also in the painting of the feathers of his decoys. He was a prolific bird carver for his entire working life, often putting in six-day weeks. Rheumatism finally forced his retirement in 1943. His son, Cleon, born in 1891, continued the work his father started. Elmer died on Jan. 1, 1952 and he left a legacy that it still treasured by art collectors and museums.
Lastly, as far as construction is concerned, Elmer Crowell used Split Cedar Swamp logs for the solid bodies and pins e for the heads. Over the many years since they were made, a portion of the cedar bodies have split as they seasoned aged, but this is most likely indeed the only criticism that was ever made about Crowell\'s decoys or carvings.
(ABOVE): THIS IS CLEARLY AN sale FROM OVER 25 YEARS NOW, AS THIS DECOY HAS MOST ASSUREDLY SOLD FOR MORE THAN $100,000 SEVERAL TIMES SINCE THEN!!!
This 92+ year old Anthony Elmer Crowell drake Mallard wood duck decoy up for sale is just a Great Old Gunning Bird that saw its fair share of action of being gunned over and has stood up wonderfully. The decoy is in excellent structural condition with light wear to the very thick in-use, paint touch-up by Crowell, although the black bottom is 100% Original paint worn somewhat thin. There is a typical original, long, tight check on the bottom, but if anything it adds character of this awesome and rare old gunning decoy and it was there the decoy was made as it has his white lead filler intact in many spots. This decoy is in excellent condition, and although I am sure it was gunned over for several seasons, the dense cedar construction and outstanding craftsmanship make it hard to tell how much gunning action it actually saw and Crowell\'s touch-up. This decoy does have equal rubbing to all of the edges and high points, and it does have several areas where the original white lead paint base coat is exposed, which, like I say, adds to the appeal of an old gunning bird that was used for what it was intended to be used for. It is structurally in perfect condition, but there was a professional repair to the head and to a chipped tail. But the sheer rarity of this very scarce gunning decoy far outweighs the minor rehab it has seen over the gunning years and since.
This vintage old decoy has an outstanding old patina to the paint and it has outstanding detail to the bill including the very deeply cut head/bill delineation, nail, mandibles and nostrils. This decoy is in excellent condition and the 100% Original Oval Brand on the bottom looks awesome, as well does the entire 100% original bottom look superb in its entirety. This rare decoy was never certainly, but the weight and line tie have long since been removed, and most likely the day that it was retired into the fine collections that it came from. The outstanding condition that this decoy remains in and the vividness of Crowell\'s hand-applied paint is a great indicator that this decoy has spent the majority of its lifetime in the temperature controlled, out-of-direct-sunlight conditions of major collections. Crowell\'s touch-up to the paint was awfully long time ago and while still being gunned over, as it has an awesome, very dry and aged patina that blends in perfectly with the original paint on the sides, back and head where original paint exists. I encourage you to use the zoom feature in the picture portion of this listing so you can get a good look at the patina and the very small and scattered tiny dents on the body and the one slightly larger one on the back. Nice addition to your collection of old vintage wood decoys that spent plenty of time doing what they were created to do but with a very early and innovative take on the natural look of a wild bird. This decoy also exhibits outstanding symmetry from not only a carving standpoint, but also from a floating standpoint as well as painting. If you have any questions or would like additional photos feel free to email me. Thanks for looking.
IN THE PHOTO SECTION, THE FIRST 19 PHOTOS ARE OF THIS RARE ELMER CROWELL DRAKE MALLARD UP FOR sale, AND THE LAST 5 PHOTOS ARE OF OTHER CROWELL CARVINGS AT sale, BUT KEEP IN MIND THAT MOST OF THOSE ARE ALL AT LEAST 5 TO 15 YEARS OLD.
BELOW are MANY, MANY MORE PICTURES OF CROWELL CARVINGS AND THE RECORD AMOUNTS THAT THEY ALL SOLD FOR!! AGAIN, KEEP IN MIND THAT THESE ALL RANGE FROM 3 TO 25 YEARS OLD AND THEY ARE NO PARTICULAR ORDER. CROWELL\'S DECOYS HAVE CONSISTENTLY OVER-PERFORMED AS COMPARED TO NOT ONLY THE STOCK MARKET, WHICH THEY PUT TO SHAME, BUT AGAINST MOST OTHER INVESTMENT GRADE WORKS OF ART OR FOLK
![RARE -FULL-SIZE 17\](img-large/g/gXYAAOSwrklU887x/s-l1600/RARE-FULL-SIZE-17-3-lb-GUNNING-DECOY-1922-ELMER-CR.jpg "RARE -FULL-SIZE 17\")
