Guyette and Schmidt, Inc Antique Decoy Auction Firm

In 1924, archeologists working in Lovelock Cave, Nev., discovered a hidden pit in the floor of the cave. Covered beneath a layer of rush matting, basketry fragments and several large stones were 11 individually-wrapped canvasback duck decoys. Made from marsh bulrush and reeds, three of the decoys were works-in-progress, and eight were realistically painted, some with feathers attached to make them appear lifelike.

Scientific data revealed that the cave was located next to Lake Lahontan, a body of water that dried out about 1,400 years age. Further study revealed that the decoys were made around 200 A.D. by an unknown tribe of American Indians. Though the Lovelock Cave decoys had remained hidden for more than 2,00 years, the use of decoys for hunting had continued. In the late 18th century fragile reed was replaced by carved cedar and white pine, and by the early 19th century carvers were making two types of wooden decoys. Floating decoys were made to loosely resemble swimming birds, such as ducks, geese, and swans, while stick-up decoys were mounted on poles to represent wading shore birds, suck as curlews, peepers and plovers.

By 1840, a demand for fresh waterfowl in restaurants had market hunters using 200-300 decoys per outing, and a cottage industry of American carvers quickly emerged. Couple this with rapid technological advancement of firearms and the extinction of several species of birds was inevitable. In response to this, in 1903 Theodore Roosevelt declared Pelican Island, Fla., the first bird sanctuary, and in 1918, the U.S. and Great Britain (then acting on behalf of Canada) passed the Migratory Bird Treaty.

The treaty essentially put an end to commercial hunting and placed very strict limitations on what species, and how many of each could be hunted. With the end of the market hunting days, many of the hunter's tools, including his decoy 'rig' were cast aside, burned or left unattended in boathouses and barns.

It was the publication of Wild Fowl Decoys by Joel Barber in 1934 which first introduced North Americans to the decoy as a unique and colorful piece of American history. For Barber recognized that while a rudimentary bird carving would work well enough in the field, many of the men who produced these pieces went well beyond the basics to produce beautiful and detailed works of folk art.

Today, Barber is considered the pioneer collector of duck decoys. Since his book was published, numerous volumes have been written on the subject, and the hobby has attracted a serious following with millions of dollars in public and private sales occurring every year with no signs of letting up.

"This is one area where the Internet has made a very positive impact on pricing," said Gary Guyette, co-owner, Guyette & Schmidt, Inc., the world's largest decoy auction house, established in 1984. "There were certain areas of the U.S., such as Maryland, where decoys were collected, but in many others, they were still largely undiscovered. All that changed with the Internet."

And change it did. Consider that in 1973 a decoy carved by William Bowman, of Long Island, N.Y., circa 1890, broke the $10,000 mark - the first time this threshold had been crossed for a decoy - selling for $10,500. In January 2000, that same decoy came back to market, and was sold by Guyette & Schmidt, Inc. jointly with Sotheby's for $464,500.

While not all decoys have increased as dramatically, there are countless other examples, such as a pair of greenwing teal by the Ward Brothers, which sold at a Guyette & Schmidt auction in 1989 for $9,900. The pair sold again at Guyette & Schmidt's July 2005 auction for $28,750.

"Ten years ago, our total sales for one of our auctions would average around $1 million, and even then the best decoys went for less than $100,000," said Guyette. "Today, there is at least one decoy in the $100,000 plus range, and five to six in this range is more typical. As well, our total sales are usually in the $2 million plus arena."

The top name to look for is (Anthony) Elmer Crowell of East Harwich, Mass., who is undisputedly number one with collectors - especially those with money. Crowell holds the current world record price for a decoy sold at auction, with $801,500 realized for a preening pintail drake sold by Guyette & Schmidt, Inc. jointly with Christie's in January 2003. Those with 'lesser' means can still find Crowell decoys in the mere thousands. A lower grade and later pintail drake by Crowell sold in November 2003 for $9,900.

Other names to look for include the aforementioned William Bowman, Lathrop Holmes, Joseph Lincoln, Nathan Cobb, Jr., Ira Hudson, Clinton Keith, Bert Graves and Albert Laing, the first carver to fasten the body together with copper nails which would not rust.

It's important to note that not all early decoys were produced by individual carvers. The 19th century demand for decoys brought about several factories. The largest of these was the Mason Factory of Detroit (1896-1924), which sold thousands of decoys by mail order catalog for about a dollar a piece. In January 2000, a record price was realized for a factory decoy when a Mason Premier wood duck drake brought $354,000.

Despite the ever escalating prices, Guyette believes there really is something for every level of collector, and noted that their retail website 'Everyone's Decoy Warehouse' (linked to www.guyetteandschmidt.com) offers decoys from $100 and up. He does, however, caution that for the most part, contemporary decoys are generally only worth decorative value and will likely not appreciate.

"There are, of course, some exceptions," said Guyette. "Mark McNair is a contemporary carver who makes decoys in the 'style' of past masters. As prices for old shorebird decoys double and triple, so too do the prices of some of his clearly marked reproductions."

Which brings us to one final point: as with any high-priced collectible, an increase in value has brought an increase in fakes and reproductions sold as old, so it's important to buy only from an established dealer or auction house, known to specialize in decoys. That's because there are many methods used to 'antique' a new decoy, including tumble washing and staining, while older decoys are sometimes repainted or touched up in order to improve the condition or value. Tricks of the trade include black light or x-rays (which exposes restoration), the smell of fresh cedar (indicating a new decoy) or the smell of fresh paint (indicating a new or altered decoy), while a loose neck can indicate a replaced head.

"Read, research, attend auctions and shows, belong to an association, buy auction catalogs - each of these things will help you as a collector of one - or of many," said Guyette. "After all, when it comes to decoys, half the fun is in the hunt."