Journal Star (IL) - May 2, 1991

Wanna' Buy a Duck?
Too Late. Mallard Decoy Carved in Lacon Fetches World Record $93,500 at Auction.
By Lori Timm

LACON -When Robert Elliston carved duck decoys here a century ago, he probably did not realize he was creating collectibles worth five figures.

One of his sleeping mallards recently sold for $93,500, the highest price ever fetched by a Midwestern decoy.

"That is a world record for any Midwest or Illinois River decoy," said Gary Guyette of Julia-Guyette Inc., the West Farmington, Maine, auction house that oversaw the sale at a St. Charles show last weekend.

"This decoy was much older, much more collectible and rarer (than previous record-sale decoys)," he said.

A Midwestern museum purchased the piece, but Guyette would not release the buyer's name. He could not say if the institution is public or private.

The sleeping mallard ranks among the 10 most expensive decoys ever sold at auction. "Usually the most expensive ones are from the East Coast," he said.

The auction price was about three times the amount Guyette had expected to draw for the 1890 piece.

Other Elliston items also went for high prices. A greenwing teal estimated in the $9,000 to $12,000 range sold for $30,000, Guyette said. A bluebill decoy was auctioned for $10,000, about twice the anticipated amount.

Elliston, one of the founders of the Illinois River school of carving, fashioned decoys in Marshall and Bureau counties and was the first known carver of the turned-head.