Early Preening Green-Winged Teal Decoy, Chase Littlejohn (1853-1943)

Lot 188

About Seller

65 Sharp Street
Hingham, MA 02043
United States

Copley Fine Art Auctions is the world's leading American sporting art auction company. Located in Hingham, MA, Copley specializes in antique decoys and 19th- and 20th-century American, sporting, and wildlife paintings. Principal Stephen O'Brien Jr., a fourth-generation sportsman with a refined colle...Read more

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About Auction

The Sporting Sale 2022, Day 1 by Copley Fine Art Auctions

Live

The Sporting Sale 2022, Day 1

By Copley Fine Art Auctions

Jul 14, 2022

Set Reminder 2022-07-14 10:00:00 2022-07-14 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : The Sporting Sale 2022, Day 1 https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/copley/the-sporting-sale-2022-day-1-9460 Lots 1-332 Copley Fine Art Auctions cinnie@copleyart.com

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Lot Description

Early Preening Green-Winged Teal
Chase Littlejohn (1853-1943)
Redwood City, CA, c. 1885
10 in. long

“A more interesting fellow than Chase Littlejohn has probably never existed.” This is the opening line to the carving legend’s chapter in “Wildfowl Decoys of California.” This early teal and its rigmates remain the only known Littlejohn decoys to have come to light. He is recognized as one of California's earliest makers.

Over 110 years ago, Littlejohn, a California native, was fascinating his contemporaries with his hunting and natural history adventures. "The San Francisco Sunday Call" ran a page 2 profile feature in 1909 titled “A Hunter of Rare and Unusual Game: Chase Littlejohn Has bagged Sea Otters in Japan, Big Game in Alaska & Strange Birds Everywhere.” Today, among decoy collectors, he is most remembered for his early and important green-winged teal rig.

The maker's avocations as a naturalist and a taxidermist clearly gave him the anatomical knowledge necessary to accurately carve this preening green-winged teal. The bird is in a deep preening pose with a refined bill resting back on the right wing. The carving is finished with detailed feathering, including combed vermiculation on the sides. The carving's rectangular weight is attached using about forty brass tacks. The underside of the hollow body also bears a tidy leather anchor line tie.
Original paint with light wear.

Provenance: William C. McMaster M.D. Collection

Literature: Joe Engers, “Early California green-winged teal turn up at West Coast collectibles show,” Decoy Magazine, March/April 1997, p. 14, exact decoy illustrated. Michael R. Miller, "Wildfowl Decoys of California,” Spokane, WA, 2015, p. 358, rigmates illustrated. H. A. Crafts, "A Hunter of Rare and Unusual Game," The San Francisco Sunday Call, June 27, 1909, p. 2, rigmates illustrated.

Condition

Please email condition report requests to colin@copleyart.com. Any condition statement given is a courtesy to customers, Copley will not be held responsible for any errors or omissions. The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition.
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