Important Set of Twenty-Five Miniature Waterfowl, A. Elmer Crowell (1862-1952)

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The Winter Sale 2020

By Copley Fine Art Auctions

Feb 15, 2020

Set Reminder 2020-02-15 10:00:00 2020-02-15 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : The Winter Sale 2020 https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/copley/the-winter-sale-2020-4811
Charleston Marriott, 170 Lockwood Blvd., Charleston, SC 29403 Copley Fine Art Auctions cinnie@copleyart.com

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• Lot Description
  Important Set of Twenty-Five Miniature Waterfowl
  A. Elmer Crowell (1862-1952)
  East Harwich, MA, c. 1915
  2 1/2 to 6 in. long
  
  Crowell created three different sets of miniature birds, twenty-five ducks, twenty-five songbirds, and twenty-five shorebirds, which he sold to not only his decoy buyers and seasonal tourists, but also schools and museums around the nation for species identification purposes. A vast majority of the original Crowell sets have been broken up over the years, making this a rare opportunity to acquire a single and original flock with remarkable consistency from bird to bird. The group includes the following: mallard drake, pintail hen and drake, redhead hen and drake, bufflehead hen and drake, ruddy duck drake, bluebill drake, red-breasted merganser drake and hen, canvasback hen and drake, green-winged teal drake, brant, common merganser drake (Crowell referred to this species as "gooseander"), blue-winged teal drake, hooded merganser drake, black duck, goldeneye drake, long-tailed duck drake (Crowell referred to this species as "oldsquaw"), wood duck, wigeon drake, and Canada goose. Each miniature bears the "A. E. Crowell MAKER East Harwich MASS" circular ink stamp on the bottom of the base, along with an inked number in reference to Crowell's published "Ducks" set list.
  
  This set was originally owned by Crowell’s longtime friend and noted Cape Cod author Joseph Crosby Lincoln (1870-1944). Lincoln based the main character in his 1925 novel on Crowell and discusses the carver several times in "Cape Cod Yesterdays:" “...in filling one order from a wealthy customer, he let himself go. He made ducks with their heads turned backward, as ducks do turn their heads, when preening their feathers…He painted them with eyes which were more than round blobs of paint. And when he shipped that order to the wealthy customer, he explained what he had done, why he had done it, and why the amount of his bill was considerably greater than his former bills had been. And the result was that, almost immediately, he received orders for more decoys of that kind from that customer and more and still more from that customer’s friends.” - Joseph C. Lincoln, "Cape Cod Yesterdays," 1935
  
  Given their condition, provenance, and early date, these birds, along with one other complete grouping in the Thomas M. Evans Collection, are believed to be the two finest original waterfowl sets known to have surfaced.
  Outstanding original condition, the birds are near mint having always resided in their original case. There is a very small amount of craquelure on some, with just the canvasback hen with a reset bill.
  
  Provenance: Joseph Crosby Lincoln Collection
  Joseph Ballard Crocker Collection, Milton and Chatham, Massachusetts, acquired from the sale of the above
  Private Collection, by descent from the above
  Private Collection, Connecticut
  
  Literature: Stephen B. O'Brien Jr. and Chelsie W. Olney, "Elmer Crowell: Father of American Bird Carving," Hingham, MA, 2019, pp. 239-241, closely related set and set list illustrated.
  A. E. Crowell, “Cape Cod Memories,” in "Duck Shooting along the Atlantic Tidewater," Eugene V. Connett, ed, New York, NY, 1947, pp. 59-60.
  Brian Cullity, "The Songless Aviary," Hyannis, MA, 1992, pp. 90-99, similar birds 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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