The Mackey-Waring Swimming Cobb Goose Decoy, Nathan F. Cobb Jr. (1825-1905)

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The Winter Sale 2021, Day 1

By Copley Fine Art Auctions

Feb 19, 2021

Set Reminder 2021-02-19 10:00:00 2021-02-19 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : The Winter Sale 2021, Day 1 https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/copley/the-winter-sale-2021-day-1-6296
Lots 1-292 Copley Fine Art Auctions cinnie@copleyart.com

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• Lot Description
  Nathan F. Cobb Jr. (1825-1905)
  Cobb Island, VA, c. 1880
  30 in. long
  
  "One night in 1893 Cobb Island was literally wiped from the face of the earth when a tidal wave swept over it. Next morning not a building remained. The inhabitants who survived moved to the mainland. The ˜good old days™ were gone forever. But decoys were made to float, and most of those that still survived were picked up adrift after the storm and used again, their fame increasing through the years that followed.” William J. Mackey Jr., "American Bird Decoys"
  
  This decoy carries an impeccable provenance and history. It was originally in the collection of seminal decoy collector William J. Mackey Jr. The next owner was Anthony Waring of Swansea, Massachusetts, who acquired the bird directly from Mackey. Like Joel Barber, Waring was an architect, and, as such, he was preconditioned to appreciate the confluence of form, beauty, and function in bird decoys. A review of decoys with Waring provenance reveals a significant early collection, which included the A. Elmer Crowell plover trio and raised-wing wood duck on the dust-jacket cover of "New England Decoys." Muller acquired this decoy and his Lee Dudley canvasback, among others, directly from Waring.
  
  This hollow bird features a root head in an animated canted and turned swimming pose. The thin neck supports one of the finest Cobb goose heads with full cheek carving and deep eye grooves. This feature was carved from a single twisted branch of the southern wax myrtle (Myrica cerifera), which is abundant on the island. The body possesses bold shoulder and sharp wing tip carving and a ridge down the back.
  
  The Cobbs' domain on the Atlantic Coast positioned them along a busy and perilous sailing route. One of the islander's earliest, most profitable, and dangerous pursuits was lifesaving and salvage of distressed and wrecked ships. In 1839 Nathan F. Cobb Sr. founded Cobb's Salvaging Company. This was prior to the U.S. Lifesaving Service or the Coast Guard. After receiving praise and payment for a rescue, nothing went to waste on the remote Virginia barrier island. Close study reveals that many of the family's decoys are made from salvaged wood and hardware. This very decoy was, in fact, resurrected by Nathan Cobb Jr. who performed the gunning repair of the highly accomplished head to the body. A hole in the shoulder is original to the carving and filled with cork. This treatment is also seen in the famous Holly swans of the Susquehanna Flats which have a number of original filled holes in their grand bodies. Thus, this racy goose was built and kept alive by the Cobb's salvage culture.
  
  In honor of his heroic rescue and salvage efforts, Nathan F. Cobb Sr. was the namesake of a 19th-century 156-foot Lifesaving Service ship. This ship itself was wrecked in 1896 off Ormand Beach, Florida, where Cobb Cottage now stands, fittingly built from the ship's salvage!
  Old Cobb paint with gunning wear, second head carved and fitted by the maker, back has original age line and cork plug in hole, typical checks to neck.
  
  Provenance: William J. Mackey Jr. Collection
  Anthony Waring Collection, acquired from the above
  Dr. Peter J. Muller Jr. Collection, acquired from the above
  
  Literature: Dr. S. Lloyd Newberry, "Wings of Wonder: The Remarkable Story of the Cobb Family and the Priceless Decoys They Created on Their Island Paradise," Columbia, SC, 2020, front dust-jacket cover, related rootheads illustrated and p. 225, exact decoy illustrated. Quintina Colio, "American Decoys," Ephrata, PA, 1972, pp. 36-37, related examples illustrated. Robert Shaw, "Bird Decoys of North America," New York, NY, 2010, p. 215, related example illustrated. Loy S. Harrell Jr., "Decoys: North America's One Hundred Greatest," Iola, WI, 2000, pp. 67 and 97, two related examples illustrated. Joe Engers, ed., "The Great Book of Wildfowl Decoys," San Diego, CA, 1990, pp. 164-165, related example illustrated. Robert Shaw, "Call to the Sky: The Decoy Collection of James M. McCleery, M.D.," Houston, TX, 1992, p. 85, related example illustrated. William J. Mackey Jr., "American Bird Decoys," New York, NY, 1965, p. 152, color pl. VII, related examples 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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