Wood Duck Drake Thomas Chambers (1860-1948)

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The Sporting Sale 2017, Day 1

By Copley Fine Art Auctions

Jul 27, 2017 - Jul 28, 2017

Set Reminder 2017-07-27 13:00:00 2017-07-28 13:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : The Sporting Sale 2017, Day 1 https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/copley/the-sporting-sale-2017-day-1-2501
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• Lot Description

  Wood Duck Drake
  Thomas Chambers (1860-1948)
  Wallaceburg, Ontario, Canada, c. 1900
  15 in. long
  
  Thomas Chambers (1860-1948) was born in Toronto, Ontario. He hunted ducks and geese as a boy and sold his excess quarry to the market. He was tapped by sportsmen including George Warin (1830-1905) (see lot 7), to be the Keeper at the newly founded St. Anne’s Club on the Chenal Ecarte, which flows into Lake St. Clair. In 1900, when the nearby St. Clair Flats Shooting Company was looking for a new Keeper they asked Warin, a respected founder and a former president of their club. Warin recommended Chambers, which end up being fortuitous for all parties.
  
  Incorporated in 1874, the St. Clair Flats Shooting Company, also known as the Canada Club, was one of the oldest hunting clubs on Lake St. Clair. Chambers lived on the club’s property in an adjacent house with his wife and three children. Chambers would remain the club’s Keeper until his retirement in 1943. According to author Bernard Crandell, it was during this time as manager that the 6 foot 1 inch Chambers earned the nickname “King Tom.” Over the years, the membership of the Canada Club gradually changed from all Canadians to predominantly Americans.
  
  In addition to his work for the Club, Chambers was also one of the nation’s most accomplished carvers. His decoys were in high demand from the members and even during the Depression a rig of a dozen Chambers decoys would command the unheard of price of $75.
  
  Many, including Canadian decoy scholar Paul Brisco, consider this carving to be the finest Canadian decoy known. Co-authors Clune Walsh, Jr. and Lowell Jackson as well as Paul Johnsgard chose this exact decoy for the cover of their respective books “Waterfowl Decoys of Michigan and the Lake St. Clair Region” and “The Bird Decoy: An American Art Form.” Few decoys have evoked the mystique of this wood duck, which has never before been for sale.
  
  As a wood duck, it is among the greatest carvings of this species from any region, alongside peak examples by Henry Keyes Chadwick (1851-1938), A. Elmer Crowell (1862-1952), Joseph W. Lincoln (1859-1938), and The Mason Decoy Factory (1896-1924).
  
  One of only two Chambers wood ducks known to exist, this example with its exceptional form, paint, and condition is the better of the two. Chambers captured the likeness of species of the summer duck effectively, paying special attention to the subtle nuances of the duck’s bill, eyes, and crest. Well over 100 years old and a testament to Chambers’ craftsmanship, the decoy maintains nearly invisible neck and bottom board seams. Ironically, the bottom board was fashioned from a food-packing crate and is branded on the underside "GUARANTEED BY H.J. HEINZ."
  
  The bird is also branded “GEO. M. HENDRIE.” George M. Hendrie was a St. Clair Flats Shooting Company member from 1889 to 1943.
  
  This iconic bird held a special place in O’Brien’s collection, residing in his den alongside his dove-tailed Canada goose.
  Outstanding original paint with minor gunning wear, working putty to a sliver under the bill, and minimal touch-up under tail.
  
  Provenance: George M. Hendrie Rig
  Private St. Clair Flats Shooting Company Member Ronald Swanson Collection, acquired from the estate of the above, c. 1970
  Donal C. O’Brien Jr. Collection, acquired from the above
  
  Literature: Paul A. Johnsgard, "The Bird Decoy: An American Art Form," Lincoln, NE, 1976, front dust jacket and pl. 108, exact decoy illustrated.
  Clune Walsh, Jr. and Lowell G. Jackson, "Waterfowl Decoys of Michigan and the Lake St. Clair Region," Detroit, MI, 1983, plate 16 and on the slipcase cover of the deluxe edition, exact decoy illustrated.
  Laurence Sheehan, "The Sporting Life," New York, NY, 1992, p. 79, exact decoy illustrated.
  Jackson Parker, “O’Brien Classic Decoys on Display at Museum of American Folk Art,” North American Decoys: Wildfowl Carvers and Collectors News, Spanish Fork, UT, Spring/Summer 1982, p. 32, exact decoy illustrated.
  Jeff Waingrow, “The American Decoy: Folk Sculpture from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Donal C. O’Brien, Jr.,” The Clarion: America’s Folk Art Magazine, Fall 1981, p. 32, exact decoy illustrated.
  Loy S. Harrell, Jr., "Decoys: North America’s One Hundred
  Greatest," Iola, WI, 2000, pp. 10-11, exact decoy illustrated.

  Exhibited: New York, New York, “The Art of the American Decoy: Folk Sculpture from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Donal C. O’Brien Jr.,” Museum of American Folk Art, September 3–November 8, 1981.

  Condition

  Condition report requests can be made via email or by telephone (info@copleyart.com or 617.536.0030). 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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