Elmer Crowell Exceptional Red-breasted Merganser Pair

A. Elmer Crowell (1862-1952) East Harwich, MA, c. 1920 A swimming drake and an alert hen, both with detailed bills, rasping to the back of the heads, and tail feather carving. The drake's feather paint is amongst the finest we have seen on any merganser by the maker. Each is "signed" with Crowell's oval brand. In exquisite original paint with minimal wear from handling. Both have some neck filler loss and a few stray drops of varnish. The drake has a tight age crack through the neck and seven pinhead-sized dents on lower left side. The hen has several small dents, one rectangular 1/2 inch hole in her back and very minor flaking.

Provenance: Private Collection, Rhode Island By descent in the family

Literature: Joe Engers, "2007 Year in Review: The Decoy at Auction, Decoy Magazine," Year in Review, 2007, pp. 23, 29.

Provenance

Private Collection, Rhode Island By descent in the family