Ward Brothers Mallard Drake

The Ward Brothers, Lemuel T. (1896-1983) and Stephen (1895-1976) Crisfield, MD, 1936

A fine, cedar-bodied decoy made for one of the great duck hunting clubs along the Pacific Flyway. The White Mallard Outing Club began in 1919, when 100 members each paid $100 to purchase 900 acres of mostly wetland property in Butte Sink, Calusa County, California. In the mid to late 1930s one of the members ordered a rig of mallard and pintail decoys from the Ward Brothers. The most famous decoys from this rig were a pair of pintails, purchased at auction in the 1970s by singer Andy Williams for the then unheard of sum of $29,000. The decoys all had a horseshoe-shaped, lead strip weight on the bottom. Ward 1936 mallards in original condition are exceedingly hard to come by. This example, acquired by one of the West Coast's most discerning decoy collectors, Bill Mori, represents a stellar example.

"Mark Mahoney traveled to California for work on occasion, and I suggested he pay Bill Mori a visit. Lo and behold, about a year later he returned home from California with one of Bill's highly-prized Ward brothers' White Mallard decoys. Rightfully so, he was pretty excited about it." -Stephen B. O'Brien, Jr. Original paint with light even gunning wear and minor nicks to bill and tail.

Provenance: White Mallard Outing Club William Mori Collection Mark R. Mahoney Collection

Literature: Ronald J. Gard and Brian J. McGrath, "The Ward Brothers' Decoys," Wolfe City, TX, 1989, p. 83, plate 74, similar decoy illustrated.

Provenance

White Mallard Outing Club William Mori Collection Mark R. Mahoney Collection