Orlando Os Bibber Red-breasted Merganser Pair

Orlando "Os" Bibber (1882-1970) South Harpswell, ME, c. 1910 19 3/4 in. long

An exceptional and exceedingly rare rigmate merganser duo with turned heads and original horsehair crests. A well-documented pair, each of the elegant hollow bodies is fitted with its original chamfered bottom board. According to John Dinan, author of the Maine chapter in "The Great Book of Wildfowl Decoys," Bibber only made decoys for his own use. He goes on to write that this maritime chief engineer's "birds are the best carvings on the coast." Original paint with even gunning wear. Each has some old glue residue and age lines around neck seams. Drake has a replaced bill. Hen has tight age lines and two drips marks on breast. Original crests.

Provenance: Frank Schmidt Collection Michael and Julie Hall Collection, acquired from the above Linda E. Johnson Collection, acquired from the above

Literature: Ronald S. Swanson, “The Decoy as Folk Sculpture,” Cranbrook Academy of Art Exhibition Catalog, January 1987, p. 12, fig. 13, exact carvings illustrated.

Exhibited: Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, "The Decoy as Folk Sculpture," Cranbrook Academy of Art, January 27–February 22, 1987.

Provenance

Frank Schmidt Collection Michael and Julie Hall Collection, acquired from the above Linda E. Johnson Collection, acquired from the above