Ward Brothers Pair of Red-breasted Merganser

The Ward Brothers Lemuel T. (1896-1984) and Stephen (1895-1976) Crisfield, MD, 1966

A fine pair of carved cedar mergansers with the drake calling to the hen. Collectors Nelson and Margaret McCall ordered this pair from the Ward Brothers to be added to “Margaret’s Mergansers,” a collection which she displayed at decoy shows. Signed on the bottom “MCCALL COLLECTION SHOOTING STOOL, MADE, PAINTED BY “LEM” AND “STEVE” WARD BRO. 1966.” Both are ink stamped “MADE BY L.T. WARD AND BRO. CRISFIELD, MD.” Both decoys have age lines along the bottom, minor paint rubs to their bills, tails, and heads; very minor chips out of the top crests of each bird.

Provenance: Nelson and Margaret McCall Collection, Charlestown, Maryland

Literature: North American Decoy Magazine, April, May, and June 1968, p. 23, exact pair illustrated.

Provenance

Nelson and Margaret McCall Collection, Charlestown, Maryland