Luther M. Nickerson Three Red-breasted Mergansers

Luther M. Nickerson (1874-1951) Cotuit, MA, c. 1930 Luther Moody Nickerson was born on Cape Cod in 1874. He was a carpenter and wood carver who lived most of his adult life on Lake Street in Cotuit, Massachusetts.

His decoys have solid cedar bodies with carved, raised wings. Most have pine heads with simple bill detail. Many are found with painted eyes, although later birds are often found with glass eyes and some have a round or half-round weight attached to the bottom. Nickerson also made rigs of shadow-on-a-raft decoys comprised of the decoy silhouette centered on a bottom board with a quarter round piece of wood on either side for support.

The three mergansers in lot 696 represent Nickerson’s three carving periods. The following features help to define these three designs. The hen on the left is the earliest period with its paddle tail, rounded body, lack of neck seat, and stylized raised wings. The hen in the back is from the middle period and has a squarer tail, a flatter bottom, a small neck seat, and more life-like raised wings. The drake is Nickerson’s later period with a flat bottom and raised wings with three primaries on each wing.

Lot 696:

A swimming drake merganser decoy with a horse-hair crest, carved, raised wings with primary feather detail, and rarely found, seemingly backward, painted feather detail. The middle period hen in the back has carved, raised wings carved bill detail and its original half-round weight. The hen on the left is an early decoy by this maker, exhibiting a paddle tail with carved, raised wings, a stylized head, and its original round weight. The drake is in original paint with crazing on the end grains from old sap bleeds. The hens are in old, possibly original, paint, with heavy gunning wear. One hen has a couple tight neck cracks.

Provenance: John E. Lennon Collection

Provenance

John E. Lennon Collection