Verity Family Tern

Obediah Verity (1813-1901) Seaford, NY, c. 1860 The late 19th century brought about a change in millinery fashion. At that time, a hat decorated with feathers and wings was considered the height of couture. Though popular for fashion, terns were evidently no culinary delight. Market hunters received only ten dollars per hundred birds and thus terns were not widely hunted. For this reason, old working tern decoys are virtually non-existent, with Long Island being one of the few areas where rigs have been found.

A rare life-size decoy, this tern is one of the finest examples of the species by any maker. In July of 1999 this exact bird set an auction record for any Verity decoy at that time. Two of this bird’s rigmates are illustrated on page thirty-one of Henry Fleckenstein’s book, "Shore Bird Decoys." The caption states that they, “were made by Obediah Verity of Seaford, Long Island, New York - c- 1880. Only one rig of twelve are known to have been made by Obediah.” "Obadiah Verity, Seaford" is written on the underside.

This rare rig was passed down through the extended Verity family of Seaford to Nelson Verity (1854-1947). Nelson Verity is known to have guided Yankee baseball greats, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, in South Oyster Bay. Original paint with warm patina, light staining, and even gunning wear including an old tail chip.

Provenance: Private Collection

Literature: Joe Engers, ed., "The Great Book of Wildfowl Decoys," San Diego, CA, 1990, p. 103, exact decoy illustrated. Joe Engers, ed., “1999 Year In Review,” Decoy Magazine, Lewes, De, 1999, front cover, p. 9, exact decoy illustrated. Robert Shaw, "Bird Decoys of North America," New York, NY, 2010, p. 131, similar decoy illustrated (caption reversed). Henry A. Fleckenstein, Jr., "Shore Bird Decoys," Exton, PA, 1980, p. 31, plate 34 and color plate 72, rigmates illustrated. William J. Mackey, Jr., "American Bird Decoys," New York, NY, 1965, p. 58, plate 38, related example illustrated. Timothy Sieger, "The Decoys of Long Island," Water Mills, NY, 2010, pp. 32 and 36, similar examples illustrated. Richard P. Baldwin, "The Verity Family of Long Island, New York," Southold, NY, 2000, p. 126.

Provenance

Private Collection