Nathan Cobb, Jr. Swimming Brant

Nathan F. Cobb Jr. (1825-1905) Cobb Island, VA, c. 1880 17 1/2 in. long

Many believe that Cobb Island produced the finest brant decoys known. This may in part be due to a special affinity for the species that the Islanders showed. Indeed, Nathan Cobb Sr. kept a tame flock of brant on the island that were a local attraction and once the gaggle was even listed as collateral for hotel construction loans.

This choice example, with a hollow body and forward-reaching head, hails from one of the island's finest rigs and was selected in 1998 for the Cobb Island exhibition at the Ward Museum in Salisbury, Maryland.

The underside displays the "E. B. COBB." brand, designating it as part of Elkanah B. Cobb’s (1852-1943) gunning rig. Elkanah was Nathan Cobb Jr.'s son and a famed island guide. Original and old working paint with gunning wear and tight age lines, a very good surface by Cobb decoy standards with no signs of any restoration.

Provenance: Capt. Elkanah B. Cobb Rig Private Collection, North Carolina Private Collection, New Jersey

Literature: R. H. Richardson, “Chesapeake Bay Decoys,” Cambridge, MD, 1991, p. 201, exact decoy illustrated. Eugene V. Connett, ed., "Duck Shooting Along the Atlantic Tidewater," New York, NY, 1947, p.149, rigmate illustrated. Grayson Chesser, "Cobb Island, A hunter's paradise," "Decoy Magazine," Nov/Dec 1998, p. 12, exact decoy illustrated. Donna Tonelli, "Top of the Line Hunting Collectibles," Atglen, PA, 1998, p. 99, related example illustrated. Exhibited: Salisbury, Maryland, "Cobb’s Island Decoys & Artifacts: An Historical Perspective," The Ward Museum, 1998.

Provenance

Capt. Elkanah B. Cobb Rig Private Collection, North Carolina Private Collection, New Jersey