Orlando Os Bibber Red-breasted Merganser Drake

Orlando Sylvester "Os" Bibber (1882-1970 South Harpswell, ME, c. 1920 An exceptional "Down East" merganser decoy with a gently turned head, and a horse hair crest. This bird represents one of the finest examples of this important Maine carver's work to have ever come on the market. Bibber only made decoys for his own rig, and according to John Dinan, author of the Maine chapter in "The Great Book of Wildfowl Decoys," this maritime chief engineer's "birds are the best carvings on the coast." Original paint by Bibber with appealing light craquelure. There are a few brush strokes of working repaint on one side.

Provenance: Don Snyder Collection Private Collection, Connecticut

Literature: John and Shirley Delph, "New England Decoys," Exton, PA, 1990, p. 39, similar decoy illustrated. Joe Engers, ed., "The Great Book of Wildfowl Decoys," Lewes, DE, 1990, p. 32, similar decoys illustrated.

Provenance

Don Snyder Collection Private Collection, Connecticut