Charles Hart Important Hollow Mallard Pair

Charles C. Hart (1862-1960) Gloucester, MA, c. 1900 This bold pair of extremely hollow-carved decoys display glass eyes, carved bills accentuated by diamond-shaped carving around each nostril, raised wings with carved primaries, and a Starr collection ink stamp on the underside of each. The bodies of these decoys were hollowed out to one-half-inch thickness and no bottom board was applied, leaving them open.

The birds worked well on a still day on a small pond, but Dr. Babson's blinds were in the Essex marshes where wind, waves, and current made them less suitable. Dr. Starr was visiting Dr. Babson and this mallard pair was gifted to him to reside on a shelf. Featured in two important decoy books, these mallards are amongst the finest Hart decoys ever to come on the market. In original paint with minimal gunning wear to include minor flaking.

Provenance: Warren Babson, M.D. rig of Gloucester, Massachusetts, acquired from the maker George Ross Starr, Jr., M.D. Collection, acquired from the above Private Collection

Literature: George Ross Starr, Jr., M.D., "Decoys of the Atlantic Flyway," Tulsa, OK, 1974, p. 178, figure 88, exact decoys illustrated. Gene and Linda Kangas, "Decoys," Paducah, KY, 1983, p. 204, plate 345, exact decoys illustrated.

Provenance

Warren Babson, M.D. rig of Gloucester, Massachusetts, acquired from the maker George Ross Starr, Jr., M.D. Collection, acquired from the above Private Collection