\"Best I\'ve Seen\" Mason Rare Tack Eye Decoy in 100% Original Paint & Condition!
Description
What a great rare decoy in an increasingly difficult 100% originalpaint and condition. This tack-eyed black duck decoy issimply exceptional. Even the neck filler is original! Used as a gunning decoy this piece of duck hunting history has survived years of hunting with very little wear to show for it. Mason decoys are highly collectible, and too find one in original condition like this one is becoming more difficult by the day. The paint on this bird is great with mason-famous paint swirls and excellent swept feather detail to the back. Masons have always been regarded as having the best paint of any earlyfactory decoy, and this one is no exception. The bottom of this decoy has thetypical holes where a lead weight and line-tie wereplaced at one time. Aside from that, I have very littleto report on this decoy as it is simply anexquisitepiece!
Condition Report
Inindisputable100% original paint and condition. There is some very light gunning use and a few shot scars, but that is typical of a true working decoy. The neck filler is original and untouchedand the paint, the paint! isfantastic. Just look at the photos. They speak forthemselves! The neck joint has cracked ever so slightly, but the head is tight with no issues. This drying crack is very typical with the putty as it dried over time, in fact, on most old Masons this putty falls out, but not on this one. It is intact and very stable.
I have done my best to document this decoy through both the text above and the photographs. Please look over all the photos and if you have any questions or request any additional images, please just ask before offerding. I will do my best to accommodate any and all requests. The decoy you are seeing is the exact one you will be getting, therefore, there should be no surprises if you have taken the time to scroll through all the photos and read the text. While I do not generally take returns, I will accept a return if there is something blatant that I missed or failed to disclose. This doesn\'t happen often, in fact it never has to date, as I am generally diligent with my assessment of the decoy and provide detailed photographs, but something could get missed. I am human after all. Unless the decoy is listed in 100% original paint, expect some old hunter touch-up. Almost every single decoy I have for sale was in fact a working decoy part of a larger rig and subject to typical gunning wear including rubs that were typically touched-up between hunting seasons as a way to pass the time during the off-season. Some of these decoys are more than 100 years old and over the course of many hunting seasons it is bound to happen. Overall, I am easy to work with and more than willing to be helpful in any way possible.
Carver\'s Name/History
Thereisn\'t much here that I can say about Mason Decoy Company that hasn\'t been said 100x over in books and on theinternet. The Mason company was simply the best factory decoy producer during the early 1900\'s and there decoys seem to be growing in collectibilty every year. The desire for collectors to own them is simple. They have great form, great paint, and are very pleasing on the eyes when sittingon a mantle or decoy shelf. Every collector seems to have a few in their collection and they are thepinnacle of many factory decoycollectors. Mason made decoys from 1888-1894 and from 1903-1924 before selling their equipment to Wm. E. PrattCompany. The best decoy book was written by Goldberger and Haid called \"Mason Decoys - A Pictorial Guide.\"
Shipping Information
Each decoy will be carefully packed to ensure no damage occurs in transit, under normal handling practices of course. I strive to ship all items within two business days, but sometimes life gets in the way and it may take an additional day to get the package shipped out to you. I don\'t want the decoy to arrive damaged and neither do you, so if I am short on packaging please understand that the third day, which occurs less than 2% of the time, is most likely due to having to purchase additional peanuts, bubble wrap, or a more adequately sized box. I will also gladly combine shipping typically for less than half of normal postage on the lowest priced shipping charge when two purchases are made, and shipped, at the same time. My shipping charges are as close to actual as I can adequately gauge. I don\'t like to use the shipping calculator as it is often incorrect. Be assured that I am not making money on shipping as supplies like tape, boxes, peanuts, and etc. all quickly add up. In fact, in most cases I am losing $ on shipping, but that is just part of the sellers experience. For international shipments buyers can use \'s Global Shipping Program or contact me for a quote. The choice is yours. In most cases I always ship USPS, but in certain scenarios where a package is heavy or being shipped to the west-coast, UPS may be used. All shipping charges are for the lower 48 states only, shipping to Hawaii or Alaska will incur additional charges.
Terms
Most of my decoys are for sale as a high-buyer gets it in a straight-laced no-reserve sale. I say most because as you see some decoys will have a modest/fair-market reserve. For the most part I am simply cleaning out my current collection and whittling it down to what I want to keep. Call it down-sizing if you will. So to that, I am not interested in taking a major hit and I am OK with keeping them for my own collection. I will also from time to time have a few fixed-price listing for items that I feel are better suited for potentially a singular buyer. I am easy to get along with. If a decoy doesn\'t meet reserve, let\'s talk. I am also always looking for select Ontario-carved decoys, so keep in touch.
*NOTE: As with most sporting collectibles, along with being a great addition to a game room or home decor, vintage decoys have shown to be a sound investment that seldom decrease in value. Each decoy is truly a One-Of-A-Kind item as no two hand-carved decoys are exactly alike and with so few available decoys from each carver, as time passes, they will surely only increase in value
*Be sure to add my to your favorite sellers/searches. I have many more decoys to add from all regions including the Chesapeake Bay, Ontario, Quebec, Michigan, New York, Illinois, the St. Lawrence River, region and the Maritimes in the coming days/weeks from various makers from Ben Schmidt to George Warin to Anger and will always hold shipments to combine shipping.
