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function passparaSC(){return \'&baseurl=\'+ escape((function(){var d = return d })()) + MINT \"ONE-of-KIND\" ~SIGNED c1945 JAMES AHEARN \"MINI\" HOODED MERGANSER Wood Decoy a.imagelink {color:#efe2ae;} a:hover.imagelink {color:#efe2ae;} a:visited.imagelink {color:#000000;} a.imagelink img.saleimage { border: 2px solid #efe2ae; } a:visited.imagelink img.saleimage { border: 2px solid #000000; }
Description

JAMES JOSEPH AHEARN (1904-1963)

• Bronx & Manhattan, New York; Stamford, Connecticut)

Early Carvings Like This RARE \"Hooded Merganser\"; Were Exclusively Featured in the 48th Street Gallery of \"Ralph Terrill\" in the 1940\'s in NEW YORK CITY!!

THE \"CROSSROADS of SPORT GALLERY\";
48th STREET in NEW YORK CITY IN 1940\'s!!!!

• The Crossroads Art Gallery Featured the World\'s Most Exclusive Carvers and Painters of the Time!!
• Ralph Terrill, who was the Founder and Managed the Gallery in New York City Featured the Work of only a Few Sporting Artists on the Scene and His Famous Store and Eventual Catalog Featured Only Sport Carvings, Paintings and Other Sporting Items!

Mr. James Joseph \"Joe\" Ahearn was One of the Select Few that Owner Ralph Terrill Chose to Feature!! Crossroads Gallery was Doing Extremely Well with A.J. King\'s Miniatures that Terrill Decided to Bring in James \"Joe\" Ahearn\'s Miniatures on Board and They Were a HUGE Success!!

• (BELOW): Vintage \"CROSSROADS of SPORTS\" Catalogue Featuring The Paintings of Several \"INTERNATIONALLY FAMOUS\" PAINTERS and CARVERS!!

(BELOW): THIS AWESOME JAMES JOSEPH AHEARN HOODED MERGANSER Up For sale!!

(BELOW): THIS AWESOME HOODED MERGANSER is \"SIGNED\" and has the \"CROSSROADS SPORTING GALLERY\" TAG Still on the BOTTOM!!!!!

(Below): This AWESOME \"Drake Hooded Merganser\";

• SHOWN with: \"REDHEAD PAIR\" and \"PREENING DRAKE MALLARD\"; they are ALSO ON !!!!

Extremely Rare- \"ONLY DRAKE HOODED-MERGANSER\" LIKE THIS THAT EXISTS\"

\"1940\'s CROSSROAD of SPORT\" Store in NEW YORK!

James Joseph Ahearn is Featured in the Book: BIRDS IN WOOD & PAINT; AMERICAN MINIATURE BIRD CARVINGS AND THEIR CARVERS (1900-1970)

• AUTHOR: JOSEPH H. ELLIS: (PAGES 160 & 161)

(Above): THE COVER OF THIS AWESOME BOOK By JOSEPH ELLIS!!

(Above): THE FIRST PART of the INDEX so YOU CAN SEE the CALIBER of MINIATURE CARVERS MR. AHEARN KEPT!!

(Above): THE SECOND PART of the INDEX!! ALTHOUGH JOE AHEARN wasn\'t FEATURED in with MR. CROWELL, I THINK HIS COMPANY is ELITE and HE BELONGED in with the FIRST TIER CARVERS of MINIATURES!!

(Above): OBVIOUSLY I DID MORE RESEARCH AFTER THIS BOOK WAS WRITTEN, BUT MR. ELLIS DID CAPTURE THE ESSENCE OF MR. AHEARNS LIFE!!!! (Page 160)

(Above): THE PREENING DRAKE MALLARD THAT I ALSO HAVE UP FOR sale ON IS AN AWESOME EXAMPLE OF HIS MORE POPULAR CARVINGS AND A PRETTY GOOD ONE AT THAT!! HOWEVER, THE MALLARD PREENER THAT I HAVE UP FOR sale HAS A MUCH BETTER SET OF \"COPPER TAIL CURLS\" AND PAINT!!!!

(Above): CLOSE-UP of the MALLARD in MR. ELLIS\' BOOK!!

(Above): THE LAST 2 PHOTOS OF PAGE 160 FROM THE BOOK AND PAGE 161 IS COVERED LATER IN THIS MINT & PRISTINE!! c1945 JAMES JOSEPH \"JOE\" AHEARN (1904-1963); Micro Miniature \"DRAKE HOODED-MERGANSER\" Carved Wood Duck (tiny 3-1/4\" Long) SIGNED and includes \"CROSSROADS GALLERY\" TAG!! (Bronx & Manhattan, New York; Stamford, Connecticut)

• IMMACULATE CONDITION; AWESOME ALL ORIGINAL EVERYTHING, plus Hand-Cut, Red Cedar Sapling Stand!!

\"OUTSTANDING\" INCISED WING PRIMARIES & SECONDARIES as WELL as \"DEEP\" ENTIRE WING OUTLINES and DEEP BACK GROOVE FORMING SEPARATION!!

• EXCEPTIONAL CARVED IN BILL NOSTRILS & HEAD/BILL DELINEATION!!

THE BILL IS OUTSTANDING; THE BILL LOOKS LIKE IT WAS CAST FROM A REAL BIRD!!

• Tiny Carved in Metal Bead Eyes with Yellow Irises & Black Pupils for Realism & a Perfect Final Touch of a Small Speck of White for Realism!!
• Beautiful Tiny Brush Strokes and Detail Painting Adds to the Already Wonderful Patina!
• Appears to be at Least 3-4 Layers or Coats of Paint!

VERY TINY:

Hooded-Merganser Duck Measures: 3-1/4\" long x 1-1/2\" wide x 2-1/4\" tall;

ENTIRE PIECE with Red Cedar Stand: 3-1/4\" long x 2\" wide x 2-1/2\" tall

• EXQUISITE DETAIL: Tiny Carved in Wing Separation, Back, Wing Primaries & Secondaries!!

SIGNED: \"JOSEPH AHEARN\" & \"HOODED MERGANSER\"
ORIGINAL TAG ON BOTTOM: \"SPORTING GALLERY\" & \"48th STREET, NEW YORK, 17\"

Incredible Paint Detail Down to Individual Feathers to the Entire Duck! Especially the Back, Wings, Sides, Breast, Head & Tail which have Every Single Feather; Done with a Micro Brush -or- Antique Quill

Metal \"Hand-Made\" Webbed Feet -and- \"hand-Made\" Metal Wire Legs!!

• During the mid-1940\'s and until his death in 1963, Ahearn was as well known for his finely detailed painted and carved miniature birds as any of his famous carving peers. Sadly, at his untimely death in 1963 at the age 59, Ahearn\'s work was being compared to and as highly regarded as the miniature carvings of the Great James Lapham and A. J. King.

SHIPPING INCLUDES INSURANCE

This Vintage, 71+ year old, one-of-a-kind, original carving, rare and very nicely carved and painted Solid Cedar, Miniature Carving of a DRAKE HOODED-MERGANSER \"DIVING DUCK\" was hand painted and carved by James Joseph Ahearn (1904-1963) of New York City and later Stamford, Connecticut.

James Joseph Ahearn was born in the Bronx borough of New York City in 1904. His parents, father also named James (born 1877) and Jane (born 1878) were married in 1900, and in addition to James Joseph, they had a daughter named Marie that was also born in the Bronx, in 1901.

The 1910 U.S. Census lists the following residents and their basic demographical information at their BRONX, NEW YORK Household:

JAMES J. AHEARN (BORN NEW YORK: 1877) HUSBAND; Married 1900 Occup: CLERK, Contracting AGE 33 JANE AHEARN (BORN in NEW YORK: 1878) WIFE; \"Housewife\" AGE 32 MARIE AHEARN (BORN in NEW YORK: 1901) DAUGHTER AGE 9 JAMES JOSEPH AHEARN (BORN in NEW YORK: 1904) SON AGE 6

James Joseph Ahearn\'s father was a clerk with a contracting company through circa 1915 and then he took a job as a clerk with an asphalt company and moved his family to Manhattan. In 1918 James Joseph Ahearn, the carver of this miniature, went to college and upon his graduation in 1922 he moved back in with his parents and took a job as a salesman for a chewing gum company in New York City. In the mid-1920\'s, and while James Joseph was in his mid-20\'s, his father died. His father died prematurely at the age of 45, which would be a harbinger for his son, as James Joseph Ahearn and the carver of this miniature also died prematurely in 1963 at the age of 59. After his father\'s death, the younger Ahearn continued to live with his mother Jane until around 1935. Around 1936-37 James Ahearn married his wife Genevieve (b. 1906) and they rented a residence in the Bronx, New York. It was also around this time that James took a position as a salesman with a satellite office of National Cash Register that was also located in the Bronx. In 1941 James Joseph and and his wife Genevieve moved to Stamford, Connecticut and would live at several different addresses until James Ahearn\'s death on March 29, 1963 and Genevieve\'s passing in 1979. There is no record that the couple ever had any children. James Joseph Ahearn actually went by his middle name \"Joseph\" and to friends he was known as \"Joe\".

James Joseph Ahearn (1904-1963) became quite famous in the mid-1940\'s as a carver of miniatures after the exposure he gained after his carvings began to be featured in Ralph Terrill\'s Crossroad of Sports store and catalogue in 1945. But he began carving his wonderful miniatures and other related sports items in the late 1930\'s with no clear distribution network other than \"word-of-mouth\". The first documentation of his carvings being offer for sale bu Ralph Terrill\'s company was in the 1945-46 catalog of the Sporting Gallery and Bookstore in New York City. This catalog featured a wide selection of Ahearn\'s \"functional hunter\" and \"sportsman oriented\" items such as lamps, wall thermometers, letter openers, coat racks, tie racks, pipe racks, book ends and ashtrays in a variety of configurations. It was also around this time that Ahearn began offering for sale his miniature carvings of waterfowl and upland game birds to a wider audience. One of the first, and certainly the most important retailer to carry his carvings was the Crossroads of Sport store in New York City. The Crossroads of Sport store was enjoying the huge demand for the miniature carvings of A. J. King, so they were more than eager to complement his product with another carvers work, and that was Joe Ahearn\'s carvings. The Crossroads store was selling Ahearn\'s miniature carvings of ducks and upland game birds for $12.50 each for either a standing of flying carving, or $23.50 for a pair. In addition, you could buy an entire family group of carvings for $45.00. This was a pretty decent chunk of change in the mid-1940\'s, so his work was being purchased by the mostly upscale clientele of the Crossroads company. The 3 miniature Ahearn carvings that I have up for sale exemplify the very best of James Ahearn\'s work and this Hooded-Merganser is a Great example of one of his Carvings that was Purchased from the Crossroads Gallery in New York City. Since by far the largest seller of Ahearn\'s miniature\'s was the Crossroads store, there is a good chance that the 2 of the ducks I have up for sale were bought there, and one for sure this Hooded Merganser as it has the store\'s small brand on the bottom in the form of an old return address label. All of Ahearn\'s miniature ducks were mounted on either a small bi-sected piece of a tree branch, tree root or a forked section of a branch. Of the 3 ducks that I have put on , 2 are from a small section of a black walnut tree branch and this pair of Redheads is on a small section of a Red Cedar tree sapling or young tree. The overwhelming majority of his miniature carvings are signed on the bottom with either \"J. Ahearn\", \"Joseph Ahearn\" or \"J. J. Ahearn\" and most of them have also have the species of bird also written out in cursive or spelled out, except in the case of the Mallard which I am assuming most customers would or should know.

(Above): AWESOME JAMES AHEARN MINIATURE of a PARTRIDGE or RUFFED GROUSE!!!!

In the late 1950\'s, the Crossroads of Sport store was still selling James Joseph Ahearn\'s lamps along with a variety of his miniature carvings. The miniature carvings that they offered included not only waterfowl and game birds, but also the miniature carvings of hunting dogs that he began producing at some point in time around 1953. All of his carvings were one of a kind and the only thing that all of his miniatures had in common is that they all were mounted on either a small tree branch or chunk of wood. A very limited number were mounted on a small, hand carved base similar to the ones made by Elmer Crowell. Although James Joseph Ahearn passed away on March 29, 1963, his family continued selling the lamps at the Crossroads store by making new stock using his old patterns and designs as templates. During the 1950\'s and very early 1960\'s, James Ahearn was receiving much acclaim due in most part because of the promotional efforts of the Crossroads of Sport store. Although James Ahearn became a significant name in the world of miniature bird carvings, his untimely death at the age of 59 is most likely why his is one of the lesser known names that is bandied about when collectors discus the vintage carvers of miniatures.

(Above): AWESOME JAMES AHEARN MINIATURE DRAKE BLUE-WINGED TEAL!!!!

This extraordinary Micro Miniature hand-carved and hand-painted wood carving of a DRAKE HOODED MERGANSER DIVING DUCK was made by the once very highly regarded James Joseph Ahearn. During the 1940\'s and until his death in 1963, Ahearn was as well known for his finely detailed painted and carved miniature birds as any of his famous carving peers. At the time, his work was compared to and as highly regarded as the miniature carvings of the Great James Lapham, Elmer Crowell and A. J. King. The tiny little body and head alone has hundreds of tiny brush strokes that were either done with the finest single or double haired detail brushes or quite possibly even with the finest of Quill Pens or Brushes and several hues of oil paint and a type of hued India ink. The tiny metal legs and feet were hand made from a thin cut sheet metal for the webbed feet and then soldered on to the little wire rod legs. They are very neat and when you see this tiny work you can really appreciate the outstanding craftsmanship that Mr. Ahearn possessed. The eyes are tiny little metal ball bearings or beads that were incised into the head and then painted in with both an iris and pupil which I find completely amazing as the pupils must have been detailed in with the head of a pin.

The base was made of a wonderful piece of a Red Cedar tree branch or trunk that was cut to make it a beautiful and steady stand with which to showcase this great miniature Drake Hooded Merganser. The tiny wooden duck\'s body has individually detailed feathers that are very fine brush strokes. The amount of detail is especially awesome on the back, wings, breast and tail, which includes every single little feather! There is very finely carved in back wing separation, wings, wing tips, wing outlines and tails are relief carved absolutely wonderfully. The bill is absolutely and incredibly awesome! The bill has carved in nostrils and the shaping on it is truly exceptional!!

This Incredible Miniature Drake Hooded Merganser up for sale have awesome features like all of the feather groups featured, wire legs and feet, bill/head paint delineation and tiny, painted eyes. The painting might be the finest aspect of this miniature and this little Wooden Duck surely does not disappoint and I can only tell you that to hold it is to behold it; Pictures Cannot do this Little Carving Justice. Mr. Ahearn must have used a 20/0 Micro brush to do the very fine detailed paint job on his carvings. As you can see by the many close-up photos that I taken of these Merganser\'s wing feathers, back feathers, tail feathers and even the 7/16\" long bill is perfectly detailed with incredible symmetry as well as accuracy. Not only is this paint job incredible, it has outstanding patina. There is very minor resin bleed on the breast, but it is not uncommon to find scattered and extremely faint resin bleed through of the original oil paint, but even when this is present, if anything it makes the patina even more incredible!!

In addition to these features, this little Pair of Micro Hooded-Merganser Miniature has perfect wing detailing, delicately layered feathering, elaborate vermiculation, and tiny metal bead eyes. It is a beautiful miniature and it has an anatomically perfectly carved and formed full body that was carved from one, solid piece of wood. This awesome piece of art is in impeccable and in outstanding condition as you can by the many photos. It is a strikingly vibrant and well-executed carving and painted specimen. If you have any questions or would like any additional photos feel free to email me. Thanks for looking.

The First 16 Photos are of this awesome James Joseph Ahearn Miniature Drake Hooded-Merganser taken from different angles and distances.

The last 3 photos are of other Ahearn Miniatures that I have up for sale including an outstanding Pair of Redheads and a Preening Drake Mallard!!

 

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