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RARE HEN Superb High Head c1917 \"THOMAS BARNARD\" Canvasback Wood Decoy MARYLAND a.imagelink {color:#000000;} a:hover.imagelink {color:#000000;} a:visited.imagelink {color:#00A8A8;} a.imagelink img.saleimage { border: 2px solid #000000; } a:visited.imagelink img.saleimage { border: 2px solid #00A8A8; }

THOMAS PARKER BARNARD (11/18/1873 - 4/18/1927)

• The Awesome Photo Below is c1915, when Thomas Barnard was in his early 40\'s.  (The Photo is Thomas with Two of His Prized & Much Sought After Beagles!) 

Below Is A Picture of:  CHARLES NELSON BARNARD; (Thomas Parker Barnard\'s Younger Brother!!)

OUTSTANDING, UPPER BAY SEMI-HIGH HEAD;  c1917  THOMAS PARKER BARNARD  (1873-1927);  \"HEN CANVASBACK\"  Wood Duck Decoy;  Havre de Grace, MARYLAND; (Susquehanna Flats; UPPER CHESAPEAKE BAY)

• CLASSIC THOMAS BARNARD Original Rigging  \"ELONGATED OVAL LEAD BALLAST WEIGHT\" -and- \"BENT NAIL with RING LINE-TIE\"

-Excellent \"Hand Burnished\" Patina to the Outstanding Original Paint!!

-THIS IS AN AWESOME PAIR of CENTURY-OLD REGAL-HEADED, BARNARD CANVASBACKS!!

• WONDERFUL OLD & VINTAGE EARLY HAND-CHOPPED, GUNNING BIRD!! 
• EXCELLENT OLD FINE BRUSH PAINT DETAIL TO THE HEAD, BACK and WING DETAIL PAINT!!

-All Original Rigging;  Including Staple & Ring Line-Tie & Hand-Cast, Lead Ballast Weight!

-AWESOME & FLAW-LESS FORM!!  Beautiful Lines Endlessly Contour from the Tip of the Bill, and after a Serpentine Flow, Culminates at the Unassuming Tail!!

-GRACEFUL & SOMEWHAT BOLD STYLED DECOY with AWESOME BULL NECK with a VERY ROMAN-STYLED BILL!!

-Awesome Vintage Old Hunting ORIGINAL CONDITION!!

THE DRAKE RIG MATE TO THIS HEN IS ALSO ON IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR AN EXCELLENT PAIR OF RIG MATES THAT WERE MADE AT THE SAME TIME AND HAVE BEEN TOGETHER EVER SINCE!!!

KEEP YOUR EYE OUT FOR THE FOLLOWING LISTINGS:

• AN EXCELLENT ROGER and FRANK DOLSON CANVASBACKS in EXCELLENT ORIGINAL PAINT!!! 
• A JOE KING BLACK DUCK OF NEW JERSEY \'S;  FROM THE RIG OF ELKANAH COBB and WITH COBB\'S HOT BRAND!!!
• ALVIN \"GUNNER\" MEEKINS HEN \"FENCE-POST PHEASANT HEN MERGANSER IN NEAR MINT CONDITION!!
• Pair of AL RIES TRU-DUX MALLARDS IN PHENOMENAL ORIGINAL CONDITION!!
• Pair of RARE RUDDY DUCKS ATTRIBUTED TO DOC BAUMGARDNER of HOUGHTON LAKE, MICHIGAN!!
• Two Pair of EXCELLENT MASON MALLARDS including a Very Old c1895 Mallard with GREAT EARLY FORM!!
• AND MUCH, MUCH MORE!!!

SHIPPING INCLUDES INSURANCE

This 100+ year old Hen Canvasback, solid cedar, wood duck decoy was carved and painted by THOMAS PARKER BARNARD (1874-1927) of Havre de Grace, Maryland.  Havre de Grace is a city in Harford County, situated at the mouth of the Susquehanna River and the head of Chesapeake Bay.  It is named after the port city of Le Havre, France, which in full was once Le Havre de Grâce (French, \"Haven of Grace\").  During the Revolutionary War, the small hamlet known as Harmer\'s Town was visited several times by General Lafayette, who was considered a hero of the war.  Lafayette commented that the area reminded him of the French seaport of Le Havre, which as previously mentioned had originally been named Le Havre-de-Grâce.  Inspired by Lafayette\'s comments, the residents incorporated the town as Havre de Grace in 1785.  The early industry of Havre de Grace included oyster and crab harvesting, and extensive fruit orchards. Products were shipped to markets along the East Coast and upriver.  Havre de Grace also became widely known for duck hunting, and was a seasonal destination for hunters.  They stayed at the town hotels and hired local guides to escort them hunting on the river and along the bay.  Local artisans became known for their high quality decoy making, which is honored in the Decoy Museum of the city.

While Havre de Grace and Charles Nelson Barnard have well established legacy\'s that forever tie their contributions to Upper Chesapeake Bay waterfowl gunning, the name of another Barnard son is gradually getting his due as an early and significant player in the Upper Bay\'s legendary waterfowl gunning history.  That person is the older brother of carving legend Charles Nelson Barnard, and his name is Thomas Parker Barnard (11/28/1873 to 4/18/1927).  His younger and more widely known brother Charles (1876-1958).

As with the Graham and Barnes decoy making families, the Barnard family had Thomas Parker Barnard and his more, well known, but younger brother Charles Nelson.  While Charles\' son Fred was also known to have carved several hundred decoys over his lifetime, it was his older brother Thomas that might just be the most talented carver in their family when the dust eventually settles.

Thomas Parker Barnard was born in Havre de Grace, Maryland on November 28, 1873, the oldest of 5 children born to Charles Parker Barnard and Ellen (nee Taylor) Barnard.  Thomas\' father was a railroad employee and in the 1880 census his trade was listed as a \"Fireman on Engine\".  Thomas\' father also was a captain on the schooner scow, the Ella Barnard, which was a shallow draft, two-masted sailing ship built at the Brooks Shipyard in Talbot County, Maryland.  Thomas Barnard left school to work on his father\'s schooner, but unfortunately his father died just before the turn of the century in 1900, while Thomas was in his mid-20\'s.  Thus, the 1900 census lists Thomas and his younger brother Charles Nelson as \"Can Makers\".  Later on, Thomas worked at the nearby Aberdeen Proving Grounds as a stationery engineer on the steam boiler system.  Thomas not only became an expert waterman, but he was also known as a very accomplished small game hunter in general.  Thomas was also very well known in the entire region for his coon and rabbit hounds, including his sensational beagles.

THE ABOVE PHOTO IS OF ONE OF THOMAS BARNARD\'S SWAN-LIKE, YET BULLISHLY HANDSOME, HIGH HEAD CANVASBACKS!!

What is clear is that Thomas and his younger brother Charles were excellent decoy carvers, but what may never be established is which of the brothers began carving decoys first.  As far as chronology is concerned, Thomas was born several years before Charles, and his marriage to Leona Keen of Oakington in 1898 may have introduced him to decoy carving, because the Keen family was very well known for its waterfowl gunning and decoy making on the Susquehanna Flats.  If this were the case, it would make sense that Thomas did indeed teach his younger the art of making duck and goose decoys, but again, which carver started first has never been established.

Two very different styles and forms of canvasback decoys have been attributed to Thomas Barnard.  One style has a thicker neck, measuring 6-3/4\" in circumference and 6-1/8\" in height, and a broad, blunt, slightly upswept tail.  The second style that Thomas employed was made with a thinner, more delicate neck, measuring 5\" in circumference, 5-1/8\" in height and subtle paddle tail.  This excellent pair of Thomas Barnard canvasbacks up for sale are hybrids that more closely follow the bull-necked style as their necks are 6-3/4\" circumference with a very subtle tail, but the height of the head much more closely follows the pattern of his second style with necks that are taller and closer with their 5-1/8\" height.

   

THE ABOVE PHOTO IS OF A SPECTACULAR c1920 THOMAS BARNARD VERY LONG-NECKED, CANVASBACK!!

The Bodies of Thomas Barnard\'s decoys have very subtle tails, unlike the decoys made by his younger brother Charles\'s birds with their bold paddle tails.  As you can see by the photo below, the necks on Thomas\' high headed decoys are much more slender than the necks on Charles\' high headed birds.

ABOVE:  THOMAS BARNARD CANVASBACK on the LEFT; -and- a CHARLES NELSON BARNARD on the RIGHT!

Many early carvers made miniatures of their full-size decoys, but Thomas Barnard was one of a small group of carvers that made miniature \"flyers, of which many had wings made of sheet-metal and outstretched necks.  Homer Barnard, Charles Nelson\'s son, once made a very neat observation about what he remembered from being at his Uncle Thomas\' house.  Homer recalled that the china closet in Uncle Thomas\' dining room being filled with miniature regular decoys, and Uncle Tom\'s miniature flying ducks hanging from all of the teacup hooks.  Homer also remembered that his Uncle Thomas\' miniature duck carvings all played a roll in their Christmas decorating.  He said Uncle Thomas\' miniature flyers became Christmas tree ornaments for the holidays and his miniature floating decoy carvings were set on mirrors under the tree to simulate them swimming on a reflective pond.

    

THE ABOVE PHOTO is of ONE of THOMAS BARNARD\'S MINIATURE \"FLYING\" DUCK CARVINGS!! 

Most of the miniatures carved by Thomas and Charles Barnard were canvasbacks, including Thomas\' miniature flyers.  But one type of waterfowl that Thomas carved that his brother didn\'t was Swans.  A 1995 discovery of a group of Thomas Barnard\'s swans, each of them measuring a perfect 6\" in overall length.  This discovery verified him as the maker of a larger swan that previously been attributed to the well-known Havre de Grace wing shot, Jess Poplar.

 

THE ABOVE PHOTO IS OF SEVERAL of THOMAS BARNARD\'S FAMOUS MINIATURE SWANS!!   

This classic and wonderfully formed Hen Canvasback by Thomas Barnard up for sale is an awesome, century-old gunning bird that is in Outstanding Original condition as you can see by the many photos.  This Decoy has Excellent Original Paint with some very small areas of touch-up that was done while in-use and to only the back and wing paint and possibly the head.  This decoy also has awesome detail paint on the tiny speculums that are very far back up on the top of the body, excellent daubing to the back paint and the wonderful brush detail where the black paint migrates into the tan on the top of the Head!!  Also wonderful on this Hen is that there is a tiny and delicate cream-white paint detail on the feathering where the bill meets the head.  Thia pair of canvasbacks have have nicely carved in head/bill separation detail where the \"Roman\" bill meets the head.

 

THE ABOVE PHOTO is of a THOMAS BARNARD CANVASBACK From ROUGHLY the SAME TIME PERIOD as This c1917 DECOY UP FOR sale!!

The 100% Original Black Paint on the Bill of this mighty canvasback is worn down to the wood on many of the high spots but it looks spectacular and it helps create a neat aura for this antique duck decoy from not long after the end of the 19th century.  This decoy is in excellent original condition and even the in-use and outstanding repair to the bill by the hunter adds to the vintage look of this 100-Year Old gunning block.  

Great seamless transition from the head to the neck with absolutely no neck putty as this decoy was carved to perfection and is was also executed with precision.  The 3 original nails that were used to hold the head on are perfectly intact and the head is as tight to the body as the day this decoy was made.  This is also great evidence as to the marvelous condition of this decoy as the large nail down through the top of the head and the 2 in the front of the neck still have the original neck putty perfectly intact and looks like they were nailed in yesterday.  The neck on this decoy is absolutely perfect with no horizontal checking and this is always a plus, because a great many of the decoys from the Susquehanna Flats\' region have some type of neck damage or signs of repair because of the inherent inadequacies of this nailing down through the top of the head method of head attachment.

Although Charles Nelson Barnard is the Charlestown carving brother that is most often mentioned, his older brother Thomas Barnard was quietly creating a resume of decoys similar to that of his more famous younger brother Charles.   

The tail on this Hen Canvasback sports one of Thomas\' more subtle tails as it is a gradual and smooth culmination of the body\'s form.  This Great Thomas Barnard decoy also sports Thomas\' original lead ballast weight perfectly intact, as well as the typical Upper Bay ring and bent nail, line tie.  This old hunting decoy has great lines and all of the of the character of his wonderful hunting blocks.  This extraordinary decoy saw, I am sure, a decent amount of hunting action, but was so well made it is in mint structural condition and although there was an excellent in-use repair done to the bill, it retains most of the thick and perfectly applied Original Paint and a few small spots that might have been touched up, but it is hard to tell as they are as old as the decoy itself.  This decoy has outstanding old patina as well.  Like I say earlier, the head and neck on this decoy are beautiful, original and damage-free, but that is what makes this a great decoy to own, as this construction technique was prone to having damaged necks when you consider the large percentage of Upper Chesapeake decoys that have some sort of neck checking or signs of repair from picking up these very heavy, solid birds up at the end of the day by the head and neck.  Not this decoy, the neck is damage free and quite beautiful.  This decoy is in excellent structural condition and the head, neck, ballast weight and line tie are perfectly intact and the patina is remarkable.  Part of the allure of this decoy\'s patina, is the beautiful Original Paint coat that is burnished to a nice glow.  This very nice and vintage decoy measures 15-1/2\" long x 5-3/8\" wide x 9-1/4\" tall and weighs a quite hefty 3-lbs. 4-oz., which is perfectly in step with the finest of turn of the century decoys from the Upper Chesapeake Bay region.  The awesome and equally beautiful Drake rig-mate to this Hen measures 16-1/4\" long x 5-3/4\" wide x 9\" tall and weighs a hefty 2-lbs. 10-oz., which makes for an awesome pair of life-size decoys and where, like in nature, the Drake is slightly larger and heavier than the Hen which is amazing and perfectly natural.   An excellent decoy from the hands of one of the more  renowned carvers that called Havre de Grace their home.  Great addition to your decoy collection from one of the true East Coast Master Carvers.  Thanks for looking.

The first Photo is of this Awesome Thomas Barnard Hen Canvasback Up For sale!!  The Next 14 Photos are of this Hen together With the Drake Rig-Mate That is Also on !!  The Last 9 Photos are Again of this Beautiful Hen Canvasback up for sale By Itself Again!!

Below is a Photo of another Direct Comparison of another Thomas Barnard Canvasback with His Younger brother Charles\'!!

I COMBINE SHIPPING ON ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING!!