AWESOME ORIGINAL PAINT by BILL KEIM and POSSIBLY BIRDSALL! Beautiful Paint Also Follows the Style and Form of a 1936 Ward Brothers Gunning to the 50+ Year Old Paint!! -Taxidermist Grade Red Glass Eyes!! - Steve Ward is often credited with doing most of the decoy carving and Lem Ward with most of the painting, but this tends to oversimplify the close working relationship between the two brothers who formed a unique carving partnership.
This Rare & Important Wildfowler Was Awesomely Carved and Crafted by Owner Charlie Birdsall!!!
This Decoy Exhibits all of the Classic Form of a Wildfowler, Right Down to the Spindle Cut or Burned Head/Bill Delineation!!
- RARE: SPECIAL ORDER \"HOLLOW CEDAR\" SUPERIORS!!
- RARE: SPECIAL ORDER \"WARD BROTHERS\" CANVASBACK MODEL!!!
- RARE: SPECIAL ORDER 1-INCH x 1-INCH, \"FACTORY KEELS\"!!!
- RARE: EXCELLENT \"POINT PLEASANT\" BOTTOM \"WILDFOWLER\" ROUND STAMP OR BRAND!!!!
- RARE: AWESOME, NEAR MINT 100% ORIGINAL PAINT AND 100% ORIGINAL CONDITION!!!!
- RARE: ABSOLUTELY PERFECT CARVING TO THE VERY LONG & PERFECTLY CONTOURED BILLS!!!
- RARE: BEAUTIFUL & VERY EARLY SPINDLE CUT or PRECISELY BURNED IN BILL/HEAD SEPARATION!!!
- RARE: INCREDIBLE AGED PATINA TO THE OIL PAINT!!
- RARE: THIS DECOY HAS THE MOST DESIRABLE AND \"WELL-CRAFTED\" HOLLOWING METHOD IN THE \"NEW JERSEY DUGOUT STYLE\" AS OPPOSED TO BOTTOM BOARDS!!
- RARE: THESE HOLLOW WARD BROTHERS MODELS ARE THE SOME of the MOST BALANCED, PORTABLE, SYMMETRICALLY CRAFTED AND OUTSTANDINGLY CARVED AND PAINTED WILDFOWLERS MADE!!!
- RARE: THIS INCREDIBLE PAIR OF RIG-MATE DECOYS HAVE A FORM & STYLE THAT IS SO UNIQUE IT MAKES THEM ONE OF THE MOST SOUGHT AFTER STYLES & MODELS BY NEW JERSEY COLLECTORS!!
THE EQUALLY BEAUTIFUL HEN CANVASBACK RIG-MATE TO THIS DRAKE IS ALSO ON if you are LOOKING FOR AN AWESOME PAIR OF RIG-MATES!!!!
Both Decoys Measure 17\" long x 7-1/4\" wide x 8-3/8\" tall -and- Weigh 2-lbs. 9-ozs. Each!! THAT IS FANTASTIC & Makes for a Perfect Pair!!!
That Makes for an awesome pair of Canvasback Gunning Decoys that are the same size and Weight, which makes for an awesome pair of decoys that were carved together and have been together since they were carved and in the protection of a climate controlled, light-free collections since they were retired together!!
SHIPPING INCLUDES INSURANCE
This Vintage, 52 year old, Extremely Rare and Wonderfully Carved and Painted \"POINT PLEASANT WILDFOWLER\" Drake Canvasback \"Hollow\" Cedar Duck decoy was carved by Wildfowler\'s Owner Charles Birdsall (1920-1986). This Special Edition Ward Brothers Decoy was Made at Wildfowler\'s Headquarters, which at the time was with its 3rd Owner, Charlie Birdsall in Point Pleasant, which was a mere 50 miles north of Beach Haven and the home of New Jersey\'s legendary carver Bill Cranmer. Beach Haven is in Ocean County, New Jersey, and on the southern end of Long Beach Island. Long Beach Island is 18-miles long and 1/2-miles wide and is a Barrier Island with the Atlantic Ocean on its eastern shores and Little Egg Harbor and Manahawkin Bay on its western side. Long Beach Island is located right in the middle of some of the most historically significant waterfowling grounds in the country. To get to the resort communities on Long Beach Island, you must cross the Manahawkin Bay Bridge which takes you over the famous gunning waters of Manahawkin Bay. And Manahawkin is located 4 miles south of Barnegat and the world famous duck hunting grounds of Barnegat Bay, and a mere 8 miles north of Tuckerton and Egg Harbor, the home of the Great Harry V. Shourds. The earliest form of tourism for this area of New involved the guiding of hunting parties on South Jersey\'s rich tidal bays, salt marsh ponds, clean streams and fast rivers. During the Victorian period (1837-1901), market gunners headed in droves to their favorite hunting grounds like Barnegat Bay, Manahawkin Bay, Great Egg Harbor Bay, Corson Inlet and Cape May among many others. And a great many of these Victorian era gunners eagerly sought out the decoys that were made in the area and in the 1900\'s the decoys and sink-boxes made by Gene Hendrickson and Harry V. Shourds. In general, the huge pine forests, vast coastal cedar stands, sweeping marshes and unpolluted waters saw the area grow into a major hub for deer hunting, salt water fishing, clamming, shorebird hunting and waterfowl hunting and to the degree that it had few equals. The advent of the sink box and market hunting helped dictate the design and construction of the \"dugout\" Jersey style decoys in the area because of its limited capacity and weight constraints of the smaller boats. In addition to the sink boxes, the area had a long history of modestly sized gunning boats and thus the decoys needed to be hollow and very rarely over-sized.
Wildfowler\'s third home of Point Pleasant, New Jersey, was Located a Mere 50 Miles North of Beach Haven and has an Awesome Waterfowling, Fishing and \"Bayman\" legacy and heritage of its own. Point Pleasant is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, and it is bounded on the north by the Manasquan River, on the east by Point Pleasant Beach and Bay Head, on the south by Beaver Dam Creek and on the west by Brick Township. The town is home to the Point Pleasant Canal, completed in 1925, at the northern end of the Intracoastal Waterway. The two lift bridges over the canal, at Route 88 and Bridge Avenue, can be opened as many as 300 times per day during the summer to allow boats to pass underneath as marine traffic has the right of way. Around 1500, the area that included the future Point Pleasant was the ceremonial meeting place of the Lenape Native Americans, who called it the \"Land of Tall Timber\". In approximately 1665, the first European settlers arrived in the area, who were mainly fishermen, farmers and boat builders. The town was initially a logging town, although logging was never a significant part of the local economy.
In 1924, the Manasquan River-Bay Head Canal was completed as part of the inland waterway. The canal, which divides Point Pleasant in half, provides a passage for boats, and is the northern most leg of the Intracoastal Waterway which traverses the East Coast of the United States along the Atlantic Ocean between New Jersey and Florida. In 1964, Senator Case introduced legislation that changed the canal\'s name to the Point Pleasant Canal.
Though often regarded as a summer resort, the borough\'s website emphasizes that it is a \"year round community of approximately 19,000 residents\".
ABOUT THE POINT PLEASANT, NEW JERSEY WILDFOWLER FACTORY!!
- How Wildfowler Found It\'s New Home in 1961 and Its Years There!!
- ALL ABOUT HOW CHARLIE BIRDSALL CAME to MAKE RARE Decoys LIKE These VERY RARE, EGG-SHELL \"HOLLOW\" WARD CANVASBACKS!
In the late winter of 1961, Charlie Birdsall of Point Pleasant, New Jersey, took a trip to the south shore of Long Island. Whether he was going to look at antique cars at the Automobile Museum in Southampton or to the racetrack at Bridgehampton is unclear, but he made a stop in Quogue to visit the Wildfowler factory. To his surprise there was a sign on the shop door: \"Closed. Business for Sale.\" Since he knew the 2nd man to own Wildfowler, Mr. Rab Staniford, Charlie contacted him at his home in nearby Westhampton. Before the day was over Charlie had called his wife Pat in Pt. Pleasant and the Birdsalls made a commitment to purchase the Wildfowler operation.
(above photo): Pages from a Point Pleasant Wildfowler Catalog Trumpeting Their Many Contest Winners!!
A few weeks later Charlie and some auto racing friends drove to Quogue and began to move the Wildfowler stock, patterns and machines to the Birdsall’s backyard in Pt. Pleasant. They utilized an existing garage to set up the operation. The garage at the head of the driveway became a paint shop. Space was laid out for a second building. The carving machines, which had made the trip from Long Island in a racecar trailer, were placed first and the new building was built around them. This building became a combination showroom and workshop.
(above photo): A Couple of the Other Specialty Decoys Made at the Point Pleasant Wildfowler Company!!
Charles R. Birdsall was the fourth generation of a Barnegat Bay family that included several carpenters, decoy makers and watermen. Jesse had been the captain of a coastal schooner, Nathaniel was a boat builder and Eugene was a blacksmith and gunsmith. Eugene, Charlie’s grandfather, moved first to Toms River in 1883 and then moved again to Loveland Town (Pt. Pleasant today) in 1890. Charlie’s father and uncles were all decoy makers in the tradition of Charlie’s great-uncle, Jesse Birdsall.
After WW II Charlie Birdsall and his brother James went into business as Birdsall Brothers Builders. In the early 1950s he began to work with a local mason named Johnny Hillman. A friendship developed that was to last for the rest of Charlie’s life. They hunted and made decoys together. For many years Tuesday night was their regular visiting time at one or the other’s home.
(above photo): Beautiful Point Pleasant Wildfowler Ringed Neck Decoy!!!
In 1958 Charlie was injured in a stock car race and while convalescing was diagnosed with a rare form of tuberculosis. He was hospitalized for nearly a year and after recovering could no longer practice his trade, building houses, although he never gave up his trademark cigars. When he discovered that Wildfowler was for sale in 1961, he was thrilled. During that phone call from Quogue, Pat had encouraged him to buy Wildfowler. Here was an opportunity to own and operate a business from home. Although he had some physical limitations after his illness, Charlie had enormous energy, and making decoys was a business he could easily handle. The house and the \"factory in the back yard\" became a social center for many local carvers and baymen.
(above photo): Another Rare Pair of Beautiful Wildfowler Gunning Decoys!!
The Birdsall family’s daily schedule ran around the decoys. Pat ran the household, manned the phone in the house and communicated by intercom with the operations in the workshops. Dinner was served at 4 P.M. because by five o’clock friends dropped by to chat or help out. According to Bernadine Pierce, Charlie’s youngest daughter, the entire family worked in the business, often until late in the evening.
(above photo): Wow, An Excellent Pair of Point Pleasant Wildfowler Balsa Blue-Winged Teal!!
During her high school days, Charlie\'s daughter Bernie helped with most everything. She recalls sanding the assembled birds and sealing the pine ones with shellac for her father to paint. (The balsa birds weren’t primed.) During the daytime Don Kitchen, a local police officer who worked part-time at Wildfowler, often did these jobs. Later Bernie learned how to insert the eyes and paint the base colors for the gunning birds before Charlie finished the feathering and details. As time went on she learned to burn feather details into the unpainted decoratives by using a wood-burning pen. Bernie’s feathered birds became a very popular gift shop item. Quite a few of these feathered decoys were made into planters by boring a hollow 3-inch hole in the back that was filled with half of a Styrofoam ball. Many of the burned and stained birds are dated and signed \"Charles R. Birdsall\" and \"Bernadette Regan.\" Regan was her married name after high school and these birds are dated in the early 1970s. Between 400 and 500 stained mallards and pintails were made; most of the planters were pintails.
(above photo): A Very Neat Pair of Gunning Model Wood Ducks and a Decorative Woodcock Carving Made of Choice Pine!!!
Patti, Bernie’s older sister and Charlie\'s elder daughter, was a nurse and helped by accompanying her father to decoy and wildlife shows where she sold decoys to the public. She married Tommy Gamble and after his tour in Vietnam, he came to work full time for his father-in-law. Tommy did everything but painting. He carved, assembled, sanded, boxed, shipped the finished birds and sold items in the retail shop. Charlie Tilton, another full time employee, did most of the machine carving. Artie Birdsall, Charlie’s nephew, came to work in the fall of 1972. He also worked in all phases of the operation. Charlie himself did the painting of most of the gunning birds. (This Early Pt. Pleasant Decoy Up for sale Carved By Charlie Birdsall Is One of Wildfowler\'s Special Editions Following The Ward Brothers\'s Master Pattern Decoys). Charlie did all of the planning for the business and could often be found manning the show room.
(above photos): Various More Point Pleasant Wildfowler Gunning Decoys!!
Several people painted the decorative birds. They worked on a piecework basis and usually worked at home. Charlie used the paint shop primarily to paint the gunning decoys. The painters of the ornamental decoys can be identified by the initials painted under the bills of the birds. \"DC\" was Dottie Clayton, \"AB\" was Anne Bennett, \"LB\" was Lettie Bennett and \"AL\" indicates birds done by both Anne and Lettie, who were sisters. Some of the finest decorative decoys, marked \"WC,\" were done by Bill Cranmer of Beach Haven, a well-known carver in his own right. Bill Keim of Neptune, one of Charlie’s former gunning partners, also painted decoratives and some gunning decoys like these awesome canvasbacks up for sale. Some of Keim’s birds are marked \"WKeim\" and some \"WK\"; this pair of canvasbacks both have Bill\'s \"W.Keim\" under the bill where he simply painted it on in Block Letters! Many decorative decoys have a rubber –stamped \"Charles R. Birdsall,\" an ink signature by Charlie, and the painter’s initials under the bill. Many of the later (1970s) models have a \"cats-eye\" speculum. This pair of Canvasbacks actually both were hand signed by Charlie Birdsall and it is written: \"Charles R. Birdsall\".
(Charlie Painted most or all of the Gunning Decoys, and it is quite possible that he had a hand in paining these beautiful canvasbacks.)
(above photos): Various Decoratively Carved Decoys Made at Point Pleasant Factory!!
Slowly the Wildfowler paint patterns changed to reflect Charlie’s style. All of the puddle ducks and geese have a right-angle slash across the leading edge of the primaries. It’s assumed this distinctive mark was used continuously on the gunning birds from 1961 until 1977. Some decoys stamped \"Old Saybrook\" exhibit this slash, suggesting that Charlie must have completed and/or painted decoys inherited from the Connecticut and Long Island operations. In general, the feathering is much more detailed than the paint on birds from Quogue, Long Island. One important identifying mark is the absence of lathe carving around the bills of all but the earliest decoys from Point Pleasant. However, many of the gunning birds do have a wood-burned separation of the bill from the face. (This decoy up for sale has either a Late Spindle Cut Bill/Head Separation or Early \"Burned\" Delineation.)
Benjamin Moore oil-based house paint was used exclusively on the gunning birds. The resulting finish has more depth and a higher sheen than the paint on the Quogue decoys. The pine and cedar birds have already begun to develop a fine patina such as is associated with Old Saybrook decoys. And This Beautiful Pair of Canvasbacks Up For sale are Great Examples of Point Pleasant Gunning Decoys with \"INCREDIBLE PATINA\".
SPECIAL ORDER, FAMOUS CARVER EDITIONS: Part of Charlie’s vision for the future of the company was to include birds carved by well-known decoy carvers. He developed a line of historical decoys that included a black duck and a goose copied from Harry V. Shourds. He did two traditional New Jersey style brant, one by Shourds and the second modeled from a Rowley Horner decoys. Inserts in the 1962, 1966 and 1971 catalogs list a Barnegat model brant that could be ordered as a snow goose (white brant), white front goose (speckled belly) or blue goose. They were all special order only.
(ABOVE): LEM & STEVE WARD of Crisfield, Maryland Supplied Wildfowler with Patterns for Broadbill, Pintail Goldeneye and of Course Canvasbacks Like these birds Up For sale!!
(BELOW): The Canvasback Models were Fashioned After the Ward\'s Own 1936 Models of Cans!! Much Like the Pair Shown Below and Like these birds Up For sale!!
Several active carvers during the Point Pleasant Years contributed designs that became popular Wildfowler items. Full-size and ½-size swans were sent by Charlie’s good friend, Madison Mitchell, of Havre de Grace, Maryland. Lem Ward of Crisfield, Maryland contributed patterns for Broadbill, Canvasback, Pintail and Goldeneye decoys.
- CHARLIE BIRDSALL CARVED PAIRS of CANVASBACKS FOR WILDFOWLER\'S COMPANY LINE OF \"SPECIAL EDITIONS\" AVAILABLE ON A SPECIAL ORDER BASIS ONLY!!!
- -and- THIS PAIR OF THOSE SPECIAL ORDER STEVE WARD MODELS that I HAVE HERE up for sale ARE EXCELLENT SPECIMENS of these SPECIAL ORDER DECOYS; ....THEY DIDN\'T MAKE MANY OF THESE!!!!!!
George Walker made a loon and Lloyd Johnson of Bay Head, New Jersey carved a Mason style curlew. \"The Ward style birds were good gunners and quite a few of them were sold locally,\" says Artie Birdsall. Surprisingly, few of these special birds have come to the decoy market in recent years.
- As a gunner himself, Charlie had come to appreciate the stability of the flat-bottomed Wildfowler pattern compared to the more stylish, round-bottomed Barnegat Bay birds. He produced 5000 or more gunning decoys a year largely following the Wildfowler style. The 1960’s catalogs even use the same photos that were originated in Old Saybrook. Superior model birds were produced in balsa, select pine and \"HOLLOW CEDAR\". Atlantic Coast freshwater coots were available in pine. All oversize birds were made of high-density balsa with flat ¾ by 1-inch keels. Occasionally a run of large balsa birds would be hollowed because the wood was so dense. Teals were made of pine with ¾-inch square keels that were later ½-inch square. No production records are known, but surviving decoys suggest that most gunning birds were made in balsa or select pine.
- THE MOST EXPENSIVE DECOYS MADE WERE THE \"HOLLOW CEDAR\" SPECIAL ORDER DECOYS LIKE THESE SPECIAL EDITION WARD BROTHER MODELS UP FOR sale!! -additionally- CHARLIE WENT TO TRENTON HIMSELF TO PICK UP THE CHOICE CEDAR FOR DECOYS EXACTLY LIKE THESE BROADBILLS!!!
Under Charlie’s ownership the production of ornamental decoys began to outstrip that of the gunning birds and the method of distribution changed significantly. \"Uncle Charlie had the best of both worlds. He made lots of fine gunning birds and also many decoratives,\" says Artie Birdsall. In addition to a small but very active retail shop, Birdsall developed several large commercial accounts. In the early days he rented several tables at the Asbury Park boat show each year. For many years Point Pleasant Hardware carried an excellent selection of Wildfowler decoys, as did Abercrombie and Fitch and Crossroads of Sport in New York City. He developed a major account with the Lane Chair Company of Spring Lake, New Jersey, manufacturers of Lane cedar chests. Lane marketed many decoratives to smaller retailers through the Gift Distribution Center at 225 5th Avenue in NYC. Lane also showed Wildfowler decoys at major merchandising shows in Texas and the Middle West. The decoys produced for Lane were largely stained birds with a heavy emphasis on small birds, such as teal and bufflehead. Charlie Birdsall\'s broad marketing efforts resulted in orders from all 50 states and several foreign countries. In addition, he continued to advertise gunning decoys in sporting magazines, such as Outdoor Life, as well as the new decoy magazines, Decoy Collectors Guide, The Toller Trader and Decoy World.
For the first two years the business struggled a bit. In the first year he had to chisel the word \"Quogue\" off the tool used to burn the brand before he could afford to get a new electric branding iron. Some early Point Pleasant birds are found without a location evident in the seal. But within two years, with Charlie’s business acumen and energy, plus the family’s total commitment, the business was doing very well.
With success came many innovative ideas and he increased the number of styles offered for some species. For example, four different brant were made: oversized, undersized, Shourds model and Horner model. Standing black ducks were made for field or marsh use. In addition to standard geese, some turned head and hissing birds were made. The historical models were certainly innovative among decoy factories. The number of decorative models was significantly increased, as ornamentals became a larger share of the market. One rig of 36 Horner style brant was made by Charlie and painted by Johnny Hillman for their personal use. It can be identified by the Roman numerals I to XXXVI hand carved in the bottoms.
Not all Point Pleasant birds are branded, but the vast majority of the gunning decoys were marked with a round seal containing a canvasback. THIS PAIR OF CANVASBACKS UP FOR sale HAVE EXCELLENT & VERY DEEP FACTORY WILDFOWLER STAMPS ON THE BOTTOMS!! An electric branding iron was mounted in a cradle that held the decoys, assuring uniform placement of the brands. As the hot brand was used it began to gum-up, and the brand became less distinct or lopsided. Therefore collectors often find birds with partial brands on Point Pleasant as well as Old Saybrook and Quogue decoys.
The bottoms of the decorative birds, or their bases, were marked with a rubber stamp. Most are also signed in ink, \"Charles R. Birdsall\" like these Canvasbacks Up For sale. After he sold the business in 1977, Charlie would sometimes sign previously unstamped Point Pleasant Wildfowlers. He also had a rubber stamp inscribed \"Charles R. Birdsall\" that he used in addition to a personal signature. His own personal rigs from the 1962 to 1977 period had both the Wildfowler brand and \"CRB.\" He also drove a small brass escutcheon pin in the eye of the canvasback inside the Wildfowler seal on these birds.
Charlie was a fascinating and multi-talented man with enormous energy. A lifelong racing enthusiast, he raced stock cars and during the Wildfowler years owned five Harley-Davidson motorcycles, including a pink model with \"Charlie and Pat\" inscribed on the gas tank. Racing was often a family affair with everyone going off on Sundays to tracks in New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania.
Charlie was also an excellent musician. He was a stand-up bass player and even played with Nelson Riddle’s big band in the 1940s. He was well known in the jazz clubs of New York City. He and his family band often played locally. Charlie played bass, Bernie played guitar, Patti played vibes and Tommy Gamble was the drummer. In retirement in southern Florida, Charlie played in a 16-piece jazz band called The Second Time Around.
Charlie ran the business until his retirement in 1977. He sold the business to Amel and Karen Massa of Babylon, New York who moved Wildfowler back to Long Island. After he moved to Florida, and until his death in 1986, he continued to carve. Each summer he would return to Point Pleasant to visit and sell his own decoys at the Barnegat Bay Decoys showroom owned by Rick Brown and housed in the very buildings Birdsall had used to operate Wildfowler so successfully. More recently the house and the former factory buildings have returned to the family and Bernie lives in the family home.
The Point Pleasant era was a very successful one for Wildfowler. The business would continue to prosper in Babylon, as Karen and Amel Massa were to incorporate and expand on the innovations begun by Charlie Birdsall. These Babylon years saw many innovative ideas and how the Massa\'s adapted to a changing decoy market.
THE WARD For more than fifty years, the carving partnership of L. T. Ward & Bro. of Crisfield, Maryland created waterfowl decoys and decorative bird carvings that established and maintained a unique standard of realism and artistic expression. Stephen Ward (1895-1976) and Lemuel T. Ward, Jr. (1896-1984) were makers of hunting decoys until the early 1950s, when the introduction of plastic, factory-made hunting decoys and a growing collector demand for their realistic carvings prompted them to switch to the production of miniature and life-sized decorative birds.
Crisfield, on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay, was literally created by the seafood industry. Located on a marshy peninsula, the town was built on a base of discarded oyster shells and prospered when the railroad and steamship lines became available to carry the town’s rich harvest of seafood to eastern cities.
Market hunting of waterfowl was not as widely practiced around Crisfield as it was in the upper Chesapeake Bay, and those Crisfielders who hunted for the market used methods that relied less on large spreads of decoys like the elaborate gunning rigs of the upper bay. Thus the typical round-bottomed upper bay decoy never became established in the Crisfield area.
With the outlawing of market hunting and the increasing numbers of sport hunters in the early 1900s, a distinctive style of decoy carving developed in the Crisfield area. These decoys were flat-bottomed, often oversized, with a nicely carved head that exaggerated the bird’s characteristics. The overall effect was a very lifelike decoy that was highly visible and rode the water like a duck, quite differently from the upper bay decoys that rolled and danced to the movement of the waves. One of the pioneer carvers of the Crisfield school was L. Travis Ward, Sr. (1865-1926), the father of Lem and Steve.
Both Ward brothers were barbers by trade, as was their father. Neither Lem nor Steve worked as a waterman or hunted commercially, but both were avid fishermen and hunters. Their close observation of wild birds is reflected in the realistic form and painting of their decoys. Other hunters of the time could not understand why the Wards would allow ducks and geese to alight among their decoys and swim around while they studied their shapes and color patterns.
Decoy making for the Ward brothers started about 1920 between customers in the old barbershop near Asbury Church, and gradually moved to their home workshop as their decoy business increased. The Depression years of the 1930s brought an increase in the demand for their decoys as more people hunted simply to feed their families. When better economic times returned, a growing interest in sport hunting, especially at the gunning clubs that flourished on the waterfowl-rich marshes and islands of the Bay, provided a demand for their decoys from hunters who could afford the best. Many clubs sent their decoys back to the Ward’s shop annually for repair and repainting.
Lem Ward was an innovator, always experimenting with new styles and paint patterns, perhaps to confound those who would copy his work, but mostly to satisfy his desire to create a more lifelike bird. Lem made a few decorative carvings as far back as 1918, but the change from making working decoys to consistently creating decorative pieces did not come until the 1950s. Steve Ward is often credited with doing most of the decoy carving and Lem with most of the painting, but this tends to oversimplify the close working relationship between the two brothers who formed a unique carving partnership.
Lem and Steve Ward had no training in art; their life in Crisfield isolated them from other artists. Neither of them owned an automobile, preferring to bicycle into town to shop and socialize. The inspiration for the carved and painted waterfowl that they created came from their keen observation of the birds that they knew so well in the surrounding marshes and waterways. Ward Brothers decoys can be generally categorized into five carving periods.
The Early Period: 1916-1932
The early period, from 1916 to about 1932, includes a wide range of styles that seem to defy the chronology of the dates that are often written on the decoy bottoms, if one tried to assemble them in order of the degree of refinement in their carving and painting. Obviously, this period was a time of experimentation and development. 1932-1945 The second carving period, from the early 1930s to 1945, saw the creation of the Classic or 1936 style in white cedar that became their standard, probably in response to large orders from sport hunters and gunning clubs. These pieces displayed a level of realism not seen in other decoys of the period. 1945-1950The third period, from 1945 to 1950, saw production of the classic style of cedar decoys replaced by a simpler decoy with a balsa body and pine or cedar head. The end of World War II brought a renewed interest in waterfowl hunting and the surplus balsa life rafts provided an abundance of easily worked material that enabled the Wards to meet the growing demand for their decoys. Although the softer balsa bodies did not permit the freedom of artistic expression that is evident in the cedar birds, the decoys still carry the Wards’ distinctive style of carefully proportioned and carved heads, slightly turned to the left or right. Paint patterns on the balsa birds also tended to be simpler because of the increased rate of production. The Transition PeriodThe 1950s was a transition period between working and decorative decoys for the Wards. Good carving wood was scarce, factory-made decoys supplied the needs of most hunters, and customers were looking for decoys to grace the mantle instead of the marsh. Steve Ward started to make miniature pairs in the gunning decoy style. He also carved a “collector grade” of full-sized decoys which Lem painted. Lem’s Decorative CarvingsThe 1960s found Lem creating highly decorative carvings, beginning with wall-mounted pairs of flying ducks, often on a painted sky background. Lem’s decoratives were mainly pairs of ducks in a swimming position, usually with raised wing tips and often with one or both birds in elaborate displays of preening or wing-stretching. He also carved many geese and a few brant in the same style. Although he specialized in floating waterfowl, Lem did a number of standing ducks and other birds on natural bases. These carvings included geese, shorebirds, gulls, grouse, quail, and a peregrine falcon. Steve’s failing eyesight in the late 1960s ended his carving days; a stroke and other medical problems in the early 1970s forced Lem’s retirement, ending five decades of carving that produced an estimated 25,000 pieces. Most Ward decoys in collections and practically all of their decorative carvings have been signed by one or both of the brothers. These signatures vary in form from a simple printed “L.T. Ward-Bro.” and the year carved, to presentation messages and occasionally poems. The two brothers appeared in National Geographic in September 1964 and were awarded honorary doctorates by Salisbury State College (now Salisbury University) in 1972. In 1983, Lem Ward won the National Endowment for Arts’ National Heritage Fellowship. The excellence of the Ward brothers’ hunting decoys brought orders from a New York City advertising agency, a Chicago sporting goods store, gunning clubs from California and Venezuela, and other places far away from Crisfield, Maryland. This recognition is perhaps the most sincere tribute to the talents of “two dumb country boys” as Lem liked to say, who brought decoy carving to the attention of art lovers around the world.Another decoy maker that provided designs to Birdsall was Bill Cranmer of Beach Haven, New Jersey. As Bill Cranmer\'s prowess as a realistic decoy carver and painter grew, he would soon earn the nickname, \"New Jersey\'s Ward\", a reference to Crisfield, Maryland\'s world famous brothers, Lem and Steve Ward.
- Bill also befriended the Ward brothers and would become good friends of the legendary brother team. Bill Cranmer noted that when people visited the Ward brothers at their shop they would always stop what they were doing so they could socialize. Bill also said that he had only seen Lem paint a decoy once, a hen mallard, and it was only after his insistence. Whether or not Bill Cranmer learned any of Lem Ward\'s painting techniques is not known, but Cranmer did however value their friendship greatly and said he was inspired by Lem\'s gift of talent as an extraordinary decoy painter.
Bill Cranmer\'s prowess as one of the most talented and capable decoy painters around did not go unnoticed and like this decoy up for sale, in 1962 Wildfowler decoy Company owner Charlie Birdsall commissioned Bill Cranmer to paint a limited number of decorative mallards for him, in addition to the Special Line of Broadbills he was working on. Below are Pictured a pair of Cranmer\'s Wildfowler Broadbill Model. Finally, as far as Wildfowler is concerned, Charlie Birdsall was also quite enamored with Bill\'s carvings and he eventually convinced Cranmer to make him a bluebill master blank that he could use as as the model-master for a special series of Cranmer versions of Wildfowler bluebills. This is much how the Ward\'s ended up Making pattern decoys for Charlie Like these Awesome Canvasbacks up for sale.
(above) Another Pair of Bill Cranmer Bluebills; These Were Painted by Friend and Fellow New Jersey Carver John Egelli (1913-1979) of Roebling, photos): Pictures of Other Bill Cranmer Divers; a Hen Bluebill and a Drake Redhead!!!! ABOUT CHARLES BIRDSALL BELOW -and- THIS AWESOME PAIR OF CANVASBACK DECOYS UP FOR sale!!!!!!!
As far as the carving of this great decoy up for sale is concerned, it comes from the hands of a member of the legendary decoy making Birdsall family. And more specifically, it was made by Mr. Charles Birdsall (Feb. 5, 1920 - Oct. 15, 1986), who also happened to be the 3rd owner of one of this countries most prolific decoy factories, Wildfowler. Charles R. Birdsall was the fourth generation of a Barnegat Bay family that included several carpenters, decoy makers and watermen. Jesse had been the captain of a coastal schooner, Nathaniel was a boat builder and Eugene was a blacksmith and gunsmith. Eugene, Charlie’s grandfather, moved first to Toms River in 1883 and then moved again to Loveland Town (Pt. Pleasant today) in 1890. Charlie’s father and uncles were all decoy makers in the tradition of Charlie’s great-uncle, Jesse Birdsall.
PHOTO OF THE MAN THAT CARVED THIS DECOY UP FOR sale; c1965 Photo of Charlie Birdsall Behind His Table at a Decoy Show!! (Note His Wildfowler Decoys on the Table)
(above photo): A PERFECT STAMP & THE EXACT STAMP ON BOTH OF THESE BEAUTIFUL BROADBILL DECOYS UP FOR sale!!
This Vintage Pair of Wildfowler Canvasback decoys are also rare in that they are the result of an effort between several men that are well respected names in decoy making. This wonderful bird was designed by Lem and Steve ward, carved by Charlie Birdsall and painted by Bill Keim. This ward Brother Model Pair of Canvasbacks up for sale encompass all of the great characteristics of their finest work and it is Mint 100% Original Condition.
The paint is all original and has outstanding patina. This decoy also exhibits some of Charlie Birdsall\'s most incredible carving and Bill Keim paint work with fantastic feather group blending and tiny feather detailing that in many cases gets down to the individual feather detail like the primaries and speculums for instance. The finest part of this Charlie Birdsall is that the Bill Keim paint job has exquisite detailing paint that he did on the wing\'s back and wing feathers, and not withstanding, the side feathers. This decoy is in excellent, Mint original condition and is as solid as the day it was made. Lastly, the paint was applied by Keim and possible Birdsall with absolute perfection and his heavy brush strokes stand out wonderfully in most areas just like the beautiful brush strokes on a Mason Factory decoy. The back and side feather panels were painted so thick that the impasto surface literally looks and feels 3-dimensional. I encourage you to use the zoom feature of this listing to get a good close up of the paint on this beauty. It looks awesome the thick and swirling surface on the sides and back gives these feather groups an incredibly realistic appearance. It is quite extraordinary.
Not only was this decoy painted perfectly symmetrically, the carving job by Charlie Birdsall is extraordinary in its own right. The contours on the body are outstanding and the head and tail were proportioned perfectly to the form and size of the body as well as the patterns supplied by the wards. The head is carved perfectly also and is turned about 5 degrees to its right, just like its rig-mate also up for sale here on . One feature that makes this decoy scream out Wildfowler is the unmistakable head/bill delineation that was done with a spindle bit or possibly even an early wood burner. The spindle bit little technique dates way back to 1938 when the very first Wildfowlers were made by Ted Mulliken at the original Old Saybrook factory. The red taxidermist-grade glass eyes were carved in and located perfectly and from a short distance this bird looks exactly like its wild cousin in its early fall plumage before it has gotten its winter-white breeding plumage at the end of fall and December. In addition to the finely carved and mounted head, the feather groups on the sides, wings, tail and back were perfectly painted in so that there is a beautiful transition and soft separation between feather groups including the primaries, speculums and coverts. This decoy has an awesome high-height and somewhat alert posed head and neck which was quite a typical posture for a Wildfowler decoy from any of the various locations where they were made, but with the beauty and uniqueness that the ward Brother\'s carvings and patterns lent themselves to these outstanding and quite rare decoys. The bill is extraordinarily accurately carved and has perfect head/bill separation. The head is as solidly mounted as the day it was made and it was attached with a drilled and glued internal dowel. This decoy is as solid as the day it was made and shows perfectly.
This awesome and Vintage \"Ward Brothers Model\" Wildfowler wood decoy and the Hen Rig-Mate were carved precisely and life-sized to an adult bird in the wild and they both measure a very sturdy and high-profiled 17\" long x 7-1/4\" wide x 8-3/8\" tall -and- Weigh 2-lbs. 9-ozs. Each!! THAT IS REMARKABLE!!
That Makes for an awesome pair of Canvasback Gunning Decoys that are the same size and Weight, which makes for an awesome pair of decoys that were carved together and have been together ever since!!
Although 2-lbs. 9-ozs. is actually somewhat light for a big, open-water, gunning bird, the flat-bottom design and execution of these decoys easily made them top performers in what was often pretty rough conditions. Wildfowler made some decoys that were carved slightly over-sized, but this decoy is carved life-sized to an adult, mature drake canvasback in the wild. This beautiful and magnificent decoy was carved perfectly like a real canvasback in the wild, as a real \"King of Ducks\" or Canvasback in the wild measures on average 21\" from the tip of the tail to the end of the bill when stretched out, and this true-to-life decoy would measure about 20\" to 21\" if you could stretch it out in the same manner; a pretty good life-sized depiction for a Canvasback decoy. That is pretty neat. These decoys are in MINT condition and it they have beautiful paint with very nicely executed feather detail, including the tiny feather detail on the wings, back, eyes, sides, tail.....Well the entire decoy actually. This decoy is in Mint condition and this Rare and Perfect decoy looks very awesome and displays perfectly. I can only imagine how neat it would be to see a dozen of these great Canvasback decoys riding in tandem over 1 foot waves on Manahawkin Bay with a flock of gun-shy and decoy-shy birds circling a couple times before they dive bomb into the blocks. This truly important part of New Jersey decoy making history would make a great addition to any collection of historic duck decoys and shorebirds. If you have any questions or would like any additional photos feel free to email me. Thanks for looking.
The First Photo is of this Superb Ward Brothers Model Wildfowler Drake Canvasback decoy up for sale. The Next 8 Photos are of this Drake and the Hen Rig Mate that is also up for sale together so you can see what the pair looks like. The last 15 Photos are again of this beautiful and very scarce Drake again by itself.
