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"VERY RARE" SUPERB 100% ORIG PAINT c1910 ANDY MEYERS Wood Duck Decoy SAGINAW BAY 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; }
ANDREW A. MEYERS (1872-1960): NEW BALTIMORE & SAGINAW BAY, MICHIGAN
- ~BORN ACHEN, GERMANY on FEBRUARY 15, 1872
ABOVE PHOTO: NOTE THE LATER KEELS with 3" WIDE KEEL BASES!!
RARE 100+ YEAR-OLD, "SUPERB 100% ORIGINAL PAINT"; ANDY MEYERS (1872-1960); c1910 HEN REDHEAD; "Hollow" Wood Duck Decoy; NEW BALTIMORE (Lake St. Clair) & SAGINAW BAY, Michigan)
- SUPERBLY BLENDED, 100% ORIGINAL PAINT!!
- RARE & EARLY, FULLY-RIGGED with RARE & PERFECT, WEIGHTED "SAIL-BOAT" KEEL -and- LEATHER LINE-TIE!!
- LIVED NEAR CHRIS CRAFT'S, CHRIS SMITH in ALGONAC on LAKE ST. CLAIR -and- ALSO Near SMITH'S, SAGINAW BAY "GUNNING LODGE"
- "SAIL-BOAT" KEEL INFLUENCED by CHRIS CRAFT EMPLOYEES from EARLY YEARS in NEW BALTIMORE!! ("Hunting Guide" Earl Friday, Jack Rufus & Louis Steiner)
- PERFECTLY CARVED IN & LOCATED ANTIQUE, DEEP YELLOW, IMPORTED TAXIDERMIST EYES)
SAGINAW BAY INFLUENCE!! The Form of This Decoy Up For sale Shows Obvious St. Clair Flats Influence, But Also Saginaw Bay Traits of Otto Misch, Bill Finkle, Hayes Finkle and Frank Brogan!!!
THIS DECOY HAS ALL OF MEYER'S TRADE-MARKS!! -
- MEYER'S SIMPLE SPECULUM PAINT; COMPRISED of A "V" -SHAPED SLASH and an ITALIC ROMAN NUMERAL (III)
- SMALL, MID-HEIGHT, SMALL "U" -SHAPED, THICK BUTTON TAIL!!
- LARGE WELL ROUNDED "HOLLOW" BODY with 1/2" BOTTOM BOARD HELD on with 30 NAILS!!
- 1/2" THICK, LARGE SAIL-BOAT SHAPED, WEIGHTED KEEL ATTACHED with LARGE SCREW FROM the INSIDE of the 1/2" BOTTOM BOARD!!
- NICELY ROUNDED HEAD ATTACHED to the SUPERB, VERY HEAD NECK SEAT attached FROM the INSIDE!!
- LOOPED LEATHER LINE HELD on with BRASS SLOTTED SCREW and BRASS WASHER!!
- WONDERFULLY CARVED BILL with AWESOME MANDIBLES, HEAD/BILL SEPARATION, NOSTRILS & NAIL FROM the Underside!!
ACTUALLY ALL OF MEYER'S DECOYS ARE RARE as HE ONLY CARVED FOR PERSONAL USE -and- HE ONLY MADE A COUPLE HUNDRED TOTAL!!!!!
THIS DECOY WAS MADE TO HANDLE ANY TREACHEROUS OPEN WATER with its LARGE & HEAVILY WEIGHTED, SOLID CEDAR, SAILBOAT KEEL!!!
-HEFTY 3-LB. 12-OZ. DECOY....AND ITS HOLLOW!!
-VERY IMPOSING 11" TALL DECOY with a SUPER STEADY 8" WIDTH!!
Probably One of the Most Incredible Aspects of this Decoy is the Incredible, Slightly Shiny Burnished Patina from the Original Marine Paint and from Natural Hand Oils from the Minor Handling it Has Had while in Discriminating Collections over the Years!! This Beautiful Patina is Even More Beautiful and Further Enhanced by the Awesome Crazing and Caramelizing to the Thick 100% Original Paint. Further Adding to the Aura of this Decoy is the Feathering Effect that Meyer's Attained with His Directional Original Brush Strokes that Helps Give the Feather-Blended Paint and Gives the Realistic Appearance that it Has to Its Wild Kin.
SHIPPING INCLUDES INSURANCE
This 100+ Year-Old, Wonderfully Formed, "Hollow" Cedar, Hen Redhead wood duck decoy was carved by Andrew "Andy" H. Meyers (1872-1960) of New Baltimore, Michigan and later Saginaw Bay, Michigan.
Andy Meyers was born in Achen, Germany on February 15, 1872. When he was young, his family moved to the United States and settled in the Village of Meade on the outskirts of New Baltimore, Michigan, which is a city located on the northwest shore of Lake St. Clair about 30 miles north of Detroit. Myers married his wife at a young age and she died while giving birth to their only child, daughter Edna.
Andy Meyers initially became acquainted with duck hunting in the 1880's while growing up in New Baltimore, Michigan, and carved his first decoys while living there around 1895. It is during this time that he became acquainted with Christopher Columbus "Chris" Smith (1861-1937) and other Employees of Chris Craft including Earl J. Friday, a Foreman in the Boat Trim Department at Chris Craft. Along with fellow New Baltimore resident Earl Friday, Meyers also carved with Louis Steiner who was a New Baltimore based gardener and Jack Rufus. All 3 men carved decoys with the sailboat style keel, although which of the 3 or another individual originated it, is unknown. One constant is that all 3 men occasionally attached their keels and weights using hardware from Chris Craft and Earl Friday's decoys in particular were outfitted with all boat hardware such as stainless steel marine screws, grommet snap screw washers and boat cover material wrapped around stainless steel marine rings for his line-ties. Earl Friday was born in 1893 and began working at Chris Craft around 1910, which is also around the time he started carving his first decoys. Friday spent much of his adult life as a Chris Craft employee both before Chris Smith's death in 1937 and afterward until at least the 1940's. Friday made many of his early decoys at the factory under owner Chris Smith's tutelage as did a number of other employees and it is no wonder why this employment had subtle affects on carving buddies outside of work. Although Chris Craft afforded steady employment to his employees, there were down or slow times when Smith was more than happy to have the men use their woodworking skills to craft decoys. Obviously, these Chris Craft employees followed Chris Smith decoys as their inspiration and pattern which led to a number of decoys that very closely resemble Smith's birds and are often mis-attributed to being from his hands. But Andy Meyers experience carving and hunting with these men on the St. Clair Flats would for roughly 20 years on their turf.
Around 1915 Andy Meyers moved to Flint, Michigan, a city located 60 miles north of Detroit and 40 miles south of Saginaw, to take a job assembling engines at a Buick Motors plant. In 1920 he bought acreage on the shores of Lake Huron's Saginaw Bay, north of the small town of Linwood and in the present day location of Nyanquing Point State Wildlife Area.
ANDY MEYER'S 2ND HOME: NAYANQUING POINT & "MEYER'S BEACH" on the NORTHWEST SHORES of SAGINAW BAY!!
His property included the shoreline between Newburg and Scroggins Roads and just inland on Andy's property was marshland on which he hunted, fished and trapped until his later years. The area was known as Meyer's Beach and is still identified as such on modern maps, although it is now home to a string of cottages.
From 1920 until around 1928, when Andy built a cottage, he and close friends hunted, fished and trapped the property while staying in a World War I, U.S. Army tent pitched over cut marsh grass to make the ground softer.
It was during this time that Meyers sneak shot for diving ducks late in the season on the open waters of the bay and since it was during prohibition, he buried a box underground with a make-shift cover to keep his moonshine jug hidden from lawmen. Also during this time and especially after he built his cottage, he hosted many friends and conservation officers to enjoy the duck hunting as well as many dignitaries like Louis Chevrolet and other General Motors officials and members of management. During the 1920's, 1930's and for a decade or so after, the Saginaw Bay area was one of the country's finest waterfowl hunting areas and was frequently the subject of articles in outdoor magazines like Field and Stream, Sports Afield and National Sportsman Outfitters. The area was also home to some of Michigan's finest decoy carvers, but since Saginaw Bay was relatively unknown, their names did not have the notoriety of the Detroit area carvers like Ben Schmidt, John Schweikart, Jim Kelson, Ferdinand Bach, Ralph Reghi and others from the Motor City. However, many of the Detroit area or St. Clair Flats carvers actually hunted Saginaw Bay on occasion, and that included the likes of Tom Schroeder, Jim Kelson, Ben Schmidt and Walter Snow among others. But as far as the look, effectiveness and quality of the decoys they carved, Saginaw Bay carvers were certainly on the same playing field and only a small step behind as far as aesthetic are concerned.
SAGINAW BAY: HERE IS A BROADER VIEW OF MEYER'S NAYANQUING POINT & "MEYER'S BEACH" INCLUDING BAY CITY & EASTERN SHORE!!
Some of the more well known of the vintage Saginaw Bay master carvers that plied their trade during the early to mid 1900's on the bay were, in addition to Andy Meyers, Otto Misch (1886-1978), Frank Brogan (1882-1964), Hayes Finkle (1876-1953), Bill Finkle from Harsen's Island (1866-1948), Joe Kupper (1909-1987) and the Dean of the Saginaw Bay carvers Bill Finch (1863-1930).
ABOVE (2) PHOTOS: OTTO MISCH (1886-1978)
ABOVE (2) PHOTOS: FRANK BROGAN (1882-1964)
ABOVE (1) PHOTO: HAYES FINKLE (1876-1953),
ABOVE (1) PHOTO: BILL FINKLE from HARSEN'S ISLAND (1866-1948),
These carvers produced an awesome decoy that was as capable as any on the Great Lakes and were serviceable in any conditions from the windy marshes of the bay's shoreline to the often treacherous open waters that huge rafts of divers poured into relentlessly. The largest concentration of duck hunters on Saginaw Bay had their camps and cottages all located in the hunting camp with small cottages called the Village of Wheale. Andy Meyers property was slightly to the north on the bay and very close to the Chris Craft Lodge of Algonac native Chris Smith. Like most other waterfowl areas, the hunters knew each other and thus a great conveyance of style was overlapped, adopted and copied. For this very reason, this Very Early decoy up for sale has a Sail-Boat Keel and Bold Form like Earl Friday and some of the other St. Clair Flats carvers from Meyer's early days living in New Baltimore/Algonac area on Lake St. Clair. The body size, hollow method, neck seat and smooth lines, pleasing well-blended paint and overall form of this decoy up for sale mimics the decoys of all of his contemporaries from his earlier days after moving north to Saginaw Bay.
Above Photo: THIS MEYER'S PAIR of BIG, BOLD-BODIED, HOLLOW CANVASBACKS are IDENTICAL in FORM, CONSTRUCTION, RIGGING (Sail-Boat Keel/Leather Tie) and PAINT to this AWESOME HEN REDHEAD Up For sale!!
While Andy Meyers carving style changed somewhat over the years, his small button or "U" shaped tail like this Hen Redhead Up For sale changed little over the years. Although there are later examples like the Canvasback pictured below that come to a smaller rounded "V', these examples are quite rare.
Above Photo: THIS is a LATER DECOY with V-SHAPED TAIL, SMALLER-BODIED, HOLLOW CANVASBACK with SLIGHTLY SHARPER LINES, BUT TYPICAL PAINT THAT IS AWESOME HEN REDHEAD Up For sale!!
Andy's earliest decoys, especially from his days in New Baltimore, had a sailboat-shaped keel like this redhead up for sale that was a trademark of not only him, but also Earl Friday, Jack Rufus and Louis Steiner, all New Baltimore residents and carvers. Upon moving north and buying his Saginaw Bay property, he tended to make decoys with more traditionally constructed keels that are low, flat and wide wooden keels that have been found with widths of 3" or more. Since the majority of his decoys have a 1/2" wide keel that was made from the same 1/2" stock as the bottom board, the lead weights he typically used were long and narrow that were 1/2" at wide and tall at the thickest mid-point and smoothly tapered down in a rounded fashion in both directions.
Above Photo: THE "SAIL-BOAT" KEEL on this HEN REDHEAD Up For sale HAS MEYER'S TYPICAL ROUNDED LEAD WEIGHT; Also NOTE LEATHER TIE with BRASS SCREW & WASHER TYPICAL of the NEW BALTIMORE/ALGONAC CARVERS with SCREWS & GROMMETS from CHRIS CRAFT BOAT COMPANY!!
NOTICE CHRIS CRAFT BOAT SNAP GROMMET WASHER & MARINE SCREW on this LATER HEN CANVASBACK DECOY!!!
Additionally, another Important Andy Meyer's Trademark is His Simple Speculum Paint that Resembles a Quickly and Thinly Brushed on Single-Brush-Stroke "V" with an Italic Roman Numeral "III" Just Below it.
Above Photo: This DECOY EXHIBITS A TAIL -and- SPECULUM EXACTLY LIKE This AWESOME AND SCARCE HEN REDHEAD Up For sale!!
Above Photo: This DECOY Up For sale WITH ANDY MEYER'S TRADEMARK TAIL -and- SPECULUM with "V" SLASH and ITALIC ROMAN NUMERAL "III"
Again, Andy Meyers initially became acquainted with duck hunting in the 1880's while growing up in New Baltimore, Michigan, and carved his first decoys while living there around 1895. However, the vast majority of his output occurred between 1915 and 1930 while he was in between the ages of 43 and 58 years old with the majority being made for his Saginaw Bay rigs. He is believed to have made his first decoys just before the turn of the century in New Baltimore, MI and made his last decoys around 1940 at his Nyanquing Point home. His earliest decoys like this Beautiful and Scarce Hen Redhead up for sale have all of the Unique Characteristics of his New Baltimore output and his earliest rigs that he gunned over on or near his Saginaw Bay property were comprised entirely of decoys that were crafted for use on the St. Clair Flats with their big "Sail-Boat" Keels and Chris Craft hardware for line ties.
Above Photo: This DECOY SHOWS MEYERS' TYPICAL CONSTRUCTION with OVER 30 NAILS HOLDING on the BOTTOM BOARDS, ALTHOUGH the SAIL-BOAT KEEL Was Most LIKELY REMOVED When It Entered Into a Collection!!
Above Photo: This DECOY Up For sale HAS MEYERS' TYPICAL EARLY CONSTRUCTION with "SAIL-BOAT" KEEL -AND- EXACTLY 29 NAILS HOLDING ON THE BOTTOM BOARD To SEAL HOLLOWED BOTTOM!!!!
It is very rare to find a decoy made by Andy Meyers with solid construction, as almost all of the decoys he carved were hollow and only a few solid bodied birds are known to exist. The vast majority of his decoys were also known for not only being hollow, but also for the large number of nails he used to attach the baseboard which in his earliest and largest decoys like this Rare Hen Redhead Up For sale, with almost all of these Early Decoys having around 30 nails. This decoy up for sale, however, is one of his earliest and most sought after decoys with its larger and bold overall design which required exactly 29 nails to attach the baseboard. Since his earliest output of decoys were carved for use on the rough waters of lake St. Clair and most of the decoys of the area were of decent proportions, his earliest output and continuing into his earlier days in Saginaw Bay were of this larger size. It is also interesting to note that his home was further north on Saginaw Bay than the preponderance of Saginaw Bay carvers and the Village of Wheale, and his northern haunts and his property and eventually his home at Myer's Beach are near Standish, which is also where Christopher "Chris" Smith of Chris Craft Boat fame also had his gunning lodge.
Andy Meyer's decoys, like this decoy up for sale, were also well known for his nicely carved heads and this decoy has a great head from his early period with its generous proportions. Also, most of his decoys had medium to slightly high heads on slightly reared-back necks and a head that was positioned with a bill that was precisely carved with a perfectly cut in bill/head separation, lightly carved in nostrils, straight mandibles cut in roughly half of the way down the bill and a nail that is formed by filing a small recess from the bottom right behind the bill's nib. This beautiful St. Clair Flats inspired and styled Andy Meyers Hen Redhead up for sale was carved with a Bill aimed slightly upward, giving it a somewhat defiant appearance and the beautiful rounded head very closely resembles the awesome divers carved by Lake St. Clair carvers while Meyer's called it home and decades later in the New Baltimore/Clay Township area by Hank Walters (1913-1987).
Above Photo: This is a WELL SCULPTED, ST. CLAIR FLATS, HANK WALTERS BLUEBILL with FORM SIMILAR to the EARLY REDHEADS & BLUEBILLS by ANDY MEYERS and OTHER ST. CLAIR FLATS DECADES EARLIER and WELL INTO the 1960's!!
Above Photo: This WELL SCULPTED, ST. CLAIR FLATS STYLED, ANDY MEYER'S HEN REDHEAD UP FOR sale!!!
Andy Meyer's later decoys had a flat-styled top of the head and all of his decoys were known for his propensity to generously apply a quality, well-blended paint which undoubtedly led to these decoys lasting so well over time and being in the outstanding and excellent condition that they remain in; the thick and quality marine paint protected them awesomely for the next decade like this Hen Redhead or 70 Years like his later and last decoys. In addition, like this decoy, the head was attached by inserting a very large wood screw along with marine glue from the hollowed inside of the decoy before the bottom board was attached. The great decoy is as solid as the day it was made and in excellent condition. The modest paint pattern was very atypical of the decoys from not only Lake St. Clair, the St. Clair Flats and the majority of the Saginaw Bay master carvers and was blended and applied in blended layers using a wet on wet application for a wonderful and realistic appearance. Again, like this decoy up for sale, Andy Meyers was well acquainted with the other Saginaw Bay carvers and thus his decoys have an awesome co-influence of style and form.
This decoy is in Mint Structural Condition and Overall it is in Outstanding Original Condition with Very Little Rubbing to the Edges, Some Tiny and Very Hard to See Surface Nicks and One Lone Shot Mark from an errant 6 or 7 shot. This Beautiful and Scarce Hen Redhead also Has Outstanding 100% Original Paint on the entire decoy including the bottom which has the Very Old and Original Marine or Gutter Paint. Probably One of the Most Incredible Aspects of this Decoy is the Incredible, Slightly Shiny Burnished Patina from the Original Marine Paint and the Minor Handling it Has Had while in Discriminating Collections over the Years!! This Beautiful Patina is Even More Beautiful and Further Enhanced by the Awesome Crazing and Caramelizing to the Thick 100% Original Paint. Further Adding to the Aura of this Decoy is the Feathering Effect that Meyer's Attained with His Directional Original Brush Strokes that Helps Give the Feather-Blended Paint and Gives the Realistic Appearance that it Has to Its Wild Kin. This Scarce and Awesome Hen Redhead Up For sale is a perfectly symmetrical bird from both carving and painting aspects. This decoy is also one of the rarer and most important of Andy Meyers body of work and one of the later decoys he would ever carve. This decoy was certainly hunted over but it remains in remarkable condition based on the quality of the decoys he made. His extremely thick coat of lead infused, oil-based paint was intended to last and it most assuredly did as it Looks Spectacular a "Full" Century Later!! Not only that but the head is attached as firmly as it was the day he made it with a large marine glued screw from the inside of the hollowed-out decoy before he nailed and glued on the bottom board. This extraordinary Andy Meyers decoy is an Imposing 16-1/2" long x Very Sturdy 8" wide x an Extremely Stately and Visible 11" tall and weighs a rig manageable, Yet Quite Hefty 3-lbs., 12-ozs. THAT IS INCREDIBLE BECAUSE THAT MEANS THAT THIS "HOLLOW" DECOY WEIGHS ALMOST 4 POUNDS IN ORDER TO DEAL WITH ANY WATER CONDITIONS THE UNPREDICTABLE GREAT LAKES COULD WHIP UP IN A HURRY!! ADDITIONALLY, THIS BIG BEAUTY AND IT'S HUGE AND AWESOME KEEL WOULD SWIM STRAIGHT THROUGH WHITE CAPS AND RIGHT ITSELF IMMEDIATELY IF IT HAPPENS TO SWAY SIDEWAYS FOR A SECOND IN GALE FORCE WINDS. OH WHAT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN LIKE TO SEE A DOZEN OF THESE BEAUTIES RIDING IN UNISON OVER 2-FOOTERS ON ANCHOR BAY OR SAGINAW BAY...EITHER ONE, IT WAS MORE THAN UP TO THE TASK AND THESE BIG BEAUTIES COULD DRAW IN DIVERS USING THEW OPEN WATERS FROM A MILE AWAY OR MORE!!! This is would be an excellent addition to any collection of Michigan, Saginaw Bay or vintage turn-of-the-century hollow hen redhead duck decoys. If you have any questions or have come across a bird like this please feel free to email me. Thanks for looking.
BELOW ARE PICTURES OF MORE IMPORTANT ANDY MEYERS DECOYS FROM SEVERAL DIFFERENT TIME PERIODS AND OTHER STYLES AS WELL:
Above Photo: This EARLY DRAKE CANVASBACK ALMOST EXACTLY the SAME as THIS HEN REDHEAD Up For sale, HOWEVER, NOTE HOW the HEAD IS NOT AS PROPORTIONALLY SIZED and MATED TO THE BODY as THIS AWESOME REDHEAD UP FOR sale, WHICH IS ABOUT AS PERFECT AS THEY COME AND THE HEAD is MATED PERFECTLY SIZE-WISE TO THE BODY!!
Above Photo: This BEAUTIFUL DRAKE REDHEAD with SAIL=BOAT KEEL, PERFECTLY PROPORTIONED HEAD and VERY NICE, LATER BODY STYLE THAT is NOT QUITE as ROUNDED AND A MORE DEFINED TAIL!! GREAT HEAD that is ALSO LESS ROUNDED and WITH LESS "JOWLING" UNDER the CHEEKS!!!
Above Photo: RARE SPECIES BLUEBILL with NICELY CONTOURED LATER BODY STYLE and MORE LIBERAL USE of CURVED LINE DETAIL PAINT to HIGHLIGHT and DEFINE the WINGS!!
Above Photo: RARE & LATER ANDY MEYER'S PUDDLE DUCK with a SMALLER KEEL and LINE-TIE INTEGRATED INTO the KEEL!!! UNUSUAL BUT PROBABLY NORMAL PUDDLE DUCK TAIL!!!
Above Photo: REDHEAD DRAKE with THE FATTEST HEAD STYLE and FORM KNOWN But EXCELLENT BLENDED PAINT and FEATHER DETAIL from BRUSH STROKES LIKE THIS HEN UP FOR sale!!
Above Photo: VERY OLD AND VERY RARE SLEEPER with a RATHER PETITE BODY STYLE COMPARED to MUCH OF HIS WORK!!!