MINT SIGNED EXTREMELY RARE & EARLY 1940 BEN SCHMIDT OLD SQUAW Wood Duck Decoy
INCREDIBLE 100% ORIGINAL PAINT on this EXTREMELY RARE DRAKE OLD SQUAW GUNNING DECOY from MICHIGAN CARVING LEGEND BENJAMIN SCHMIDT!! This DECOY IS in PRISTINE & IMMACULATE 100% ORIGINAL PAINT & CONDITION with an OUSTANDING PATINA to the INCREDIBLE 100% ORIGINAL FEATHERED PAINT & SUPERB CARVING to the HEAD, TAIL, BODY & WINGS!!!! ALL ORIGINAL MINT RIGGING with WEIGHTED KEEL & SOLID COPPER LINE-TIE! MINT "SIGNED" EXTREMELY RARE & EARLY 1940 BEN SCHMIDT OLD SQUAW Wood Duck Decoy. Detroit, Michigan and Later Centerline, Michigan. This is a MINT, PRISTINE, EXTREMELY RARE & VERY EARLY DRAKE OLD SQUAW "SPOON-TAIL" DECOY BY BEN SCHMIDT! BEN's SPOON TAIL Decoys were for LONG-TAILED DUCKS ONLY!! BEN Made OLD SQUAW & PINTAIL DRAKES with ANTIQUE SPOONS from his KITCHEN!
2 DRAKE PINTAILS, a More Common but OTHER VERY SCARCE "SPOON TAIL" DECOYS. Ben Simply Cut Off the Spoon End & Inletted the Handle End into the Wooden Tail!! This DECOY was SIGNED & PERSONALIZED by BEN for a LOYAL & OBVIOUSLY PREFERRED CUSTOMER!
First 2 Photos are from the Bottom of this Awesome Old Squaw Drake!! The Last is an Example from Lowell Jackson's Book.
AWESOME PATINA to the "AWESOMELY CRAZED & AGED", OIL-BASED PAINT! 2 other Pairs of Ben Schmidt Old Squaws. Both are the More Common and Later "Wooden Tail" Decoys!GREAT PHOTO Showing How BEN'S CARVING PATTERNS CHANGED OFTEN DRAMATICALLY Over the Course of His 50+ YEAR CARVING CAREER! MINT, PRISTINE 100% ORIGINAL PAINT, RIGGING & CONDITION! C1940 "BENJAMIN SCHMIDT" WOOD DUCK DECOY. DRAKE OLD SQUAW "SPOON TAIL" UN-USED GUNNING DECOY. "Incredible Carving" and "Awesome 100% Original Feathered Paint".
Just Incredible Wing & Tail Carving, Vintage & Perfectly Carved-In "Yellow" Glass Eyes! ONE of his EARLIEST or His EARLIEST OLD SQUAWS! As this "RARE to MICHIGAN" Species Has a More Basic PAINT PATTERN; His Later Old Squaws Had Much More Refined Paint Schemes! Excellent and Vintage Ben Schmidt Decoy with Awesome Head, Wing and Tail Carving! Outstanding "Semi-Alert Head", Slightly Turned 5-Degrees to Its Right!19" long x 6-1/2" wide x 8 tall -and- weighs 2-lbs. Awesome Bill with His Perfectly Executed Bill/Head Separation, Mandibles, Nostrils and Nail Cut-In from both Top & Bottom!
AWESOME, MINT 100% ORIGINAL PAINT and AWESOME 100% ORIGINAL CONDITION!!! ABSOLUTELY PERFECT CARVING to the PERFECTLY CONTOURED BODY, HEAD & BILL!! "SPOON-TAIL" Made with an ACTUAL ANTIQUE SILVER TABLESPOON! MINT RIGGING with SOLID COPPER LINE-TIE & PERFECTLY CUT WEIGHTED KEEL!
INCREDIBLE PATINA TO THE OIL-BASED PAINT! THESE BEN SCHMIDT DECOYS ARE SOME of the MOST BALANCED, SYMMETRICALLY CRAFTED AND OUTSTANDINGLY CARVED AND PAINTED ROUGH-WATER DECOYS EVER MADE!! "A Perfect "Early Period Specimen of a Vintage Off-Species, Diver Duck Hunting Block Made by the Dean and Most Famous Michigan Decoy Carver in History; Mr.
This is a Very Rare Species and a Spoon-Tail at that for this WORLD KNOWN CARVER! THIS DECOY is PAINTED in It's LATE FALL, EARLY WINTER COLOR SCHEME and How We Would Usually See an Old Squaw DURING HUNTING SEASON in MICHIGAN! This DECOY Has Simply the FINEST BILL CARVING -and- WING CARVING that you will See on ONE of His SUPER RARE & EARLIEST OLD SQUAW DECOYS!EXCEPTIONAL & INCREDIBLE PATINA to the BEAUTIFUL, OLD DRY 100% ORIGINAL PAINT! THIS DECOY HAS SOME of BEN'S MOST AWESOME "PEN KNIFE CARVING" to the SOMEWHAT RAISED WING TIPS, WING PRIMARIES and HEAD... JUST PURE BEN SCHMIDT STYLE and FORM! If You Like "EXTREMELY RARE" Decoys from Famous Master Carvers and Are in "MINT CONDITION"... THIS IS A VERY VALUABLE DECOY to ADD to Your COLLECTION!
Awesome Ben Schmidt Hunting Decoy; Perfectly Solid, Outstanding 100% Original Paint; With an Absolutely Superb Patina!! This is a superb, wonderfully formed, solid cedar wood Drake Old Squaw duck decoy by Benjamin S.
Of all the noted carvers who lived in the greater Detroit area, Ben Schmidt was by far the most accomplished and well-regarded. He made decoys for personal use and for sale and Ben was the person the late world renowned collector and decoy historian William J. Described as the maker of. Just about the All-American working decoy. Ben Schmidt made his first decoys in 1914, but didn't carve commercially until 1934 at the age of 50; and the rest is history.
Ben Schmidt Showing Friend and and Saginaw Bay Carver Don Parker a Trick or Two! Ben would go on to be considered the dean of carving in the Detroit Metropolitan area and was copied by countless aspiring decoy makers in Michigan, Ohio and even Ontario including Ralph Malpage, Doug Burrel and Wragg & Burrel of London. Ben Schmidt's decoy making prowess would eventually propel the name "Schmidt" into the annals of decoy carving history and national respectability.
Ben was a host in his shop to a plethora of famous Michigan carvers like Charlie Pozzini, Ralph Johnston, John Schweikart, Ralph Reghi, Jim Kelson, Nick Purdo, Hank Walters, Pecore Fox, Ferdinand Bach, Tom Schroeder and many others from the Mt. Clemens school of carvers; and also including his brother Frank and the lesser known master carver Walter Snow of nearby Royal Oak, Michigan. As you can see by the photo below, the prominent Detroit area carvers of the area were all familiar with each other and in many cases close friends.
Five of the Most Prominent Carvers from the Detroit Area from the First Half of the 20th Century! As a matter of fact, Ben needed wood to carve a special order swan one night for Phyllis Ellison, he turned to Hank Walters of Fair Haven for the wood as he was the. Only person that had a large enough piece of stock. To thank him, Ben rewarded Hank with a beautiful pair of miniature Mallards.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Phyllis Ellison, of Farmington, Michigan, was an avid collector of waterfowl decoys and materials pertaining to decoy carving and carvers, especially those of the Great Lakes region. The examples decorated her home and served as sources of inspiration for her work in the advertising business in Detroit. She not only knew Ben very well, but also most of the Detroit areas most well known decoy carvers. Ellison visiting Ben and the others in their homes and hunting places, but also she was great friends with the growing number of decoy collectors in the region. Ben was behind on orders, Nick Purdo of Mt.
Clemens supplied him with awesome Canvasback heads and Walter Snow and his brother Frank carved bodies as well as heads to help him catch up up. You can't mention Michigan and duck decoy in the same sentence without Ben Schmidt's name included in there somewhere.
Ben's decoys don't often get any rarer than this Spoontail Drake Old Squaw. This decoy is from his Earlier periods when he made some of the most rare and true-to-form early diving duck decoys of his career. This decoy is as solid as the day that it was made and in Mint, Never Gunned Over Condition! It is so rare that you really don't want to miss out on owning an exceptional Ben Schmidt decoy, and a wonderfully detailed and Super Early Drake Old Squaw with a spoon inletted tail to boot!! Ben's decoys were as well made as any of the decoys from anywhere and during any time and fine examples like this extremely Rare Drake Old Squaw are a testament to that.
From a structural standpoint this decoy is in Perfect condition as the head is as tightly attached to the body as the day it was made and it is from his earlier carving period for off-season species, which is a huge plus. This Incredible and Scarce Ben Schmidt. Drake Old Squaw Wood Duck decoy measures. 19" long x 6-1/2" wide x 8 tall -and- weighs a hefty 2-lbs.The hand-cast lead keel weight is also firmly attached as if new and weighs in the 6-7 ounce range. This is a perfect example of one of Ben's rarest species Gunning decoys. This is also a fantastic example of a Schmidt decoy that was made so perfectly that it could stand up to anything Lake St.
Clair or the Great lakes could whip up and even if it was hit by a rogue 3-foot wave it would most likely stay upright, but if it flipped it would right itself immediately. Obviously, his decoys spoke for themselves and word-of-mouth was enough to sustain his career and enable it to always flourish without the need of advertising or marketing. It is an extremely solid and sturdy bird and makes for an excellent example of some of the finest carving and painting that Ben Schmidt ever put on a very early "Drake" Old Squaw Duck decoy. The bill is so accurate that it looks like it was cast after a real duck's bill (especially with the bottom of the bill tip carving), which isn't unusual for an early Ben Schmidt decoy. Very nice Ben Schmidt Drake Old Squaw from an early period of Ben's carving (1935 to 1945), when he was providing hunters with an outstanding and incredible wood duck decoy that swam perfectly and they also righted themselves quickly to make a rig that rivaled anything on the water from anywhere in the country.I recently bought several that are price marked and in the original sack from Hudson's and they are great examples of his puddle duck decoys. Here's a chance to own one of the VERY RAREST, vintage "Gunning Blocks" that was carved and painted by Michigan's renowned master carver Benjamin Schmidt. This decoy is symmetrically perfect from carving and painting standpoints and has phenomenally mounted "Yellow Glass" eyes.
This bird is painted in a nice late-fall plumage, which is what they look like when they migrate through Michigan earlier in the season. A great addition to any collection of vintage working decoys from Michigan wood duck decoys and shorebirds. The next 2 Photos are of the signature on the bottom of this decoy and one from Lowell Jackson's book. The Last 2 photos are of other Awesome Ben Schmidt "Old Squaw" Decoys. Vintage Photo of Ben Schmidt Well On in His Years, and Even with Failing Eyesight, Still at it Inspecting a New Head!
Photo of an Outstanding "Hudson's" High Head Hen Mallard From c1950; Note the Outstanding Painting and Carving Finesse From This Period!!! Very Early Over-Sized c1923 Drake Mallard With A More Deliberately Created Appearance to the Carving and Painting But an Early Beauty and Workhorse! ______________________________________________ BELOW are PICTURES of AWESOME BEN SCHMIDT PUDDLE DUCKS & GEESE.
BELOW are 2 PICTURES of other Long-Tailed Schmidt Decoys but with the MORE COMMON "WOODEN" INLETTED TAILS! BELOW are PICTURES of other BEN SCHMIDT DUCK DECOYS!! Some are VERY RARE, RARE & SOME LESS COMMON SPECIES. BELOW are PICTURES of HARD-TO-FIND BEN SCHMIDT MINIATURES.
Below You Will Find Mallard and Black Duck photos from Lowell Jackson's Benjamin Schmidt Pamphlet! VERY RARE BEN SCHMIDT "OSCAR PETERSON STYLE" WALL PLAQUE!
VERY RARE BEN SCHMIDT "FULL-BODIED" LABRADOR DUCK CARVING! PICTURES BELOW are a COUPLE of BEN'S DRAKE CANVASBACKS from Over the Years. Get Images that Make Supersized Seem Small. Auctiva's Listing Templates improve your auctions in minutes.
Attention Sellers - Get Templates Image Hosting, Scheduling at Auctiva. The item "MINT SIGNED EXTREMELY RARE & EARLY 1940 BEN SCHMIDT OLD SQUAW Wood Duck Decoy" is in sale since Friday, February 24, 2017. This item is in the category "Sporting Goods\Hunting\Vintage Hunting\Duck Decoys". The seller is "gjoldan" and is located in Romeo, Michigan.
This item can be shipped worldwide.