Swimming Canada Goose

The Ward Brothers, Lemuel T. (1896-1983) and Stephen (1895-1976) Crisfield, MD, c. 1936 "…the reputation of Lem and Steve spread throughout the Chesapeake region, and they produced decoys for gunners in the Upper Bay as well. A few of the gunning clubs ordered Ward decoys, and in some cases a particular Ward style became associated with a specific club. One example is the Canada goose model carved for the Bishops Head Gun Club of Dorchester County." – C. John Sullivan "Waterfowling on the Chesapeake, 1819-1936" In the 1930s the Ward Brothers received a custom order for goose decoys from Colonel Al ban us Phillips for his gun club just south of Cambridge , Maryland. Phillips was widely known throughout the Eastern Shore and Presidents Teddy Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt were known to have been guests at his lodge. Historically, Phillips used dozens of live goose decoys at his Bishops Head Gun Club in Dorchester County, however, in 1935 the Federal Government banned the use of live decoys. Following this announcement Lem, Steve, and the Colonel met to design and create the Wards' very best gunning model for his club. Bishops Head was a two-story lodge with its own man-made tidal pool. Phillips originally purchased the eight square mile property in 1921 for the sole purpose of using it as a private game preserve . The lodge had a large great room with a fireplace, a locker room and bedrooms on the second level. There was also a caretaker's house, live decoy pens, kennels, and a boat dock. The boat dock was often used by members of the Cambridge Yacht Club, which Phillips also founded. An avid hunter, this camp provided Phillips, his brother Levi, and W. Grayson Winterbottom (their business partner) with a place of respite from their booming food canning business. At the time Bishops Head was considered one of the Eastern Shore's great hunting clubs. Of the numerous goose patterns designed by the Ward brothers, the Bishops Head Gun Club model is the most coveted. It exhibits a long reaching neck that gracefully moves the head forward in an appealing swimming position. This example with its bold body possesses Lem's deep ice groove and highly defined carving under the tail. With its full cheek carving, articulated bill profile, and crescent shaped cheek delineation, this bird exemplifies the finest of the Bishops Head style. The decoy displays an appealing dry surface with tight craquelure. The back and sides of the bird have detailed feather paint, which is more visible on one side. The bottom bears three of the Ward's rubber ink stamps as well as the original rigging.

Original paint with gunning wear.

Robert H. Richardson, "Chesapeake Bay Decoys: The Men Who Made and Used Them," Burtonsville, MD, 1991, dust jacket and p. 119, picture illustrated. Joe Engers, ed., "The Great Book of Wildfowl Decoys," San Diego, CA, 1990, pp. 148-149, rigmate