Lot 82 email save

Willett Shorebird by Tom Wilson

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82. There are not enough superlatives to accurately capture the elegance, presence, and importance of this oversize feeding willet decoy ca the late 1800's. It is unimportant except for historical purposes to attribute it to a maker. These skillfully crafted decoys were once thought to be "Fred Nichol" shorebirds. We now feel that John Thomas Wilson (1863-1940) of Ipswich, MA., skillfully made these decoys. Wilson emigrated with his wife to the United States sometime in the 1880's and began making decoys and guiding in the Ipswich marshes in the 1880's. Wings are carved in deep relief. The wide rounded tail extends over the tail split. There is a little surface wear on the high spots on the sides of the head where the eyes would ordinarily be. About an

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