Original Listing Description

eBay MINT, NEVER USED & SUPERB 100% ORIGINAL MADISON MITCHELL c1950 "HEN" PINTAIL GUNNING DECOY ~AWESOME SOLID CEDAR DECOY, GREAT CARVING, FORM & PAINT ~ORIG RIGGING: LEAD BALLAST WEIGHT, RING & STAPLE LINE-TIE ~"DRAKE" RIG-MATE to this "HEN" ALSO on Ebay; BOTH HAVE SAME SIZE, STYLE, FORM, CARVING, PAINT & WERE MADE THE EXACT SAME TIME & ARE FROM the SAME COLLECTION ~THIS HEN SHOWS INCREDIBLY & HAS NO RUBS or WEAR EXCEPT WEIGHT & LINE-TIE, NO SHOT MARKS, KNOTS, CHIPS, DENTS, CHECKS, CRACKS & PERFECTLY INTACT HEAD & NECK NAILS ~BOTH BABIED in COLLECTION SINCE THEY WERE MADE ~AWESOME AGED PATINA & HEADS & ALL RIGGING is AS TIGHT AS THE DAY BOTH DECOYS WERE MADE ~SUPERB STIPPLED, DAUBED & SWIRLED FEATHER PAINT TO BACK & WINGS & CLEAN & CONCISE TO THE BREAST, TAIL, HEAD & SPECULUMS ~BIG TYPICAL 2-LB 10-OZ PAIR of MATED DECOYS ~SUPERB MINTY CONDITION THAT ARE 3-QUARTERS of a CENTURY OLD & WOULD BE AN AWESOME PAIR TO ADD TO ANY SUPERB DECOY COLLECTION as the HEN MATE to this DRAKE is ALSO on EBAY MINT SCARCE & SUPERB 100% ORIG c1950 MADISON MITCHELL Wood Duck Decoy CHESAPEAKE MINT SCARCE & SUPERB 100% ORIG c1950 MADISON MITCHELL Wood Duck Decoy CHESAPEAKE Click images to enlarge Description AMERICAN CARVING LEGEND..... R. MADISON MITCHELL Birth Name: Robert Madison Mitchell (born): March 11, 1901 (died): Jan. 14, 1993 (Age 91) of Havre de Grace, Maryland (picture below): HAVRE DE GRACE & The UPPER BAY! This is WHERE MITCHELL SPENT PRACTICALLY His ENTIRE LIFE MAKING DECOYS, HUNTING, BURYING FRIENDS, STRANGERS & LOVED ONES ALIKE ........ EVENTUALLY BECOMING ONE of the MOST BELOVED FAMILY MEN and ENDEARING INDIVIDUALS to GRACE SUCH a BEAUTIFUL and HARD WORKING COMMUNITY! (picture below): HISTORIC c1980 PHOTO of MADISON MITCHELL with Many of The Men That Helped Him Over the Years, Pictured along with a Contemporary, Paul Gibson! (left to right): Harry Jobes, Paul Gibson, "MADISON MITCHELL", Clarence Bauer and Jim Pierce. _________________________________________ (Below Photos): This Mint, Scarce, 73+ Year-Old & Never Gunned Over, Outstanding c1950 Madison Mitchell, Hen Pintail Decoy Up for Auction!! Incredible Condition without a Knot, Rub, Chip, Check, Crack, Paint Smudge, Fingerprint or Shot Mark on this Solid Cedar Rare Hen Pintail or Even the Scarce Mint Drake Decoy! Typical Thick Tail and Bill is Carved & Sanded Blunt on the End for a Clean, Surface & Shape ....... The Entire Body was Lathe Made with an Outstanding, Undulating Form & Style ...... that Starts with a Beautifully Rounded Breast, then a Wide & Yet Thick Body that Culminates in a Beautiful, Slightly Upswept Tail!! ___________________________________________ (Below Photos): SUPERB FINELY BRUSHED ON BACK, SIDE & ENTIRE BODY FEATHERING, SPECULUMS & WING PRIMARY FEATHERS! ________ (Below Photos): The Bottom of this Hen Pintail has a Perfect Bottom with No Defects and Perfectly Tight & Intact Line-Tie & Ballast Weight!! The Perfect Bottom on this Decoy has No Checks or Defects of Any Kind & Like the Back is still Tan-Brown with Dark Brown Feather Daubing ...... Wonderfully Free of Any Knots, Chips, Dents, paint Smudges, Rubs, Fingerprints, Checks or Cracks on the Entire Decoy, Let Only those Often Seen where Rigging was Nailed On ...... Some Very Typical Incidental Paint Loss to Line-Tie & Weight From Sitting on a Shelf; And Still Outstanding!! Mitchell Used 1 Nail on Each End of the Lead Ballast Weight Until Around 1950, When He Started Using 2, Which Helps Identify this Decoy to c1950, Along with Some Small Nuances Like the Neck Shelf, etc. ________ (Below Photos): The HEAD of this MAJESTIC, ELEGANT & STUNNING "SCARCE" HEN PINTAIL DECOY from SEVERAL ANGLES ...... With PERFECTLY CARVED in HEAD/BILL SEPARATION & PAINTED-EYES ........... and ALL 5 of the NAILS to ATTACH the HEAD to the BODY are PERFECTLY HIDDEN as if this DECOY was JUST MADE YESTERDAY ........ This HEN is so IMMACULATE that ALL 5 NAILS are SO DEEP & INTACT YOU CAN ONLY SPECULATE WHERE they are BASED on KNOWLEDGE of HIS CONSTRUCTION!! INCREDIBLE MINT PAINT to the ENTIRE DECOY & YOU CAN SEE EVERY BRUSH MARK ............ with VERY NEAT MEDIUM-DARK BROWN EYE SWATHS and DAUBED PAINT on the TOP of the HEAD & BACK of the NECK ........... and PERFECT LOCATED YELLOW & BLACK PAINTED EYES!!! The "HEN PINTAIL" HEAD & NECK FLOW SO PERFECTLY into the BREAST that if IT WEREN'T for the CRISP SIDES it WOULD BE HARD-TO-SEE!! .......... it's JUST a GORGEOUSLY PAINTED & CARVED "ALERT" HEAD "POSED STRAIGHT FORWARD" on the DECOY!! ? ________ (Below Photos): This NEAR MINT, SCARCE & NEVER-HUNTED OVER, HEN PINTAIL ....... Shown with the RARER & Just as AWESOME 100% ORIGINAL CONDITION DRAKE RIG-MATE Also on EBAY!! LIKE MOST CARVERS & ALL FACTORIES: Since Males by Nature are All Much More Vibrantly Colored, Drakes were Made in Much Greater Numbers Since they Were Much More Visible to Wild Ducks ....... which Makes this Very Rare Hen also on ebay Rarer than this Drake!! LOOK HOW SPECTACULAR they LOOK TOGETHER & COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER!! ? This Superb Pair Have Been Together Ever Since they Entered Their Collection in Saginaw, Michigan -and- Have Been in the Same Hands and Collection Ever Since!! ________ ________ This STUNNING, R. MADISON MITCHELL, "HEN" PINTAIL DECOY up for Auction: AWESOME 100% ORIGINAL, "SCARCE"; MINT CONDITION, "NEVER HUNTED OVER"; c1950 R. MADISON MITCHELL; ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE PATINA & PAINT; 73+ YEAR-OLD HEN PINTAIL; WOOD DUCK DECOY; HAVRE de GRACE, MARYLAND; SUSQUEHANNA FLATS (UPPER CHESAPEAKE BAY) This HEN GUNNING DECOY was CARVED LIFE-SIZED!! (This Size of His Decoys are His Most Sought After Work!!) ? OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL PAINT & CARVING on this VINTAGE GUNNING DECOY with AN INCREDIBLE, PERFECT PATINA!! EXCELLENT FORM on ONE of HIS VINTAGE & SCARCE HEN PINTAIL GUNNING DECOYS as this DECOY WAS MADE WHEN WOODEN DECOYS WERE STILL BEING VERY WIDELY USED FOR HUNTING ........ BUT this DECOY FOUND its WAY into a COLLECTION INSTEAD of the MIDDLE of a LARGE, OPEN-WATER BAY!! ? AWESOME STIPPLED, DAUBED, SWIRLED & STRAIGHT-LINE, BRUSH-STROKE MITCHELL PAINT -and- NICE, ALERT, HEAD & NECK that are STRAIGHT FORWARD FACING!! Vintage Hunting Decoy & His Very Best, Working Bird Style with his Nice, Long, Yet Wide at the Water Level, Body Style and Form!! ORIGINAL RIGGING is PERFECT -with- 100% ORIG. RIGGING: NAILED-ON LEAD BALLAST WEIGHT -and- COMMERCIAL STAPLE & RING, LINE-TIE!! ? ? This MINT, NEVER HUNTED OVER, HEN & the DRAKE also on Ebay LOOK & SHOW as a GREAT PAIR & HAVE an INCREDIBLE & VERY APPEALING, VERY DRY, AGED PATINA! There is OBVIOUSLY NO GUNNING WEAR & NO SHOT MARKS, KNOTS of ANY KIND; NO RUBS, NO CHECKS or CRACKS, and the ONLY RUBBING is to WEIGHT & LINE TIE!! ALTHOUGH VERY PROLIFIC, Gorgeous PINTAILS Like this PAIR are Always a HARD FIND!! ? ? __________________________________________ This is a Perfectly Symmetrically Carved & Painted Vintage & Scarce Madison Mitchell Hen Pintail Decoy! The ONLY TIME that this Decoy "EVER SAW WATER" was Was in Mitchell's Shop When Mitchell's Shop "TUNED IT" By Adjusting Where the Ballast was Nailed on so It Swam with Perfection in a Hunting Rig!!! ______ This Superb Hen Pintail and the Drake Mate also on ebay Were Made Together, and Both Measure: This HEN & the DRAKE BOTH MEASURE: 5-3/4" WIDE x 7-3/4" TALL Drake is: 18-1/2 long -and- Hen is: 16-1/4" long Both Hen & Drake Weigh a Hefty: 2-lb. 10-oz. each THAT is FANTASTIC & Makes for a PERFECT PAIR of RIG & CARVING MATES that WERE MADE at the EXACT SAME TIME!! That Makes for an Awesome pair of Very Unique Gunning Decoys that are From the Same Famous Carver & Made at the Exact Same Time!! That Makes for a Superb pair that Have Been Together in the Protection of the Same Climate & Light Controlled Collection after they Left Madison Mitchell's Shop!! ? BOTH of these DECOYS HAVE IDENTICAL WEIGHT, STYLE, FORM, CARVING, PAINT PATTERNS & BOTH MADE AT THE SAME TIME ........ ONLY DIFFERENCE is the HEN'S "SPECIES PERFECT" SLIGHTLY SHORTER TAIL!! BOTH DECOYS are also FROM the SAME COLLECTION & OWNER! This HEN & the DRAKE ALSO on Ebay LOOK & SHOW as a GREAT PAIR TOGETHER & BOTH are FROM the SAME COLLECTOR & PURCHASER!! BOTH also have an OUTSTANDING PATINA FROM AGE & VERY CAREFUL HANDLING, OBVIOUSLY "NEVER" HUNTED OVER & VERY WELL TAKEN CARE OF WHILE in their COLLECTION!! Awesome Blended Dark Brown Eye Stripe & Daubed on the Top of the Head & Back of the Neck, Speculums, Primary & Secondary Wing Feathers ........... Along with Clean and Crisp Breast, Tail, Bill & Eye Paint that all Perfectly Flow Together to Create a Realistic Pintail Decoy! STRUCTURALLY PERFECT HEAD & NECK with ALL 5 NAILS PERFECTLY INTACT and TIGHT AS IF MADE YESTERDAY WITHOUT a SINGLE & TYPICAL NECK CHECK that YOU QUITE TYPICALLY FIND on HIS DECOYS as they are INHERENT to the CONSTRUCTION METHOD!!! ? ? To Find Perfect Pairs, Carved For the Same Rig But Unused is Always Nice When Finding & Buying Pairs of Decoys! The DRAKE MATE to this HEN is ALSO on EBAY if YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A NICE MITCHELL PINTAIL PAIR; They Were UNDOUBTEDLY CARVED OBVIOUSLY AT THE SAME TIME!! (Truly a Great pair to Own) ______________ (Below Photos): OTHER MITCHELL PINTAILS including SOLID CEDAR PINTAILS as WELL as a RARE PAIR of CORK BODIED DECOYS: __________________________ This SENSATIONAL & SCARCE, R. MADISON MITCHELL HEN PINTAIL up for auction: This AWESOME 100% ORIGINAL CONDITION HEN PINTAIL c1950 MADISON MITCHELL 73+ YEAR-OLD GUNNING DECOY with SUPERB 100% ORIG PAINT, CARVING, STYLE, PATINA & FORM!! ? ____________________________________________ (below photos): SOME OTHER OLDER MADISON MITCHELL DECOYS, ALTHOUGH FROM A VERY, OLD & VERY DATED, 45-YEAR OLD BOOK written in 1979! (For Reference Only, Very Old Values) ______________ (Below Photo): AWESOME PHOTO OF MR. MITCHELL with a DISPLAY of MANY of HIS GREAT DECOYS of DIFFERENT SPECIES!! AFTER 1960 HE WAS KNOWN TO HAVE CARVED AT LEAST A PAIR OR MORE OF EVERY SPECIES OF DUCK THAT WAS KNOWN TO USE THE ATLANTIC FLYWAY!! ________ AGAIN .......... This SENSATIONAL MADISON MITCHELL HEN PINTAIL up for auction: VINTAGE, SCARCE; c196O R. Madison Mitchell; "HEN PINTAIL"; WOOD DECOY;? ? Very Nice, Very Old Dry Paint with a Beautiful, Clean and Crisp Patina!! ? AWESOME LATHE TURNED DECOYS that WERE THEN FINISHED with KNIVES, HAND TOOLS & SANDPAPER and MADE with PERFECTION!! These Awesome Decoys were Made to Swim & Perform with Perfect Realism in Whatever Waters the Upper Bay Kicked Up!!! Plus ........ Their Large Size Made them Visible from Huge Distances, and Their Immense Weight Kept them Riding Perfect on the Water Like a Real Pintail ......... and So Well Weighted they Were Hard to Flip & Righted Themselves Immediately Even in the Roughest of Water!! HEAD & NECK are PERFECTLY TIGHT LIKE MADE YESTERDAY and DECOYS HEAD is MINT WHERE ALL 5 NAILS WERE USED to ATTACH the HEAD ........... YOU'D NEVER KNOW WHERE ANY of the 5 WERE LOCATED on the HEAD as the NAIL'S LOCATIONS are INVISIBLE!!!! ? ? Awesome Vintage, 73+ Year Old, Hunting Decoy Form and With His Incredible Working Bird Style!! GREAT THICK, 100% ORIGINAL PAINT on this AWESOME, OLD GUNNING DECOY with GREAT PATINA!! ? SUPERB FORM & TRULY ONE OF HIS NICER, HEN PINTAIL DECOYS with a GREAT STRAIGHT FORWARD FACING NECK & HEAD!! ? All ORIGINAL & You Could HUNT OVER This 73+ YEAR OLD DECOY TODAY and LOSE NO PERFORMANCE from the DAY THAT IT WAS MADE SINCE it is BASICALLY NEW & UNUSED!! This is a Perfectly Symmetrically Carved & Painted Vintage Madison Mitchell Hen Pintail! (see photos) ~18 Pictures from almost Every Direction) DON'T MISS OUT on this Truly Great Upper Chesapeake Bay Pintail without Even a Single Knot as the White Cedar Stock Used was Perfect!!? Awesome Vigilant Head Flows Perfectly into the Carved-in Flat Neck Seat with No Loss of Flow!! The Awesomely Carved Bills on these Outstanding Pintails have Crisply Carved Bill/Head Separation ........ and the Bodies Were Made with Perfectly Rounded Breasts that Begin with an Undulating Form that Rises and Widens Near the Rear and Tapers Down and Up at the Tail! ? The Dimensions & Weight are Perfect & Typical for Solid-Bodied, Solid-Cedar, Madison Mitchell Pintails!! This Hen Pintail & the Drake Mate also on ebay Clearly Show That They Came from the Climate Controlled, Direct Light-Free Collection That They Have Been Kept in Over the Many Decades and Well Over a 3/4's of a Century That They Were Being Carefully Cared For In!! ? If You Like Important Decoys from the one of the Most Famous Decoy Carvers Ever, that Are in Outstanding, 100% Original, Never Gunned-Over Condition .......THIS IS A GREAT DECOY FOR "ANY" COLLECTION!! _________________________________________ IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS I AM PUTTING ON EBAY MORE LAWRENCE BETHEL FISH DECOYS, A PAIR OF THE ONLY KNOWN PROTOTYPES MADE OF THE VERY FIRST PRE-PRODUCTION FIBRE DECOYS EVER MADE, A NEAR MINT 1927 HEDDON GIANT VAMPIRE FISHING LURE IN RARE SHAD, A PAIR of LATE PHASE DODGE MALLARDS, A PAOR of MINT 1960 MADISON MITCHELL PINTAILS, A VERY RARE VICTORS DRAKE BUFFLEHEAD, A RALPH MALPAGE PAIR OF WOOD DUCKS, A VERY RARE c1893 100% ORIGINAL TRANSITION PERIOD MASON DRAKE BUFFLEHEAD, AN ORIGINAL PAINT SUPERB J. R. WELLS HEN BLUEBILL, A MINT c1905 HEDDON ARTISTIC MINNOW, A SCARCE RALPH MALPAGEPAIR OF GREEN-WINGED TEAL, A YELLOW WITH RED EYE BLUSH MOONLIGHT SINGLE-HOOK PIKAROON, A NIB CREEK CHUB MULLET COLOR STRIPER PIKIE IN CORRECT BOX, A PAIR of EXCELLENT MASON MALLARDS, NICE PAIRS OF MASON GLASS EYE & TACK EYE BLUEBILLS, AN AWESOME ERNIE NEUMANN SUCKER FISH DECOY, A RARE & EARLY 100% ORIGINAL 1930 WILLIAM LOHRMAN ILLINOIS RIVER CANVASBACK, A VERY NICE ERNIE NEUMANN SUCKER, A RARE 12-1/2" CHET SAWYER MINNESOTA FISH DECOY, A NEAR MINT OSCAR PETERSON PERCH FISH DECOY, A MINT PAIR OF WRAGG & BURRELL WIGEON, AN OUTRAGEOUSLY HARD TO FIND PAIR OF CHARLIE POZZINI BLUEBILLS, AN AMAZING JOHN HOLLOWAY SLEEPING TURNED HEAD DRAKE PINTAIL, A VERY BIG & BULL-NECKED EARLY FERDINAND BACH DRAKE CANVASBACK FROM HIS PERSONAL RIG AND MORE!! ? Shipping Includes Insurance! I Don't Believe in Making a Profit on Shipping, You Pay What I Pay. If it's Less Than You Paid I Refund the Difference, If More I'll Pay For It. I COMBINE SHIPPING. I am also loading over 150 Duck Decoys, 150 Fish Decoys, 70 Scarce Fishing Lures, etc. so keep checking back. __ FINALLY .......... ALL ABOUT this STUNNING MADISON MITCHELL HEN PINTAIL up for auction: ITEM DESCRIPTION: This 73+ Year-Old, Scarce and Amazing Hen Pintail was Carved and Painted by R. Madison Mitchell (1901-1993) of Havre de Grace, Maryland. Havre de Grace is a city in Harford County, situated at the mouth of the Susquehanna River and the head of Chesapeake Bay. It is named after the port city of Le Havre, France, which in full was once Le Havre de Grâce (French, "Haven of Grace"). During the Revolutionary War, the small hamlet known as Harmer's Town was visited several times by General Lafayette, considered a hero of the war. He commented that the area reminded him of the French seaport of Le Havre, which as mentioned previously had originally been named Le Havre de Gr ce Inspired by Lafayette's comments, the residents incorporated the town as Havre de Grace in 1785. (photo below): MR. MITCHELL APPLYING SOME EARLY PAINT DETAILS TO WHAT LOOKS TO BE A CORK DRAKE WOOD DUCK! Madison Mitchell began making decoys in 1924 when he was hired to help Sam Barnes finish out his orders for that year. He had made decoys ever since, in addition to his occupation as an undertaker. His decoys were completely hand chopped until 1931 when he had a duplicating lathe built and began turning his own bodies. A great amount of work still had to be done as the lathe, much like a band saw, simply brings the block of wood to its basic shape. It would take ten pages to describe the life and accomplishments of Mr. Mitchell, but a great reference that can give you all of the interesting details of his life and his transition from undertaker to decoy maker, is all in an article on the "International Wildfowl Carvers Association" website which has a reprinted 2007 article from Decoy Magazine written by the fascinating and knowledgeable Mr. Jim Trimble. A copy of that article follows this description and gives you a good idea of the tremendous working knowledge of the decoys from the area that Mr. Trimble has always exhibited and the importance of Decoy Magazine's contributions to collectors world-wide. (photo below): MR. MITCHELL PUTTING THE FINAL TOUCHES ON ONE OF HIS VERY HEAVY AND VERY EFFECTIVE CANADA GOOSE DECOYS!! This classic and outstanding, middle-period R. Madison Mitchell Hen Pintail up for auction is in mint and never saw water except for in his shop when they floated it to correctly locate the lead ballast weight and after it left his shop it went straight into a very discriminating Saginaw, Michigan decoy collection. After Mitchell's fame began to grow, and like this Hen Pintail and the Drake Mate also on ebay, many of Mitchell's fine and effective gunning birds were bought from or ordered from Madison Mitchell and then found their way straight into a collection. But before that and before the advent of inexpensive plastic decoys, these solid cedar decoys set the standard for what an effective and trustworthy decoy was, although many people, like the man that bought these Pintails from Mitchell, had the foresight to realize their beauty and ever increasing value and they were put straight into his collection. Madison Mitchell's decoys were so incredibly well made that some may have been lightly gunned over and just very well cared for while in use and during the off season, and went straight into collections and hardly show that they ever saw water. But when its all said and done, either gunned over or not, his decoys have always been cherished and eventually found their way onto a collector's shelf or shelves and very well taken care of whether unused or used and saw the same tender glove treatment in their retirement's "golden years". All or at least almost all of Mitchell's early or middle period decoys were much sought after by gunners to use in their rigs to lure in the wariest of wild ducks. Later, when considering Madison Mitchell's production of decoys, some went straight into a collection or took a roundabout way of getting into one by enticing a ducks within gunning range first, but either way and like this "never-used" pair up for auction, they all have been enjoyed and handled with care since they left Mr. Mitchell's shop and many lucky examples like these up for auction were never hunted over. Notwithstanding and from a geographical standpoint, with the fame and growing demand for Madison Mitchell decoys, a great many of his birds have found new homes not only in the U.S.A., but also in countries around the globe as they are very sought after and always will be and will continue to increase in value and always be in demand. I personally have sent pairs of decoys to buyer as far away as Australia and as close as a to man living one block over from me that I had never met before. Some of Madison Mitchell's decoys made their way into Michigan collections or were sent to friends there as Mitchell did spend part of his life in the mid-Michigan area of Michigan's lower peninsula, the Great Lakes State. He relocated to Pontiac, Michigan in 1918, and originally found work at a General Motors factory there so he could make a living getting work at an auto plant. But General Motors also had a great network of auto plants just to the north in Flint and Saginaw. Which of the plants he worked at other than the Pontiac plant is not documented, but he certainly lived in a hotbed of waterfowl hunting while in Michigan as he had Lake St. Clair to the east, Saginaw Bay to the north, and thousands of lakes, ponds, rivers and wetlands sprinkled in the surrounding area. He most likely brought some decoys along or sent them to Michigan acquaintances at a later date as many of his decoys made their way into some early mid Michigan collections. He also duck hunted in Michigan, mostly on Saginaw Bay, while he was in Michigan and he most certainly brought some decoys along or sent them to Michigan at a later date as many of his decoys made their way into some early Saginaw Bay area collections and many of those remain in Michigan collections in the Saginaw area, Flint area, Pontiac area, Detroit area or places in between those major southern peninsula of Michigan cities. Almost every city around where he spent time in Michigan had several auto plants ranging from stamping plants, transmission and gear plants, engine plants to final auto assembly plants and many also provided parts to Packard, GM, Ford, Studebaker, Chrysler and more. Around 2 years later, in 1920, Madison Mitchell returned to Maryland, but his decoys had already amazed and intrigued enough southeastern Michigan gunners that he did have a clientele there, but only a trickle of water in a lake compared to the demand that was awaiting him on the east coast and especially in and around the Chesapeake Bay region. Madison Mitchell's earliest output of decoys consisted of Canada Geese, Canvasbacks, Redheads and Bluebills and to a lesser degree and in a limited number pintails mallards, black ducks and a scarce baldpate or two. After 1960 Madison Mitchell carved almost every species that was known to Fly the Atlantic Flyway. (photo below): HISTORIC 1983 PHOTO of MADISON MITCHELL with One of Best Friends, the Late CHARLIE JOINER on the LEFT and the Late and also GREAT LEM WARD in FRONT ....... This was the Last Time they Were together Before Lem Ward Passed Away in 1984. (Picture taken at the Ward Brothers Work Shop) The form and detail of this Hen Pintail up for auction is pure Madison Mitchell with a perfect upswept tail, magnificently contoured body and wonderfully flowing neck, head and bill. This middle period hunting decoy has great lines and all of the character of his greatest gunning blocks. This extraordinary decoy was never used and was also very, very well taken care of over the last 73+ years, while in a fine collection of great decoys. But I am absolutely sure that if this decoy was used today, this awesome decoy would perform as well as if it was made yesterday, and as well as Mr. Mitchell's decoys were made and crafted, it would swim with the reality of a real bird on the water; even to this very day you could gun over this Hen and the Drake also on ebay!! But like all of Mitchell's work it was so well made it is in excellent 100% original structural and aesthetic condition. It retains all of the thick and perfectly applied original coat of paint with the only rub spots to the typical places, a few on the weight and line-tie, on which the decoy rested on when being set down on a shelf and not on a display stand. And per the normal, the overall condition of this decoy is outstanding and it is 100% Original on the entire decoy. The Head and Neck are Perfect and as tight as the day this decoy was made and all 5 of the nails used to attach the head to the body are perfectly hidden and in mint condition which is a huge plus. All 5 Nails are also as tight as the day that he hammered them in and the neck is as tight to the body as if he made it yesterday and the seam is mint!!! On older decoys it is actually the exception to the norm to find upper bay decoys and Mitchell's as well, with no putty or nail pops from the stress of picking decoys up by the neck. On this Hen Pintail and the Drake Mate also on ebay the nails are so perfectly intact that if not for slight shadows on this drake you can't tell where they are and the neck has absolutely no checks, cracks of any kind which is typical of these decoys from the stress that of being picked up by the head eventually leads to. The Rare and Outstanding Drake Mate is Absolutely Mint as all 2 Nails are so perfectly intact that you can't tell where they are unless you look hard at the top of the head the shadows give them away. To further describe the great structural condition of this decoy is the awesome condition of the head of this Hen as it has a perfect form and shape which give it the statuesque form it has. Like most of Mitchell's decoys and many of the other carver's from the area, these decoy's heads were attached with 5 nails; 3 long finishing nails through the top of the head and 2 through the lower front of the base of the neck and into the body to give added strength to keep the head from ever swiveling (even though the 3 through the top of the head would, for the most part, would have kept this from occurring). As a result of this way of attaching the head to the body, the only natural construction defect you'll usually see on his and the decoys of other carvers that attached heads in this manner, is from the 3 nails through the top of the head, or possibly the 2 in the neck. It isn't unusual for one or more of these nails from popping up and pushing up the putty or even popping the putty out completely and possibly even a nail or two slightly pushing upward and out as a result of neck handling and/or even as the wood dried after being made or especially on birds that were gunned over as from typical gunning they would get wet, then dry, then repeating this over and over again would cause swelling and then shrinkage which caused checks, cracks, nail pops, etc. This in turn could and would often stress the neck out enough to cause a small tight check or crack in the neck that could be just on one side or all of the way through. Hence, when this occurs you might find some with some play in that area or a very minimal surface check and a head and neck as tight as the day it was made with no play whatsoever. This Hen Pintail and the Drake also on ebay both have pristine heads and necks with absolutely no neck checking or damage, and both decoys' heads and necks' remain as tight as if these decoys just left Mitchell's shop, and neither even have any surface checks at the base of the neck where the head attaches to the body and the seams are mint with perfect paint to boot. While this pair of Pintails have perfect heads and necks, even those with some typical loss of filler or putty or neck checking if anything simply adds to the aura of his decoys. Even though this pair of Pintails are perfect, sometimes checking on a Mitchell decoy was not caused by gunning or rough handling, but rather from their age as the putty or wood fully cured or years later as they aged in collections that were not temperature controlled. This is strictly cosmetic, not unusual and something most collectors consider typical, natural and even something that adds to the aura of these close to a-century-old, big and heavy, solid cedar gunning decoys. Picking any duck or goose decoy by the head is certainly very ill-advised for both older or newer, used or unused decoys in any collection. Most hunters from any area or region tried to retrieve their decoys from the water after a long day of hunting by grabbing the body and not the head when possible, so as to never stress the head or neck by handling them in that manner. But after a very long day of gunning and the additional water weight a wooden gunning may take on during a long day and season, its easy to imagine a fatigued hunter grabbing decoys by the neck and/or head and quickly getting them into the boat. This is especially true when hundreds needed to be retrieved and nasty weather is blowing the boat and waves around while you're trying to just pick em' up; as the boat or decoys keep floating away from the retrieving gunner and oarsman as the hunters are just trying to get on their way home before it gets pitch black dark. Finally, when the decoy makers, and exactly like Madison Mitchell, attached the heads to the body with the large spike finishing nails, they used a nail punch to drive the nails into a recessed hole, then filled the hole with white lead filler or putty, sanded it smooth and then painted the decoy. While the vast majority of never used or lightly gunned over decoys never show a nail pop where the nail pushed up and either just raised the white lead up a bit or kicked it out entirely, those that are more heavily used quite often will show some raised white lead, even an entire nail pop or even an exposed nail sticking up out of the pre-drilled hole. But this pair of decoys up for auction never saw any action so their necks are perfect. The superbly inserted head and neck nails are so perfectly intact on both decoys you can only tell where some are, and even if you look very closely trying you can only surmise where almost all of the nails are probably at. This is awesome and part of the reason that both decoy's heads are as tight and intact as if they just left Mitchell's shop the day before. They were made for punishment and almost never failed the challenge of the most brutal conditions expected of a rugged, well made, historic gunning decoy. (photo below): A GREAT OLD REDHEAD with a TIGHT, INTACT ORIGINAL BREAST PLUG and INTACT HEAD/NECK NAILS even CONSIDERING the HEAVY ACTION IT SAW! I REALLY ADMIRE these OLD WARRIORS!! And Even these Warriors Could Still have Been Gunned Over But were Eventually Retired when the Hunter Decided to Order a New Rig, Whether if it was Out of Necessity or Just to Gun Over New Blocks!! (photo below): In LATER YEARS, When MITCHELL was Either at His SHOP, or ATTENDING A DECOY SHOW, He Was MORE than HAPPY to IDENTIFY His Decoys with His TRADEMARK SIGNING & DATING ...... and as You CAN SEE on the BLUEBILL PICTURED Above & Below He Used his "ELECTRIC ETCHING TOOL" and CUSTOMIZED ENGRAVED SIGNATURE and DATE on this Particular Decoy, WHICH was "1948". This Hen Pintail and the Drake Mate up for auction not only show the quality of Mitchell's craftsmanship, but also the care the owner and original buyer gave this pair of decoys in what was an indoor, temperature controlled environment all of his decoys were prominently displayed in. The absence of fading to the paint also gives a good idea that this decoy was well cared for and that the collection it and the Drake Mate were in was relatively, if not totally free, of direct sunlight on the items in his collection and these Pintails were proud members of it. This decoy is in just wonderful condition, the head and all rigging are as tightly attached as the day this decoy was made. You just don't often find a Mitchell decoy with a Traceable History and a Nicer, Somewhat Older Mitchell Hunting Pintail, which isn't considered an uncommon species, especially back in the day when this species of bird was working its magic, but it is an uncommon Species for him all the Same, and an important species to have in a collection of his and all of the Susquehanna Flats carvers as well. While the seasoned collector has a variety of form, construction and paint clues that help identify a Madison Mitchell decoy, it's always nice to come across ones that are signed and/or dated, or even personalized as it adds a nice human touch if authentic. This particular Hen Pintail and the Drake also on ebay have no such Mitchell markings, so obviously it was no surprise when the late owner's son told me that his father never had the opportunity to go back East and meet Mr. Mitchell so he never had the chance to ask Mitchell to sign them, but that is the norm rather than the exception as he was a very prolific carver. Some of his decoys were even personalized a tad more with his spelled out "Havre de Grace MD" and a "Date" along with his "Signature". Many of his decoys are also signed in Ink Pen or Marker and a great many of his decoys are signed with his "electro-pen" and etched in, which was many homeowner's tool of choice in the 1950's and 1970's when people engraved their TV sets and other valuables with the hope that if they were ever stolen they might have them identified and returned. But his signature does not automatically date the decoy unless he also added the date, and in many cases this is was his, or later in life one of his friends, best guess-timate. While Mr. Mitchell was in his shop and making a sale, I am sure he would have been more than happy to engrave his signature, date, etc. And since he was very approachable, I suspect he would bring his etching pen to shows or events he attended and if an electrical outlet was close he'd be more than happy to customize anyone's decoy or decoys on the bottom. The older the decoy is, the less the odds you will find an electro-pen signature, but I have seen a couple very old birds that people must have brought to his shop, home or an event of some kind even though they had been made and gunned over many decades before he was asked to sign them. He even dated many decoys based on something he either remembered for whatever reason or made a pretty good guess based on the form, the style or quirk of one of his apprentices, the style and/or paint etc. He was so accommodating that if he didn't have his engraver with him, he was more than willing to sign with a marker, pen or whatever else was available. Madison Mitchell didn't routinely just identify or sign many, let alone all of the decoys that left his shop to be gunned over, as the new owner might have wanted only his or her own rig brand or name on the bottom or simply not signed for whatever reason. This is even more true the older the decoy is, as the further you go back in time the less the chance a decoy was signed as not to conflict with a rig mark, and also due to the fact that the older you get the less decoys were even being collected, let alone identified by some sort of signature unless it was related to identifying the owner and rig it came from in the hopes that it was returned to him or her if it floated away from a rig or the like. But from most of the stories I have been told, seen first hand, or read about, the return rate was never very good in most regions where there was concentrated gunning in the United States. In some areas, due to competition in areas where great hunting spots were limited, theft was the bigger threat unfortunately. Notwithstanding the Delaware River, Clinton River feeding Lake St. Clair and a plethora of other great, but concentrated gunning places from an area standpoint, saw many decoys thefts of which on occasion were entire rigs being stolen right out of moored sneak or other duck hunting specific boats. (photo below): NEAT Photo of MADISON MITCHELL in the MIDDLE ....... The Other TWO MEN in the PHOTO are of BILL COLLINS and his FATHER. BILL COLLINS, (One of Mitchell's Many Apprentices over the Years), was ALSO the MAN that BOUGHT MITCHELL'S SHOP IN 1980. ? This Hen Pintail up for auction was made by the great R. Madison Mitchell and has no markings, but with signatures or markings, or even without them, Mitchell's decoys are distinguishable from other carver's birds that were made to imitate or at least come close to what the many attributes that makes a Mitchell decoy a Mitchell. Even with the plethora of apprentices and helpers that helped him keep his shop running at lean times and pushing the capacity of his shop to the limit when orders were pouring in, Mitchell still had his patterns etched in his mind and those of his shop-mates and very rarely did anything or anyone deter him and his shop from turning out a true Madison Mitchell decoy with the standard look, paint, appeal, style, bill, head, tail, dimensions, rigging and appearance of any given time period during his many decades-long career. However, like the old saying goes, "If it ain't broke don't fix it", which lead to a form and style that didn't change much over the many years that he toiled at his trade. Much like even the great Mason decoy company, there were many cooks in the kitchen, but the quality and consistency of appearance was never compromised from decoy to decoy and shop worker to shop worker during a given time period ....... Madison Mitchell, himself included, and overseeing this consistency was the case. This decoy up for auction was made even with all of the aforementioned safeguards strictly and appreciatively in place. (photo below): VERY COOL PHOTO of MITCHELL in his WORK SHOP PAINTING a CANVASBACK and TALKING UP JIM PIERCE, CHARLIE JOINER and CHARLIE BRYAN!! There are absolutely no structural imperfections on this vintage Pintail decoy up for auction as a choice piece of cedar was used to construct this block. Like I previously noted, the only paint loss is from negligible rubbing to the lead ballast weight and line tie. A great attribute of this decoy is that the paint on this decoy is still bright and vivid considering its age; but you could still gun over this bull-necked pintail today and it would perform like it came right from Mitchell's workshop and would work like a champ to draw wary birds within gunning range. And the conditions that these heavy, perfectly swimming decoys were subjected to wouldn't be a factor in whatever rough water you hunted over unless you ran into a torrent of white-caps which might get them to rolling quite a bit, but not too much unlike what a real duck looks like in messy, nasty, windy weather. But obviously you wouldn't hunt this "piece of history, antique" decoy or do anything like that with a somewhat older Mitchell decoy that has deserved its place in any collection of honest gunning decoys. Mitchell's Decoys first saw water in Mitchell's shop when he floated them to find the sweet spot to properly locate the lead ballast weight (referred to as "tuning" a decoy) in order to get the decoy to swim perfectly, sit evenly and flat on the surface and right itself immediately. This decoy has an excellent 73+ year-old patina and the original brush strokes from the thickly applied original coat of paint look extraordinary. The original yellow painted eyes with fine black pupils are still bright and jump off this Hen Pintail's medium brown head with dark brown, eye background stripe head paint that makes it a life-like version of this fairly uncommon species of Mitchell decoy, even though he made mostly Canvasbacks, which were unlawful to to be hunted for much of the 1970's, 1980's and 1990's in the United States. This decoy is in 100% original condition and this superb R. Madison Mitchell Hen Pintail and the Drake Mate that is also on ebay both measure: 7-3/4" tall x 5-3/4" wide and weigh 2-lb. 10-oz. each of solid Eastern white cedar, which makes for a perfect Mitchell Pintail decoy. The Drake Pintail is 18-1/2" long and this Hen Rig & Carving Mate is 16-1/4" long; which is species correct as Males are longer than females because of the tail length. This is also perfect for a pair of Decoys that look, show, were from the same collector and rig-mates made at the exact same time. Even the patina is exactly the same, as is light rubbing on the weights and line ties. This is a large, high-profiled gunning bird and as far as a Pintail decoy is concerned, this decoy would certainly qualify as life-sized or even slightly bigger than an adult bird in real life. An excellent decoy from the hands of one of the most prolific and beloved carvers that called Havre de Grace home. A truly great and vintage hunting block and a not so common species for the time that it was made for gunning, but I am sure that the admirer and devotee of his work added it to their collection with great anticipation as they were prominently displayed when I bought them. This Hen Pintail is in Mint 100% Original Condition from Mitchell's shop and looks great together with the Drake Mate also on ebay as they both have the exact same form, paint and patina, and they even have the same paint rubs to their keel weights. Both decoys have heads and rigging that are as tight as the day that these decoys were made. All five nails that were used to attach the heads to the bodies on both decoys are perfectly intact and as solid to the day he made them, and all nails on both decoys are hidden well below the surface by filler or white lead putty and paint. The drake mate is equally as incredible and has all tight and hidden nails and he is as Pristine and Immaculate as a 73+ year-old gunning decoy could possibly be. This Hen and the Drake Mate also on ebay have been in the collection they came from for over 7 decades or 70+ years, and maybe even longer or from the day that they were made as they came from the same collection and originator buyer and collector. This Decoy will Make a Great addition to your decoy collection of Vintage Gunning Decoys made by one of the true East Coast Master Carvers and it has superb size, style, form, carving, paint pattern and it is in 100% original condition. Don't Miss Out on This Special Decoy. Thanks for looking. The first photo in the Beginning of this Listing is of this Great Madison Mitchell Hen Pintail up for auction. The Next Photo is of Mr. Mitchell in his shop. The Next 6 photos are of this Hen and the Drake also on ebay together so you can see how awesome and mated they look and complement each other. The Next 12 Photos are again of this Beautiful Hen Pintail by itself from many angles and distances and the Last 4 Photos are of other Mitchell Decoys showing species, date and an antiquated value estimated over 40 years ago. (I encourage you to use the zoom feature in this listing to get close-up looks at anywhere on this decoy as it can zoom in on the smallest of spots from the many different directions afford you to see the decoys entire surface.) ? __ (photo below): PICTURES of GREAT MADISON MITCHELL CANVASBACK DECOYS and RELATED CANVASBACK ITEMS; WHICH were the MOST POPULAR SPECIES of DECOYS HE EVER MADE by a WIDE MARGIN ......... as that is WHAT COLLECTORS & HUNTERS LONG BEFORE THEN REQUESTED in the GREATEST NUMBERS! The 2nd Photo is Mitchell with a Room Full of Canvasbacks and Canada Geese Decoys He Made! __________ (photo below): PHOTOS or Other SPECIES OF HIS "WORLD RENOWNED" GUNNING BIRDS; MOST are SOLID CEDAR with a HANDFUL of CORK BODIED DECOYS that HE MADE!! (photo below): VERY IMPORTANT, CONCISE & INFORMATIONAL ARTICLE WRITTEN BY MR. JIM TRIMBLE for DECOY MAGAZINE. JIM SENT ME This EMAIL of the ARTICLE & I HAVE READ IT HUNDREDS OF TIME. BUT IF YOU ARE ABLE TO GET A BACK ISSUE OF THIS PARTICULAR ISSUE OR SUBSCRIBE TO DECOY MAGAZINE IT IS MONEY EXTREMELY WELL SPENT!! R. Madison Mitchell By James L. Trimble R. Madison Mitchell The Chesapeake’s Dominant Decoy Maker Reprinted with permission from the Jan/Feb 2007 issue of Decoy Magazine. When asked the distinguishing characteristics of his decoy by a reporter many decades ago, Mitchell responded, “Ninety percent of the gunners from Columbia, Pennsylvania to Richmond, Virginia can tell you whether the decoy they are holding is a Mitchell decoy …... or not!” Mitchell, the Chesapeake’s predominant decoy maker, made that comment with a chuckle and a twinkle in his eye, a comment that might seem vain if it wasn’t also true. It was still a time when Madison Mitchell dominated wooden decoy production in his part of the world, a craft that eventually headed toward its twilight years, as did Mitchell, as wooden decoy rigs gave way to plastic. The Chesapeake Bay is the largest of the 130 estuaries located in the United States, stretching 200 miles long and up to 35 miles wide, encompassing 11,684 miles of shoreline, including the tidal tributaries of Maryland and Virginia, a distance longer than the entire west coast of the United States. Many rivers feed it, but the majority of the Chesapeake’s water is derived from the saline Atlantic Ocean to the south and the Susquehanna River to the north, which pours in fresh water at the head of the bay. A major resting and feeding habitat along the Atlantic Flyway for migratory ducks and geese, its open waters with wild sego and celery grasses are home to 29 species of waterfowl. The watermen who populated the bayside communities throughout the region harvested a great variety of seafood from its waters. The late fall arrival of ducks and geese represented another source for both sustenance and income. According to the writings in early sporting books and magazines, millions of birds arrived on the Susquehanna Flats each fall, with their numbers greatly depleted by winter’s end. It was prime gunning habitat for the market hunter of yesterday, who sold their harvest for shipping by rail to the nearby accessible markets of Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington and Richmond. Due to this abundance of waterfowl population, this vast Chesapeake Bay region supported more decoy makers, who produced more decoys, than any other area in the world. The identities of many of the early decoy makers from many regions have been lost to time and history, however the pioneers of Upper Chesapeake Bay decoys, men such as Holly, Graham and Dye, have been identified, with fine examples of their work surviving. Robert Madison Mitchell was born in 1901 in Oakington, Maryland, near Harford County’s Swan Creek, just south of Havre de Grace, and he grew up in this waterman’s community at the top of the bay. It was a time when waterfowl conservation was non-existent and years before the U.S. Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 became law. Mitchell was the son of a farmer and market hunter, who worked the land on Spesutie Island at the southern end of the Susquehanna Flats. Interviewed in George Reiger’s 1980 book, “Wings of Dawn,” Mitchell related, “We had men here, my father for example, who farmed on Spesutie Island. He got $14 a month salary and five acres of ground to do with as he pleased, as well as the fishing and hunting rights to the lower farm. If he hadn’t gunned for the market, we would have been hard pressed to make ends meet. Money from waterfowl was one of my father’s biggest sources of income.” While Mitchell was an infant, the family’s farming activities moved from Spesutie Island to the rolling hills of Mount Felix on the Heights, which overlooked Havre de Grace and the bay. His grandfather’s stroke precipitated the move, as they had to take over the family dairy and look out for his care. Mount Felix, a 7700 square foot brick manor house with unparalleled views of the bay, was built in the 1830s by Mitchell’s great grandfather canner and agriculturalist John Mitchell. This is where Mitchell spent his formative years. The 1910 Harford County census lists Robert H. Mitchell as Head of Household with his occupation as a farmer, working on “our farm.” Occupants include his wife, three daughters and 9-year-old Robert M. Mitchell. The younger Mitchell often told of life on the farm, including delivering milk by horse and buggy, all before morning classes. He learned to fish and hunt upland game at this father’s side. Although he lived in a waterfowling community, it was not a pursuit in which he would partake until he was a young man. A favorite uncle, E. Madison Mitchell, had a great impact on the younger Mitchell, so much so that he dropped his given name Robert and went by his middle name Madison, or the now proper name of R. Madison Mitchell, which he kept for life. Years later Mitchell decided to choose his favorite uncle’s profession, that of an undertaker, and he quite school at age 16 or 17, moving 30 miles south to Baltimore, where he lived in an apartment over his uncle’s funeral home. While there he “helped out,” which included “night removals” from Baltimore homes. He also attended classes at the Baltimore Business College. A year or so later, an older sister visiting Havre de Grace surprised the family with an early birth. Mitchell accompanied his sister and child on their return train trip to Michigan. While there, he took a job working at a General Motors assembly line in Pontiac for $6.00 a day, a decent wage for the time. It is quite possible that Mitchell may have run across the nearby Mason decoy factory while living there, thus noting the use of lathes and assembly line processes in producing decoys. He may also have been exposed to the wealth of Michigan’s forests, a source he turned to later in life. While Mitchell was spreading his wings elsewhere, Havre de Grace was coping with the new federal migratory laws, which forced many watermen to convert from market hunting to providing guide services for city sports, who now poured in by rail each gunning season. The small town of Havre de Grace quickly became the gunning Mecca of the East Coast. Mitchell returned home in April 1920, and according to Charles Lee Robbins 1987 book, “R. Madison Mitchell – His Life and Decoys,” Mitchell and his father hunted ducks on the Susquehanna Flats from a sinkbox that fall, something they repeated each ensuing season. Their rig was reported at 450 decoys, and they shot mostly divers, with Mitchell using a 12-gauge Winchester Pump Model 98, full-choke with a 32-inch barrel, a gun used by four generations of Mitchells. Although raised in a waterfowling community of market hunters, this was purportedly his first attempt at hunting ducks. As Mitchell is quoted in Rieger’s previously referenced book: “The market (market hunting) had stopped before I actually took up gunning.” In 1922, Mitchell received his embalmers license and opened for business shortly thereafter. Sam Barnes, a prolific decoy maker, helped paint the funeral home. Barnes was Mitchell’s mother’s cousin and a contemporary of his father, and in 1924 Mitchell started helping Barnes with his decoy production, a job completely done by hand, using a saw, a hatchet, a drawknife and spoke shave. “He was one of those old gentlemen who never stopped; he just kept on working,” Mitchell is quoted as saying in David and Joan Hagan’s 1990 book, “Upper Chesapeake Bay Decoys and Their Makers.” Purportedly when Mitchell was asked what he knew about making decoys at the time, he responded, “The same thing you did when you started.” It is interesting to note that this was the same year that a pair of Sam Barnes canvasbacks was awarded “Best in Show” at the Second Annual Exhibition of Wildfowl Decoys in New York City, based on practical (functional) use and maintenance. At the time, Barnes sold his decoys for $1.25 each. According to Madeline Shanks, Mitchell’s daughter, her father augmented his income, as did many in town, by picking up racetrack fans at the train station and taking them to the now-defunct Havre de Grace Racetrack. Champion horses of the day, including Seabiscuit, Citation and Man’O War, all raced there. The Havre de Grace destination was so popular the railroads operated special “racing trains” from New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore, using the same railroad tracks that brought in the city sports each gunning season. It is not known how long he provided this service or whether he ever used his hearse for pick-ups. Mitchell had been working on a steady basis with Barnes for about two years when Barnes died of pneumonia in 1926. Mitchell handled the funeral, and it was the first to utilize a brand new hearse he had just purchased. At the time, his business on Washington Street was handling about 20 funerals a year. Barnes left behind substantial orders for decoys - about 1400 birds in all - that needed to be filled before the next hunting season. That same year his daughter Florence, who had painted his decoys, married and left town. Recognizing the opportunity, Mitchell established his own shop, implementing power tools, including a belt sander built by a local machinist, and later a lathe to turn his decoy bodies. The shop was located behind his funeral business on Washington Street, just a few blocks from Barnes’ Washington Street home. Now on his own, Mitchell sought guidance from other area makers, particularly concerning the application of paint patterns. Capt. Billie Moore, owner of the gunning yacht Reckless and father-in-law of well-known decoy maker Bob McGaw, both Washington Street neighbors, came to Mitchell’s aid, teaching him how to mix and blend colors, applying the same feathered wing pattern used when helping his son-in-law fill decoy orders. With Moore’s help, the 1400 newly finished decoys were completed in time for gunning season. McGaw’s signature “dog bone” weight is also found on some early Mitchell decoys, which could indicate a Moore influence as well. (Locals report that McGaw was upset that his father-in-law would help this new upstart, who would eventually prove to be a formidable competitor for area decoy business.) According to the Hagen’s book, the average order was for 50 to 100 decoys and they sold for $1.50 each. For Mitchell, 1926 carried added significance, as he married local Helen Maslin, a union that lasted until her death in 1973. It should be noted that his father, Robert H. Mitchell; his cousin and mentor, Samuel T. Barnes; and the man who taught him how to paint decoys, Capt. William E. Moore; were all members of the “Ducking Police,” created by an 1872 State of Maryland statute to regulate shooting on the legal boundary limits of the Susquehanna Flats. There is no doubt that their stories about those “early days” had an impact on Mitchell. A December 5, 1926 article in the Baltimore Sun, “Ducking Days Along Susquehanna,” mentions the “hundreds of sinboxes that dot the water,” and details some of the gunning accidents that occurred there, including accidentally shooting holes in the watertight box, hunters accidentally shooting themselves and one particular case of two brothers who froze to death in their sinkbox. It would be interesting to know if Mitchell, with his new hearse, collected the bodies. The 1930 census for the City of Havre de Grace lists the 29-year-old Mitchell as living on Washington Street with his wife and two-year-old daughter. Under the Head of Household column, his given name is listed as R. Madison Mitchell and his occupation as embalmer undertaker He is not listed in the 1920 Maryland census, as he was likely residing in Pontiac, Michigan. With time, the Barnes body design was modified to clean sharp lines for easy and fast lathe production, perhaps with a Holly influence. Mitchell used lead ballast weights and replaced the traditional leather anchor straps with a small ring and staple. The first time he tried rings and staples on his father’s decoys he left the leather straps in place, commenting years later that he didn’t want “any backfire” from his father. His initial decoy production was limited to canvasbacks, blackheads (bluebills) and redheads, as he claimed they were the only ducks he could paint. With increased demand, Mitchell rebuilt and enlarged his shop in 1932. In 1934 the state of Maryland outlawed the use of a sinkbox, a lethal floating water-level platform used by Chesapeake gunners to kill diving ducks. Once eliminated, hunters no longer needed huge rigs of 400-500 decoys. That same year a severe drought in the Midwest and Canada dried up nesting potholes crucial to the survival of migrating ducks, and few came to the Chesapeake. Mitchell did not sell a decoy that year, but fortunately the ducks returned, as did the gunners and the demand for his decoys, and his business continued to grow. By the mid-1930s, most of the legendary 19th century decoy makers from the Upper Chesapeake Bay were gone, or in their twilight years with limited production. McGaw and Jim Currier were still producing decoys commercially, as were a few makers north in Cecil County, but for Mitchell, competition was limited. McGaw was the first maker in Havre de Grace to recognize the need for production decoys, and installed a used Sears & Roebuck Co. lathe to turn bodies in 1929. Reportedly it was used to turn gunstocks in World War I. In 1941, he sold his lathe to Mitchell, who sold his to Paul Gibson, who was starting his own decoy making business in Havre de Grace. Part of the transaction required Mitchell to continue turning bodies for McGaw. Currier, as well as some of the Cecil County makers, continued to chop out bodies by hand. But Mitchell outlasted them all, and eventually handled the burials for McGaw, Currier and Gibson, as he had done for his mentor Barnes. By the 1940s, increased production required additional help as well as a ready source of wood. Mitchell turned to his community for part-time workers who welcomed the opportunity to augment their income. For a while, Currier worked in his shop, refurbishing and painting cripples, some having to be dipped in lye to remove old crusted paint. Mitchell was demanding, setting high quality work standards and gaining a growing reputation for producing a superbly crafted and functional decoy. “I spent a lot of time making patterns, designing heads and designing bodies from freshly killed birds,” he is quoted in the winter 1987 issue of Wildfowl Carving and Collecting. “All of my heads were made from live ducks, but a trifle larger than the actual head…it would show up better and also had to be sufficient strength in the carved wood bill.” The first wave of workers in Mitchell’s shop is long gone, but many that came after, including Gibson, Currier, Jim Pierce, Harry Jobes, “Speed” Joiner and Tit-bird Bauer, became decoy makers in their own right, all producing a Mitchell style and inspired but with nuances of their own on their decoys. And a third generation, including Pat Vincenti, Butch Wagoner, Bill Collins and Charles and Bob Jobes, all present day makers, tutored under his watchful eye. In his book, Reiger commented on the workforce in Mitchell’s shop: “For close to half a century, Mitchell has run something like a European artist’s atelier where numerous carvers and painters have been employed turning out tens of thousands of birds using Mitchell patterns, while Mitchell himself may not actually put his hand on every decoy with his imprimatur.” George Starr’s 1974 book, “Decoys of the Atlantic Flyway,” memorializes an early trip to Mitchell’s shop. “Around 1952, my son Robin and I ended up at Mitchell’s place just after supper one evening, about two weeks before the gunning season was to start. We were welcomed and invited into the paint shop, where the last orders for the year were being finished. The paint room was about 12-feet square with floor to ceiling racks on three sides. Mitchell and about five of his jolly crew were sitting around on straight chairs or boxes. In front of each was an upturned box on which was a wooden pallet with the basic colors each person would use that night. The birds were passed around the circle – one painting the breast, another the head, etc., until the decoy returned to his place on the shelf fully painted. The painting itself had become so automatic, that everyone’s mind was free to enter into banter which made the time go swiftly.” Angus Phillips, the outdoor writer for The Washington Post, wrote a short story on Mitchell, “Decoys are Art Work for Posterity,” in the December 5, 1978 issue, 26 years after Starr’s visit. Phillips wrote, “Mitchell’s prices range from about $13 each for small ducks to about $20 for a Canada goose. A signed original will go for five times that much, and ought to. They are magnificent replicas. Before I left, I asked Mitchell if I could buy two ducks and a goose. He sighed and went to gather them up. As he handed over the ducks, a pair of blue wing teal, he told me, ‘If you can’t get $50 for these tomorrow, don’t sell them.’ Then he turned over the goose, heavy and perfect, and filled out the bill. That’ll be $47.50, he said.” Phillips wrote about Mitchell learning decoy making from his mentor Barnes a half century earlier, calling it “a simple trade and when coupled with Mitchell’s profession of mortician, it would provide him a good and full life here along the flats.” While explaining that Mitchell viewed decoy making as an occupation secondary to his mortuary business, Phillips noted that the phone rang incessantly at the cluttered workshop where Mitchell and three assistants worked 12-14 hours a day making decoys. He also noted that most of the buyers by then were decoy collectors, who had no intention of floating them on the Flats, but instead viewed them as a dying art that someday would be worth big money. “I’m a decoy maker – that’s all,” Mitchell was quoted as saying, with Phillips explaining that the veteran decoy maker was not particularly happy with the evolving collector’s demand. “Mitchell knows his decoys are worth a lot more than he sells them for,” Phillips wrote, “and that’s why orders pile up until he’s working far longer hours than a 77-year-old man ought to. He knows people buy them as decoys, then turn around and sell them as art.” Mitchell also took offense to the “plastic junk” that had taken over the trade, insisting that his heavier wooden birds were far superior and would float true in a gale, sturdy and lifelike. “A man buys a plastic decoy, he’s lucky if it lasts him two years,” Mitchell said. “Then he goes out and buys more. My decoys will last 50 years if they’re taken care of.” Phillips explained how Mitchell’s decoys were made the old-fashioned labor-intensive way - heads whittled by hand, bodies turned on a lathe. After sanding, each gets five coats of paint, and the heads are drilled and nailed to the body. “The workshop smells of pine and cedar sawdust, of paint and cigarette smoke,” he wrote, describing the scene: “Mitchell sits across a bench from Tit-bird Bauer, who’s worked for him for 30 years, both painting at an incredible pace. In the corner, a young Bobby Jobes is whittling heads. Johnny Reisinger, who worked for Mitchell for 25 years, works a whining sander downstairs, finishing bodies. Bauer and Mitchell light cigarettes, take a drag, and settle to work. It’s the only drag they get, because by the time the duck is painted, the cigarettes are burned out. Bauer paints the underbelly, upper body feathers, the tail section, then quick wing patches before handing the half-finished bird to Mitchell. The boss works with a broad brush, dabbling the ridges of feathers, a blot at the tail to signify where the two wings meet, and then the head. The pace continued for 2½ hours nonstop, until 16 birds are in the drying racks, with only eyes and bills left to paint.” According to Pierce, a long-time employee, “Mitchell was a good employer and always fair in his dealings with his employees. He was always available to answer questions and took the time and patience to guide and instruct. His decoy making calendar generally started in February after hunting season, when he began carving heads. Blocks were sawed in late spring, waiting for summer help to lathe turn and finish the bodies. Painting usually started mid-August and lasted until just before hunting season in November. He was an avid Baltimore Colts and Baltimore Orioles fan and in the shop the radio was always on when they were playing.” Pierce continued, “We were all aware that the mortician’s job was 24-7, and when the phone rang he had to go.” He also remembered that Mitchell always dressed in a khaki pants and shirt and wore a bow tie. And from time to time the shop apprentices were pressed into service to drive the hearse, act as pall bearers or assist in removals. Acceptable wood for decoy production was always a problem for Mitchell as well as the rest of the Havre de Grace decoy makers. Mitchell had watched Barnes throw away or burn knotty wood; one advantage of the lathe is that it permitted him to use it. Early on, spring rains brought fallen logs down the Susquehanna, and if usable they were retrieved and hauled to the shop, some by local gunners who bartered them for finished decoys. Another source of wood was downed telephone poles that were being replaced. And a lot of his wood, Mitchell recalled, came from “listening around” - when he heard of an old building or bridge being torn down or damaged by fire, he and his apprentices would take a truck there to see if any large timbers could be recovered. Mitchell also instituted a two for one trade-in program to secure wood, in which he accepted certain wood in predetermined sizes, lathe turned them, and kept one of the two blocks for his shop’s production. Many area decoy makers took advantage of this offering. From time to time, as stock ran low, he imported train carloads of western red cedar, usually cut from Michigan or Idaho forests, which was lighter and less expensive than the northern white cedar and white pine. He considered his pine decoys to be premium grade birds, applying a small finishing nail under the tail prior to painting them and selling them for 25 cents more per bird. Mitchell’s decoy staple and ring are usually placed behind the head, which allows the decoys to ride high in the water, not pulled down by a tight anchor. Until the early 1950s, he placed the staple parallel with the body, which often split the grain, especially the cedar bodies, until someone suggested reversing it would prevent checks. He initially attached his lead weights with a single nail fore and aft, doubling the number in the late 1940s. This attachment of the hardware is a good way to identify the age of Mitchell’s decoys. Mitchell’s earliest gunning decoys, sold by the dozen – eight drakes and four hens - had finely carved heads and paint patterns with the longest feathers running down the inside of the back, incorrect yet a signature of his work. The majority were canvasbacks and other divers, such as redheads and bluebills, but he also made a limited number of puddle ducks,

Note: This item has been sold and is no longer available. This page serves as a historical price reference for Duck Decoy collectors and appraisers.