20 Winter Street
Pembroke, MA 02359
United States
Founded in 2005, Copley Fine Art Auctions is a boutique auction house specializing in antique decoys and American, sporting, and wildlife paintings. Over the course of the last two decades, the firm has set auction records for not only individual decoy makers, but also entire carving regions. Copley...Read more
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Feb 12, 2015 - Feb 13, 2015
Frank Cranmer (1866-1923), Surf City, NJ
c. 1900
Capt. Frank W. Cranmer (1866-1923) was the father of the well-regarded carver William H. “Bill” Cranmer (1917-2010). This is one of no more than six known yellowlegs made by the elder Cranmer while he was in the U.S. Lifesaving Service in Surf City, New Jersey. One of these examples resides in the Shelburne Museum in Vermont.
A very rare, feeding shorebird decoy with eye groove carving and glass eyes. Included with this bird is a 3 1/2 by 13 inch life-size illustration by Joel Barber inscribed "The Cranmer Snipe, Beach Haven, April 7, '51, To Somers Headley. JB." The illustration also bears the Barber library stamp. This exact bird is pictured in Doherty's "Classic New Jersey Decoys" book.
Illustration Caption: “Dear Somers, When I got home I thought I would make you a little souvenir of my April visit – so I made you a wash drawing of the Cranmer snipe….. I’m sending it along as sort of a reminder of our trip across the Bay - Joel” April 12, 1951
Provenance: Frank Cranmer Rig
William H. "Bill" Cranmer Collection
Somers Headley Collection
Private Collection, New Jersey
Literature: James R. Doherty, "Classic New Jersey Decoys," Louisville, KY, 2011, p. 170, plate 362, exact decoy illustrated.
Condition: Original paint on head, neck, and original bill. The body appears to have a second coat by the maker with even gunning wear and small tail edge chips.
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