rare original Sam Hutchings cross-hatched Hooded Merganser decoy pair c. 1910

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rare original Sam Hutchings cross-hatched Hooded Merganser decoy pair c. 1910:
$65000.00

Sam Hutchings, of Jones Falls, Ontario, on the Rideau River/Lakes system is generally credited with having carved these unique cross-hatched antique gunning decoys, although some others argue that it may have been his father, or even father-in-law who actually originated this style. It is beyond doubt that very few were ever made - only a dozen cross-hatched hooded mergansers are known, and about two dozen cross-hatched goldeneye. I have listed these as a \'pair\', and I fully believe the carver intended them to be understood as his version of a hen and a drake. They are described as such in many authoritative early decoy books. Others more recently have suggested these are two drakes - one with an open hood, the other with a closed hood. All of the known cross-hatched goldeneye by this carver have been found in pairs, an equal number of hens and drakes. Until recently, the hooded mergansers were treated the same way - the closed hood style were thought of as hens, the open hoods as drakes. If so, there are then six known pair, with an equal number of drakes (open) and hens (closed) hoods. If they are thought of only as drakes, then there are NO known hens, since there is no third version to be found, and this runs contrary to what the carver seemingly implied with all his other carvings. This pair have been together at least since 1919, when they were purchased by the original owner, Henry Darling Smith. There were 12 cross-hatched decoys in the Smith gunning rig: 4 hooded mergansers (2 hens and 2 drakes) and 8 goldeneye (indisputably 4 hens and 4 drakes). On Henry\'s death, they passed to his five sons. I located the dispersed family rig over 20 years ago and, with two associates, managed to purchase the nine remaining decoys - a pair of mergansers and one goldeneye hen having previously been sold off. The goldeneye we purchased at that time readily found homes in major collections across the US and Canada; I kept these mergansers. I have now reached the point where it is time to downsize and allow another collector to enjoy these remarkable, unique decoys; thus this remaining pair of hooded mergansers from the Smith rig are now offered for sale. I am happy to answer questions, provide further photos and allow you to examine to your heart\'s content. I absolutely guarantee these birds to be authentic and as described, money back without question or argument. Most of you know where to find me; I have been at the major shows and sales for 30 years. By way of further detail: these decoys exhibit their original surface. At one time, they had been touched up with acrylic over paint; this was carefully removed by meticulous dry scraping and dental tools. It took many tedious hours. The wear you see is what was there before they were touched up; no original paint was taken off during the cleaning, nothing more was added. The original weights (flat rough lead rectangles) were removed for ease of display. Professional repairs were made to both bills (about 1\"). You should also be aware that Hutchings had two (or more) variations to his cross-hatched decoys - one style has cross-hatching only in the black areas with the white portions being left smooth, as these are; the other style is cross-hatched all over, and is seen in books by Gene Kangas and Bernie Gates. I happen to believe the decoys with the smooth white areas were made slightly earlier than those with the \'all-over\' cross-hatching. Why? Because I believe it took longer and required more care to leave the white areas clean, whereas it was simpler and faster to cross-hatch all over, without having to stop at the dividing line. I also think those decoys with the smooth white areas are more pleasing and distinctive, but perhaps that\'s my personal bias showing. In any event, these birds are extremely rare and seldom come up for sale. This pair are offered very reasonably, compared to recent sale results. The last photo above provides a good comparison between my \'pair\' and the single \'closed-head\' (so-called) drake owned by Peter Brown, and sold at the Guyette & Deeter sale last April, at St. Charles, IL. So, this is your opportunity to own a pair, whether you call them two drakes or a hen and drake, at well below recent sale results ($40K to $50K for a single). You decide. They are also listed/offered elsewhere, and could be subject to prior sale. The above info and comments are based on over 25 years of research into and hundreds of miles of searching for the cross-hatched decoys of the Rideau Lakes. Thank you, and Good Luck.