RARE MINT & AMAZING ~ALERT "HEN BLACK DUCK" SIGNED & DATED 2020 RICK BROWN Decoy

~ FREDERICK "RICK" BROWN ~











The American Black Duck is a Large Dabbling Duck. Drake and Hen are Similar in Appearance; Easily Distinguished Only By the Color of their Bill.


Drakes Have a Brighter "Greenish-Yellow" Bill ....... And Hen's Have a Dull-Olive Green Bill with Heavier Black Stippling:














~FREDERICK "RICK" BROWN JR.~













FREDERICK C. "RICK" BROWN JR.

• Lives in Point Pleasant, New Jersey

​













(above photo): This MAP SHOWS where RICK BROWN, The SECOND "WILDFOWLER FACTORY and A PLETHORA of OTHER FAMOUS & HISTORICALLY IMPORTANT CARVERS SPENT their ENTIRE LIVES MAKING DECOYS, HUNTING and ESTABLISHING the AREA as ONE of the COUNTRY'S MOST IMPORTANT WATERFOWLING AREAS for CARVING WOODEN BIRDS & GUNNING WILD ONES!​

• Rick was Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1955

(below photo): Rick Brown in His Carving Shop c2007




 

Rick Brown now Carves using the Moniker "Delaware Classics", the Style, Construction & Form that his Decoys Emulate!!







________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



















Rick is Featured in the Book: "One of Today's Most Outstanding Living Gunning Decoy Carvers"








(photos below): A GREAT INDICATION of the PROWESS of RICK BROWN is HIS INCLUSION in the BOOK BELOW:







LOY HARRELL JR. 2007 BOOK: "SIXTY LIVING and OUTSTANDING NORTH AMERICAN CARVERS"




















_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This Rare & Amazing "Very High, Long-Necked" is Mint, Signed & Dated, "Master Carver; Rick Brown" ~HEN~ "Female Black Duck", Eggshell-Hollowed, Wood Decoy up for Auction:













 

Rick Brown's Love for Carving Began around 55 Years Ago when He Received a L.L. Bean Cork Decoy Kit as a Christmas Present!







Rick discovered he possessed a unique talent for carving and soon began making decoys full-time. In 1977, Rick won "Best in Show" in the first contest he ever entered - the Old Schaffer Canal House Decoy contest and the First New Jersey Ducks Unlimited State Shootin' Stool Contest.




This contest may have been the first, but certainly not the last Rick would win. He went on to win hundreds of ribbons over the years, with the majority of those ribbons being "Best in Show" and 1st place. Rick also served on the State Ducks Unlimited Dinner Committee for a number of years.







________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________










Rick Brown and his Days as Founder & Owner of the "Barnegat Bay Decoy Company":

 

In the Late 1970s, Rick founded "Barnegat Bay Decoys", which operated on the old Wildfowler Factory site in Point Pleasant, NJ. In the Early Eighties, Barnegat Bay Decoys Achieved National Fame following an article by "Sports Afield" Magazine about the company.


















(photos below): Art Birdsall, RICK BROWN, Tim Forsyth
& Chip Allsopp: "The Barnegat Bay" Decoy Factory!



















Newspapers Around the United States began Writing Articles about "Rick Brown's Company" as Being the "The Last Decoy Factory" and the Company was Soon Inundated with Orders.


 

• In 1982, the New Jersey Network (NJN) Shot a Documentary Titled: "In the Barnegat Tradition" which Featured Footage of the Factory, as Well as Interviews with Employees of the Company.

Barnegat Bay Decoys had Built a Significant Reputation in the Decoy World .......... and Rick Employed Talented Local Carvers Chip Allsopp, Art or Artie Birdsall, and Tim Forsyth.






- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - -- - - --














(photo above): Art Birdsall's Famous Uncle, Charlie Birdsall, Who Owned the Wildfowler Decoy Factory Company from 1961 to 1977, often Visited the Barnegat Bay Decoy Company Shop!!

 

• Charlie Birdsall, Art's Uncle, also Often Came to the Shop from his Home in Florida just to Hang Out in the Paint Shop. Lucky visitors were able to Purchase Charlie's Decoys which he Sold from the Trunk of his Car.

While the the Barnegat Bay Decoy Company Closed it's Doors More than a Decade Ago, Rick Continues to Hand Carve the Competition Quality Decoys that have Earned him Hundreds of Ribbons for More than a Quarter of a Century.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________










After the Barnegat Bay Decoy Factory Rick Brown Began his Own Carving Career:


 

Rick now Hand-Carves all of his Own Decoys. Each Decoy is Made out of Air-Dried Jersey White Cedar, which is Hollowed Out & then Hand-Carved. Like a True Artist, Rick has an Eye for Color & Never Misses a Stroke, allowing Him to Paint and Replicate Intricate Wing & Other Feather Group Patterns. Rick Completes his Decoys with a Lead Pad Weight and Leather Thong Line-Tie. He Often Signs, Dates and on Later Decoys Began Attaching his Own Personal Copper ID Tag. His Hard, Dedicated Work has Earned Rick Numerous Awards and the Much Deserved Praise of his Peers as Well.






______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________









(photos below): This INCREDIBLE MINT "HEN BLACK DUCK" up for auction ........ Along with the AMAZING DRAKE RIG & CARVING MATE also on ebay:

















______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________










Below are Pictures of Other Rick Brown Pairs of Decoys that Represent his Finest Work; Just Like these Black Ducks (up for auction):









(photos below): A PAIR of MINT, PRISTINE, SHOVELER GUNNING DECOYS by RICK BROWN!!
















(photos below): A PAIR of MINT, PRISTINE, RED-BREASTED MERGANSER GUNNING DECOYS by RICK BROWN!!
















(photos below): A PAIR of MINT, PRISTINE, BLUEBILL or GREATER SCAUP GUNNING DECOYS by RICK BROWN!!

(photos below): A PAIR of MINT, PRISTINE, BUFFLEHEAD GUNNING DECOYS by RICK BROWN!!
















(photos below): A PAIR of MINT, PRISTINE, GADWALL GUNNING DECOYS by RICK BROWN!!

















(photos below): A PAIR of NEAR MINT & SUPERB, HOODED-MERGANSER GUNNING DECOYS by RICK BROWN!!













________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________








This Rare 100% Original "Signed & Dated" & High-Headed, Turned-Head, 2020 "Rick Brown" HEN "Black Duck" Very Hollow, Wooden Duck Decoy up for Auction:













(photos below): ..This OUTSTANDING "SIGNED & DATED 2020", 6-YEAR-OLD; "EGGSHELL HOLLOWED CEDAR"; FULLY-RIGGED, DRAKE "BLACK DUCK" WOOD DUCK DECOY up for auction!!



 

• This Superb, Fully-Rigged, "RICK BROWN" HEN Black Duck, Hollow-Cedar, Wood Duck Decoy Perfectly Exemplifies his Best Style & Form and Maybe One of the Best Specimens of his Best Work that You Come Across ......... It is Just Gorgeous & Yet Formidable:

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________








(photo below): RARE, 100% ORIGINAL and an AMAZING EXAMPLE of One of his BIG PUDDLE DUCKS, the "HEN BLACK DUCK" ...... STUNNING FORM & AMAZING, PRECISELY PAINTED with "EXCELLENT VERY FINE DETAIL-PAINT" ....... SPECTACULAR CARVING; ESPECIALLY the BILL, FOREHEAD, ALERT LONG-NECK, RAISED WING PRIMARY FEATHERS & FLUTED TAIL ....... and the ATTACHMENT & TRANSITION WHERE the TWO HOLLOWED BODY HALVES WERE ATTACHED is NEAR IMPOSSIBLE TO SEE!!


 

• This HEN & the DRAKE RIG-MATE also on Ebay are a PAIR of the NICEST "GRACEFUL & LONG-NECKED", BLACK DUCK DECOYS that "RICK BROWN" HAS MADE ........ DON'T MISS this RARELY AVAILABLE ALERT TURNED HEADED PAIR of the WARIEST DUCK ALIVE!!

(photos below): Just Look at the Stunning & Extremely Detailed Carving and Paint From a Top & Bottom Angles and From Different Directions as Well!!


 

• PLUS: This "HEN" is an "EGG-SHELL HOLLOWED" DECOY in the DELAWARE RIVER TRADITION!

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________














 

(Below Photos): The BOTTOM of this SCARCE "RICK BROWN" DECOY SHOWS the PRECISELY LOCATED "LEATHER" LINE-TIE attached with a SOLID COPPER NAIL & WASHER ....... LEAD, BEVEL-EDGED, "PAD WEIGHT" ATTACHED with 8 SMALL SOLID BRASS BRADS!!




 

• The BOTTOM of this AWESOME DECOY was "HAND-SIGNED & DATED 2020"!!

 

• IT also has RICK'S SIGNATURE: "Frederick C. Brown Jr."

 

(photo below): The BOTTOM of this DECOY has RICK'S "SOLID COPPER" FACTORY-STAMPED, RIG IDENTIFICATION TAG:









 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________+

(below photos): ..The HEAD of this 100% ORIGINAL "LONG-NECKED & TURNED HIGH HEAD" HEN BLACK DUCK from SEVERAL ANGLES and YOU CAN SEE the BILL that LOOKS LIKE a LIVE DUCK ........ and the HEAD is PERFECTLY CARVED, "FULLY-EXTENDED ALERT HEAD & NECK and TURNED to its RIGHT" with a SUPERB POSTURE, FORM & PRECISE EYE-LINE GROOVES!!


 

• REMARKABLE INCISED HEAD/BILL SEPARATION with a PERFECT, WIDE, BOLD, THICK & "LIFE-LIKE" BILL that is REALISTIC ......... this AMAZING BILL has PERFECTLY CARVED-IN, HEAD/BILL SEPARATION, UPPER & LOWER MANDIBLES, NOSTRILS & NAIL!!

"BLACK DUCK" HEAD WAS PERFECTED WITH OUTSTANDING, CARVED-IN, MOUNTED & LOCATED, DEEP BROWN, "IMPORTED" GLASS BIRD EYES!!

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________










 

This MINT & RARE, BLACK DUCK "HEN" SHOWN ..... with the EQUALLY MINT & AMAZING RIG-MATE "DRAKE" that is also on ebay!!


 

• These "BLACK DUCKS" MAKE a REMARKABLE & ELOQUENT PAIR as THEY WERE "CARVED TOGETHER at the EXACT SAME TIME and as a MATED PAIR" ....... with DELIBERATELY CARVED COMPLIMENTING HEADS and BODIES with the HIGH-HEADED & TURNED HEAD on this "HEN"

 

• -AND-

 

• OPPOSITE-DIRECTION TURNED & TUCKED HEADED "DRAKE" ....... and BOTH HAVE AWE-INSPIRING "POINTED, FLUTED TAILS", EVERYTHING on BOTH DECOYS is as CLOSE to IDENTICAL as is POSSIBLE in EVERY WAY, SHAPE & FORM!!

 

 

THEY ALSO LOOK "SPECTACULAR TOGETHER" BECAUSE they HAVE the IDENTICAL "LONG BODY" SIZE & WEIGHT: This HEN & the DRAKE BOTH MEASURE:

 

This "One-of-a-Kind" Rick Brown HEN "Black Duck" Rig-Mate Gunning Decoy also on ebay, Both Have the Identical Size and Weight:

 

• This Pair of Black Ducks were Carved Life-Sized in the Delaware River Tradition:

 

This Superb Hen Redhead and the Drake Mate also on eBay Were Made Together, and Both Measure:

 

 

This Amazing & Regal "Carved" Pair of "Black Ducks" Measure:

​

17" long. ..x..65-3/4" wide ..x.. 7" tall

​

Each Eggshell Hollowed: ....1-lb...7-oz. Each Exactly

 

• 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 "Rick Brown" 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 Rick Brown's Wood Shop!!

​

 

BOTH of these DECOYS HAVE IDENTICAL WEIGHT, STYLE, FORM, CARVING, PAINT PATTERNS & BOTH MADE AT THE SAME TIME!!

 

• BOTH DECOYS are also FROM the SAME COLLECTION & ORIGINAL OWNER!

 

This HEN & the DRAKE ALSO on Ebay LOOK & SHOW as a GREAT PAIR TOGETHER & BOTH are FROM the SAME COLLECTOR & PURCHASER!!

​

​


To Find Perfect Pairs, Carved For the Same Special Order or Customer & Made as a Pair Which is Always Nice When Finding Pairs of Decoys!






The DRAKE MATE to this HEN is ALSO on EBAY if YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A NICE BROGAN REDHEAD PAIR .......... They Were UNDOUBTEDLY CARVED OBVIOUSLY AT THE EXACT SAME TIME!! (Truly a Great Pair to Own)

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_

 

• That is FANTASTIC & Makes for a PERFECT PAIR of Rig-Mates that Were Made at the: Exact Same-Time, Same-Size & Same-Weight!!

 

That Makes for an Awesome Pair of Unique Gunning Decoys that are From the Same Man's Hands and Made at the Same Time!!

 

• That Makes for a Superb Pair that Have Been Together in the Protection of a Climate and Light-Controlled Collection after they Left his Work Shop!!

 

• Both are Perfectly "LIFE-SIZED' & "EGGSHELL HOLLOWED"

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________








These RARE & OUTSTANDING PAIR of "RICK BROWN" "LONG-NECKED BLACK DUCKS" are "EGGSHELL HOLLOW" CEDAR, WOOD DUCK DECOYS that LOOK AMAZING TOGETHER!!

(Below Photos): This IDENTICALLY CARVED HEN & the DRAKE that is also on ebay ..... BOTH have the EXACT SAME AWESOME, "SPECIES-SPECIFIC" FORM, WEIGHT, STYLE & FORM from EVERY STAND-POINT!!


 

• INCREDIBLE PAINT GETS DOWN to the INDIVIDUAL FEATHER on the "ENTIRE DECOY with PERFECTLY PAINTED FEATHER GROUPS .......... PERFECT "SPECIES SPECIFIC CARVED & PAINTED" BILLS & PUFFED-HEADS with "STUNNING" FEATHER-BLENDED or CLEAN-EDGED "WET-on-WET and "WET-on-DRY" PAINT ........ and YOU CAN SEE MOST BRUSH MARKS on BOTH of THESE OUTSTANDING & FABULOUS DECOYS!!!

 

• NOTE this FEMALE & the MALE'S AWESOME, PRECISELY CARVED-IN & ACCURATELY LOCATED, "RICH BROWN", HAND-POURED, GLASS EYES!!

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This MINT "PRISTINE & IMMACULATE", RARE and MARVELOUS "RICK BROWN" HEN "BLACK DUCK" DECOY up for auction:

_





Description of this STUNNING HEN "BLACK DUCK" DECOY Up For Auction:













MINT, RARE, SPECTACULAR; 100% ORIGINAL; FEATHER-BLENDED & CLEAN EDGED PAINT; SIGNED & DATED; 2020 FREDERICK "RICK" BROWN; EGGSHELL "HOLLOW"; "HEN or FEMALE" BLACK DUCK; FULLY-RIGGED, WHITE CEDAR; WOOD DELAWARE RIVER, "GUNNING" DECOY


 

• Point Pleasant, New Jersey

• RICK BROWN CARVES using EASTERN WHITE CEDAR, which NATURALLY REPELS WATER and is EASY to WORK!!

• Carved Life-Sized, Raised Wing Primaries, Fluted Tail, Very Exquisite Carving Detail to Bill, Eggshell-Hollowed Close to Middle of Two Body Halves & the Seam is Near Impossible to Locate!!

Just Outstanding & Incredible Wing, Head, Body & Tail Carving with Precise Symmetry!!
 

Excellent Rick Brown Decoy with Awesome "Very Vigilant, High-Headed & Turned to its Right Head", Raised & Incise-Carved Wings and True, Fluted Tail Carving!





________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

























 

• PERFECT CARVING DETAIL: AWESOME BILL, PRECISE RAISED WING PRIMARIES with PRIMARY FEATHERS, REALISTIC BILL & SUPERB FLUTED TAIL FEATHERS!!

• INCREDIBLE PAINT: AWESOME, MINT 100% ORIGINAL PAINT with INDIVIDUAL FEATHER-BLENDING "TO THE ENTIRE" DECOY & FEATHER BLENDING to HEAD, NECK, SIDES, BREAST, WINGS, BACK & TAIL!!!!

• OUTSTANDING FORM:.. ABSOLUTELY PERFECT CARVING to the PERFECTLY-CONTOURED BODY, HEAD & OUTSTANDING BILL!!!

• PERFECT ORIGINAL RIGGING: .MINT RIGGING with LEAD PAD WEIGHT HELD on with SOLID BRASS BRADS & LEATHER "THONG" LINE-TIE, ALSO HELD on with SOLID BRASS BRADS!!

• SIGNED & DATED: ..SIGNED: ."FREDERICK C. BROWN JR" -and- "2020"

COLD STAMPED COPPER RIG TAG: "FREDERICK C BROWN" -and- "BRICK TOWNSHIP, NJ" -and- "OCEAN CTY"













________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________










AGAIN, This VIGILANT "HEN BLACK DUCK" up for Auction:

















 

• Scarce: .INCREDIBLE PATINA to the OIL-BASED ARTIST'S PAINT!!

• Scarce: .RICK BROWN'S DECOYS are SOME of the NICEST BALANCED, SYMMETRICALLY CRAFTED and OUTSTANDING CARVED and PAINTED ROUGH-WATER DECOYS MADE in DECADES!

• This DECOY is PAINTED in It's FULL WINTER COLOR SCHEME and How We OFTEN SEE THEM LATE DURING the HUNTING SEASON in MICHIGAN; BUT WE ALSO SEE YOUNGER BIRDS NOT YET in FULL BREEDING PLUMAGE!!!!

• Folded Leather Line-Tie Held on by a Solid Copper Nail & Sleeve or Washer!!

• Lead "Pad" Ballast Weight Held on with 8 Small, Solid Brass Brads!

THIS DECOY HAS SOME of RICK'S MOST AWESOME "CARVING" to the RAISED WING TIPS, FLUTED WING PRIMARIES, FLUTED-CARVED TAIL and REALISTIC HEAD & BILL!!



 

• If You Like Decoys from Famous Master Carvers and Are in "MINT CONDITION" ........ THIS IS A GREAT DECOY to ADD to Your COLLECTION!!

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

_



(photos below): .This REGAL & AMAZING, RICK BROWN HEN "BLACK DUCK" up for auction!!

 

This Scarce & Unique "Super High Head", Very Nicely "Eggshell Hollowed" Wonderfully Carved and Painted "Tucked, Alert Turned Head" Hen Black Duck Wood Duck decoy was carved by Rick Brown of Point Pleasant, New Jersey. Rick Brown was born in 1955, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and moved to New Jersey when he was about 2 years old. He then lived in Haddonfield for several years and then moved to Moorestown, Burlington County, New Jersey. Rick started carving in his mid teens around 16 or 17 and never stopped until he perfected his craft. Not only was Point Pleasant home to a plethora of some of the finest East Coast carvers in history, but it was also once a home to the world famous Wildfowler Decoy factory from 1961 to 1977.







Point Pleasant is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. The borough is a Jersey Shore community situated on the Barnegat Peninsula, a long, narrow barrier peninsula that divides the Barnegat Bay from the Atlantic Ocean at the Manasquan Inlet, and the borough derives its name from this location. The borough is bounded on the north by the Manasquan River, on the east by Point Pleasant Beach and Bay Head, on the south by Beaver Dam Creek and on the west by Brick Township; the borough also borders Mantoloking in Ocean County and Brielle in Monmouth County. The town is home to the Point Pleasant Canal, completed in 1925, at the northern end of the Intracoastal Waterway.




 

Point Pleasant's history is traced back to around 1500, the area that included the future Point Pleasant was the ceremonial meeting place of the Lenape Native Americans, who called it the "Land of Tall Timber". In approximately 1665, the first European settlers arrived in the area, mainly fishermen, farmers and boat builders. The town was initially a logging town, although logging was never a significant part of the local economy. Though often regarded as a summer resort, the borough's website emphasizes that it is a "year round community of approximately 19,000 residents".



 

BELOW is a HISTORY of the AREA and REGION of NEW JERSEY:





In the middle of the Atlantic Flyway, it no mystery why the New Jersey coastline was one of the most prolific waterfowling areas in the country from the mid-1800's to the early 1900's. This area was rich with large tidal bays, salt-marsh ponds, clean streams and swift-flowing rivers. It is thus no mystery why New Jersey's earliest forms of tourism involved guiding hunting parties along with the flourishing trade of market hunting. Among the areas frequented by the Victorian market gunners (1847-1901) was Sandy Hook south to Manahawkin Bay, Barnegat Bay and Great Egg Harbor Bay among many others. New Jersey decoys are often divided by area into Barnegat, Tuckerton, Manahawkin, Mullica River, Absecon, Head of the River and Cape May. A few of the more well-known Master Carvers from each area are Henry Grant (b. 1860 - d. 1924) and John Dorset for Barnegat, Harry V. Shourds (b. 1861 - d. 1920) of Tuckerton, John Updike for the Mullica River, Levi Truex (died 1934) and Captain Dan Showell for Absecon, Mark English for the Head of the River, Otis Townsend for Cape May and Joseph King, Lloyd Parker (b. 1859 - d. 1921) and Liberty Price (carved c1870 - 1910) for Manahawkin and John Bowen from Atlantic City.






Like this decoy up for auction, the wood used by these master carvers was Eastern White Cedar as during this time period huge stands lined the rivers from the coastline inland. New Jersey's first industry was cutting these huge forests to provide lumber for the burgeoning shipbuilding trade. Coincidentally, this wood provided the perfect material for the early decoy carvers in the region that were making the tools with which the hunters in the area used to harvest the abundance of migrating waterfowl. Although the predominant New Jersey decoy would evolve into a "dugout" hollow decoy with glass eyes, some of the earliest decoys were a mix of semi-hollowed and solid decoys with almost all having painted-on, tack or no eyes at all. And of these carvers, Joe King (b. 1835 - d. 1910) of Manahawkin is considered by many to be the true father of the New Jersey style of decoys as it is known today and he was one of the first carvers to make decoys for a living, but never approaching the enormous output of New Jersey's most prolific sellers of decoys, Harry Vinuckson Shourds (b. 1861 - d. 1920). Joe King carved at least a pair of decoys for just about every species of duck and goose that frequented the New Jersey region of the Atlantic Flyway. As the Patriarch of the New Jersey style of decoy, Joe King was the inspiration and often the mentor to countless numbers of New Jersey carvers and his patterns were adopted by the well-known master carpenter, boat-builder and decoy carver Lloyd Parker, also of Manahawkin. Like Joe King, Harry V. Shourds was one of a very select number carvers that was known to have carved almost every species of migratory waterfowl that staged in the Jersey region.






A great many of the carvers from the 1860's to later 1800's were also boat-builders or guidesmen by trade and there is some indication that the great Joe King also was employed in these areas in some capacity during his lifetime. Some of his earliest New Jersey birds were solid and full-bodied, but the bulk of the decoys were hollow, yet also very full-bodied. Like the decoys that would follow his form, the backs swooped down to the tail but not as sharply as other later carvers like Harry V. Shourds among others. Most employed "Ice Grooves' behind the head to make handling easier in inclement weather, but some carvers like Joe King also carved with and without ice grooves immediately behind the head on the beginning of the back, although very deep ice grooves are something King's decoys would become very well known for. King's decoys that did have ice grooves had grooves that were deeper and more widely incised than those made by most others including Lloyd Parker. The ice groove was carved in for exactly the purpose it's name suggests it was meant for, to make handling easier when ice build-up made the decoys harder to grasp in late season weather conditions. Like most of the New Jersey carvers, the makers employed rectangular lead "pad" ballast weights nailed onto the bottom, but some later decoy's weights were incised into the bottom much like the decoys made by Harry V. Shourds. While some early decoys had the head attached with a "through head" dowel, finishing nails through the neck and a white, lead-based marine caulk/adhesive, most of the other early carvers used finishing nails that were countersunk and the top holes filled with the lead caulk. However, many carvers heads and neck bases on the body were carved so perfectly and precise, that no neck putty was needed to fill in at the attachment point. Again, most of the earlier decoys had the attached to the body using a dowel, although I am sure later decoys adopted a screw from the hollowed upper half and up into the neck of the head as he carved for the better part of 7 decades and most likely adopted a myriad of styles and crafting techniques over the years. Many of the early carvers decoy's had carved bill/head separation and faint nostrils, were well sanded, have a primer and finish coat and have simple yet effective paint patterns and the Majority of the area's decoys all had hollowed out cedar "dugout" bodies with the body halves also attached using a lead-based glue/caulk and were very well crafted.



 

These men quite possibly lived during one of the most prolific eras in waterfowling history. Many of their decoys were considered so adequately aesthetic and functional that a great many of the subsequent carvers in the region made no dramatic changes to his design, but rather tweaked them with a closer ratio from body to head size and forward-aimed heads. The final touch to the decoys from the late 1800's was the wonderful, yet somewhat simplistic paint jobs that employed using a high quality oil and lead based marine paint which was also a carry over from the local boat building knowledge on what to use to best protect the surface of a boat for the longest period of time possible. The painting techniques and the quality of the paint used was extremely serviceable and the number of decoys that exist today in original paint is a testament to the quality of his finishes.

 

BELOW is INFORMATION on "RICK BROWN", the MAKER of this AWESOME PAIR of "BLACK DUCK" DECOYS:



 

Rick Brown's love for carving began nearly 45 years ago when he received an L. L. Bean cork decoy kit as a Christmas present. Rick discovered he possessed a unique talent for carving and soon began making decoys full-time. In 1977, Rick won "Best in Show" in the first contest he ever entered, the "Old Schaffer Canal House" decoy contest and the First "New Jersey Ducks Unlimited State Shootin' Stool Contest". This contest may have been the first, but certainly not the last Rick would win. He went on to win hundreds of ribbons over the years, with the majority of those ribbons being "Best in Show" and 1st place. Rick also served on the State Ducks Unlimited Dinner committee for a number of years.





Rick Brown was born in 1955, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and moved to New Jersey when he was about 2 years old. He then lived in Haddonfield for several years and then moved to Moorestown, Burlington County, New Jersey. He started carving in his mid-teens around 16 or 17.



 

In the late 1970's, Rick Brown founded Barnegat Bay Decoys, which operated at and on the old Wildfowler factory site in Point Pleasant, New Jersey. In the early eighties, Barnegat Bay Decoys achieved national fame following an article by Sports Afield magazine magazine about the company. Newspapers around the United States began writing articles about "The Last Decoy Factory" and the company was inundated with orders. In 1982, NJN shot a documentary titled "In the Barnegat Tradition" which featured footage of the factory, as well as interviews with employees of the company. Barnegat Bay Decoys had built a significant reputation in the decoy world, and employed local carvers Chip Allsopp, Art Birdsall, and Tim Forsyth. Charlie Birdsall, Art's uncle, often came to the shop from his home in Florida just to hang out in the paint shop. Lucky visitors were able to purchase Charlie's decoys which he sold from the trunk of his car. While the company that operated under Rick's primary ownership closed it's doors more than a decade ago, Rick Brown continues to hand carve the competition quality decoys that have earned him hundreds of ribbons for more than a quarter of a century.




 

Rick Brown, like this pair of "Black Ducks" up for auction, now hand-carves all of his decoys. Each decoy is made out of air-dried Jersey white cedar, which is hollowed out and then hand-carved. Like a true artist, Rick has an eye for color and never misses a stroke, allowing him to paint and replicate intricate wing patterns. Rick completes his decoys with a lead pad weight ballast and leather thong line-tie. He then signs, dates, and later attached his own personal copper ID tag. His hard, dedicated work has earned Rick numerous awards and the much deserved praise of his peers.




 

As previously mentioned, Rick Brown was an active owner of with the Barnegat Bay Decoy Company of Point Pleasant, New Jersey. In 1977, Charlie Birdsall sold all of the equipment and assets of his Point Pleasant, New Jersey based Wildfowler Decoy company to Amel and Karen Massa, and the Massa's moved the business to Babylon, New York. It was at this time that Rick Brown bought Charlie's home and shop, retooled the shop and started the Barnegat Bay Decoy Company at the site. Charlie Birdsall eventually relocated to Florida, but he would return to Point Pleasant to visit and sell his own decoys at the Barnegat Bay Decoys showroom owned by Rick and housed in the very buildings Birdsall had used to operate Wildfowler so successfully. Barnegat Bay Decoy Company closed its doors in 1992.

MORE ABOUT RICK BROWN:
 

As stated, Rick Brown was born in Philadelphia and raised in Burlington County, NJ. He later settled down at the Jersey Shore and currently resides in Point Pleasant, NJ.





(photo below): c2007 (20-years ago) Photo of Rick Brown Mastering His Craft at his New Jersey Shop:

(photo below): .c2007 Rick Brown at a Show with a Sampling of His Award Winning Decoys:

This Rick Brown Hen "Black Duck" and the Drake Carving & Rig-Mate also on ebay are spectacular gunning decoys, are in pristine mint condition and the paint is 100% original and has a very nice mellowing patina with a nice patina. This decoy also exhibits some of Brown's most effective feathered paint work with excellent individual feather painting and also crisp painting where each is appropriate and like a live bird. This decoy is in 100% original condition and is as solid as the day it was made. Not only was this decoy painted perfectly symmetrically, the carving job is fantastic in its own right. The contours on the body are outstanding and the head and tail were proportioned perfectly to the form and size of the body. The head on this Hen is carved perfectly and is in a turned to its "right" in a relaxed pose while the Drake rig-mate also on ebay has a "left" turned & also has the exact same super long necks. And both decoys have wary posed heads that are like a couple of ducks that landed in a group of ducks, are looked for danger before settling in to eat, sleep and rest. The perfect head flows flawlessly into the body and the life-like head has a wonderfully carved in "puffed" crown, deep eye grooves, amazing glass eyes and a realistic bill.








This Outstanding and Awe-Inspiring Rick Brown Hen "Black Duck" wood decoy up for auction has his distinctively carved "eye-groove indentations", "distinct life-like, puffed up head crown feathers" on a fully-alert Black Duck's head, and with a Very High Sculpted Head that looks as if it has yet to rule out danger and before it relaxes to feed or sleep near its friend. It is certainly highlighted with one of his various trade-mark wing and tail carving schemes along with a bill that is tremendous and looks superb. This decoy is a true-to-form Rick Brown large-sized, puddle duck decoy. This decoy is as perfectly intact as the day that it was made and in Mint, Never Gunned Over Condition, let alone handled much period. Rick Brown's decoys are all extremely well made and as fine as any of the decoys from anywhere and this fine pair are examples and are a testament to that. From a structural standpoint this decoy is in Perfect condition as the head is as tightly attached to the body as the day it was made, as are the two body half's, line-tie and lead "pad" ballast weight. The head was attached to the top half of the hollowed body by a large screw from the inside before the 2 halves were attached together and it is solid and tight as the day is long.






This Incredible Hen Black Duck and the Drake Carving and Rig-mate also on ebay are also in mint structural condition with heads and lead ballast weights that are as tightly attached as the day that they were made. Both were obviously never gunned over and have never even seen water other than when he floated it to "tune in" the lead ballast weight location.





You could hunt over this decoy tomorrow but you wouldn't dare as Rick Brown's decoys are continuously growing in value every single time I see them at auction or available from private collections. This Hen and the Drake that is also on ebay were clearly carved at the same time as rig mates and have clearly been in temperature and light controlled environmental collections since they were made; an incredible pair to own. The paint has a very awesome mellowed patina as it has aged and will continue to age beautifully and the paint is as bright and inviting as the day it left his work bench. The patina even looks more spectacular in bright outdoor light and the paint gives the surface a beautiful gently aged surface that adds to the aura of this amazing decoy. This decoy also exhibits all of the great aspects of the Classic Antique Delaware River and New jersey style of late 1800's and early to mid-1900's decoys with a leather line tie and lead pad weight made of lead. The head is as firmly attached with a large screw from the top half of this hollow decoy before the bottom half was attached. This adequately weighted decoy could ride out anything adverse water conditions that a body of water could dish out and if flipped by a rogue wave would right itself immediately. Absolutely perfectly carved in and located species correct, original "Brown" glass hand-poured eyes that were mounted and carved in with perfect symmetry. This decoy is perfectly symmetrically carved and Rick Brown went to painstaking depths to ensure that this Hen and the Drake Rig-Mate also on ebay were perfectly formed and carved. This bird is also one of the truest decoys to his overall form from the mid to late 1990's you will see from its nice alert, puffed head that was mounted so flawlessly to the slightly raised neck seat that the seam where it was attached is impossible to see. This pair of "Black Ducks" also look spectacular together as they have the identical "life-sized" body size, weight and were carved at the exact same time. This Hen and the Drake also on ebay both weigh exactly 1lb. 7-oz. each!! Both were caved perfectly life-sized for this large dabbling duck and were intricately and precisely hollow carved.

The lead pad ballast weight itself has to account for at least 2 ounces of the weight of this bird. An awesome decoy from one of the More Famous Contemporary Gunning duck decoy carvers and waterfowl hunters. The decoy also features carved in upper and lower mandibles, head/bill separation, nostrils and nail, but all of Rick's carving was done with as much finesse as today's greatest carvers. This decoy was made with durability, quality and serviceability in mind along with great and alluring Black Duck paint and carving form.






This is also a fantastic example of a Rick Brown decoy that was made so perfectly that it could stand up to rough water and swim perfectly and right itself immediately. Obviously, Rick Brown's decoys speak for themselves and word-of-mouth is enough to sustain his career and enable it to always flourish without the need of advertising or marketing. It is an extremely solid and sturdy, near mint signed and dated bird and makes for an excellent example of some of the finest carving and painting that Brown puts on a "Black Duck". This Exceptional decoy has perfectly carved in bill/head separation, his trademark awesomely carved mandibles, nostrils and nail on an absolutely perfectly shaped and formed "Puddle Duck Bill". Here's a chance to own one of the vintage "Gunning Blocks" that was carved and painted by one of New Jersey's most renowned contemporary master carvers. This decoy is symmetrically perfect from both carving and painting standpoints and has phenomenally mounted "brown" eyes which are the best available glass eyes, possibly imported but many U.S. companies are making some of the nicest internal-iris and suspended pupil eyes as well. This bird is painted in a nice full winter plumage, which is what they look like when they migrate through the Great Lakes region very late in their migration, and usually have most of their full winter plumage. A great addition to any collection of vintage working duck decoys and shorebirds. If you have any questions or would like any additional photos feel free to email me. Thanks for looking.



 

The first Photo in the beginning section of this listing is of this Awesome Hollow Cedar Hen Black Duck Wood decoy up for auction. The 2nd - 6th photos are of Rick Brown in his Point Pleasant, New Jersey Shop and Other Live Black Ducks.





The Next 6 photos are of this Hen and the Drake Rig-Mate that is also on ebay So you Can See How Awesome they Look Together.





And the Last 16 Photos are Again of this Awesome Hen "Black Duck" Wood Duck Decoy Up for Auction by Itself from a Variety of Angles and Distances, Including Some Close-Ups that Show the Awesome Detailed Carving & Paint!!