RIG OF TEN SHORE BIRDS (YELLOWLEGS)AMERICAN SCHOOL, 19TH CENTURY | Rig of Ten Shore Birds (Yellowlegs)American School, 19th century

each numbered on the base

Estate in North Kingston, Rhode Island;
Walters-Benisek Art and Antiques, Northampton, Massachusetts.

Tom Geismar and Harvey Kahn, Spiritually Moving:  A Collection of American Folk Art Sculpture (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1998) cat. no. 42, illus. in color.

Minor touchups consistent with age and use. One of the examples has an old replaced bill. IMPORTANT NOTICE: Purchasers may pay for and pick up their purchases from any of our Americana Week sales taking place from January 17-20, 2019, at our York Avenue headquarters until the close of business on Sunday, January 20, 2019. After this time, all property (sold and unsold) will be transferred to our offsite facility, Crozier Fine Art, One Star Ledger Plaza, 69 Court Street, Newark, New Jersey 07102. Once property has been transferred from our York Avenue location, it will not be available for collection at Crozier Fine Arts until Friday, January 25, 2019. Crozier's hours of operation for collection are from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday-Friday. Please note, certain items of property, including but not limited to jewelry, watches, silver and works on panel will remain at 1334 York Avenue. Invoices and statements will indicate your property's location. For more information regarding collection from our offsite facility, please visit sothebys.com/pickup.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Like many types of wildfowl, yellowlegs and other shorebirds are gregarious creatures that travel in sizeable groups. Hunters lured these seaside birds with groups of decoys on sticks that were set into the sand, but very few complete gunning rigs like this one are still together today. While concerns about rapidly diminishing shorebird populations began to be voiced in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, shorebird hunting remained legal until 1928.