Own a piece of LL Bean history with an original George Soule Antique Duck Decoy
Item Number: 104
Time Left: CLOSED
Description
In 1935 George Soule of Freeport, Maine, was running a fly-tying business for LL Bean, but like many New England wildfowlers he enjoyed a love affair with the black duck. On occasion George and LL, longtime friends and hunting buddies, would go gunning for ducks with the usual set of decoys that were less than stable in the choppy waters of Casco Bay. Realizing that these decoys weren't cutting it with the black duck - long considered one of the most difficult to fool ducks - George developed the first cork decoys. These decoys, known as superducks or magnums, were at least half again as large as the black ducks they simulated. Everything about these decoys was big, and they sat much higher on the water than the real thing. What George and other hunters said was that the ducks could see them from farther away. In 1968 George was quoted in a Sports Illustrated article as saying "There can be any number of other hunters nearby, but unless some of them are also using magnums or else have set out right smack in the middle of the only feeding hole in the entire bay, then we get all the ducks that have any inclination at all of decoying. It's sort of like being the Pied Piper of black ducks."
Leon Leonwood (LL) Bean was so impressed with the decoys after a day spent shooting, that he offered George Soule space for the decoys in his catalogs. So with LL's approval Soule, family members, and helpers began making these cork decoys in his "factory" down by Winslow Park in Freeport, ME. Today, George's decoys are considered some of the finest and most effective ever made.
At auction is one of George's original cork black duck decoys made around 1940, and hand painted by his wife Dot who passed away from Alzheimer's disease in 1998. This decoy was a model for the over 10,000 decoys that came after; any deterioration comes from genuine Casco Bay black duck hunting done by George, one of his American water spaniels, and his friends. You are buying a piece of LL Bean history.
The decoy is direct from the George Soule estate, donated by Sally Walsh.
Special Instructions
Bidder is responsible for Shipping and Handling fee if necessary, which will be added to the winning bid amount. Hard items will be shipped via UPS and billed at standard industry rates; gift cards will be mailed via postal mail. Items may also be picked up from the Alzheimer's Association office in Falmouth, Maine.