ST. MICHAELS — The world leading antique decoy auction firm, Guyette & Deeter, Inc., is holding a sale April 27-28, 2017 in St. Charles, Illinois, in conjunction with the North American Vintage Decoy & Sporting Collectibles Show. The show is the largest in North America.

This year’s sale, with an expected gross of over $2.5 million dollars, will provide buyers an opportunity to choose from just under 600 lots of investment quality decoys and related items including duck calls, sporting art, and fish decoys.  The auction will feature decoys from the collections of longtime decoy collectors Peter Brown, Bill & Carol Bender, William Berry & Pat Kalinsky, Gene Carr, Harold & Nancy O’Connor, Carl Olson, Maunsel & Ann Pearce, and Hank Thomas.

All geographic areas are well represented, but the strongest include Illinois River, Ontario, and Mason Decoy Factory. Examples by most of North America’s top old time decoy makers will be included in the sale, including Elmer Crowell and Joseph Lincoln (Massachusetts), Gus Wilson (Maine), Shang Wheeler (Connecticut), Harry V. Shourds (New Jersey), Ira Hudson (Virginia), the Ward Brothers (Maryland), Charles Perdew, Charles Walker, and Robert Elliston (Illinois), and Horace Crandall (California).

The collection of Peter Brown (Vancouver, B.C.) will be sold in four of the next Guyette & Deeter auctions, as well as their weekly online auctions. The Brown collection is the largest collection of Canadian decoys in existence (over 1,000 decoys). Mr. Brown donated the collection to Ducks Unlimited Canada. DU Canada has commissioned Guyette & Deeter, Inc. to sell the collection for them.

A 248 page full color catalog with guaranteed condition reports is available for $45 (price includes postage).  The catalog may be obtained by writing to:  Guyette & Deeter, PO Box 1170, St. Michaels, MD 21663; by calling 410-745-0485; or by email at Michael@guyetteanddeeter.com. Select items are also viewable by visiting the Preview section of the website, www.guyetteanddeeter.com; and the full color catalog will also be viewable online roughly two weeks before auction.  The auction will also be accessible live online through Invaluable.com.

Guyette & Deeter, Inc., established in 1984, is the world’s largest decoy auction firm with over $170,000,000 in decoy sales.  They hold four cataloged auctions per year. For more details, visit their website at www.guyetteanddeeter.com.  The firm also conducts weekly online auctions at www.decoysforsale.com. Since 1989, Guyette & Deeter has dominated the decoy auction market.  In January 2007, Guyette & Deeter, in conjunction with Christie’s (New York), sold a merganser hen by Lothrop Holmes for a world record auction price of $856,000.  Guyette & Deeter’s next auction will be held July 28 & 29 at the Sheraton Harborside Hotel in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Guyette & Deeter provides free decoy appraisals to anyone sending a decoy photo and stamped, self-addressed envelope to: Guyette & Deeter, PO Box 1170, St. Michaels, MD 21663. For email send to: Gary Guyette: decoys@guyetteanddeeter.com, Phone: 410-745-0485.

One of the best known black ducks by the Ward Brothers of Crisfield will be sold at auction in Illinois.