An exceedingly rare drake redhead by Sam Smith from Amityville, New York on the south shore of Long Island circa 1870. According to C. John Sullivan, Jr., author of Swan Island Club 1872-A History-2014 Currituck, North Carolina, ”…the first waterfowlers from the North, a group of wealthy New York sportsmen, arrived at the Currituck Inlet in November of 1870. They sailed from Good Ground, Long Island, New York on the yacht “Anonyana”. It is believed by a number of dealers and collectors that hundreds of decoys by Sam Smith were aboard that voyage. It is reasonable to believe that more decoys by Smith were brought to Swan Island on subsequent trips. His decoys all have “wide hips” and hump backs and stubby tails with heavy ballast weights. Many are branded with multiple club member brands. This example retains a “WPD” hot brand on the underside and measures 15” long.
An exceedingly rare drake redhead by Sam Smith from Amityville, New York on the south shore of Long Island circa 1870. According to C. John Sullivan, Jr., author of Swan Island Club 1872-A History-2014 Currituck, North Carolina, ”…the first waterfowlers from the North, a group of wealthy New York sportsmen, arrived at the Currituck Inlet in November of 1870. They sailed from Good Ground, Long Island, New York on the yacht “Anonyana”. It is believed by a number of dealers and collectors that hundreds of decoys by Sam Smith were aboard that voyage. It is reasonable to believe that more decoys by Smith were brought to Swan Island on subsequent trips. His decoys all have “wide hips” and hump backs and stubby tails with heavy ballast weights. Many are branded with multiple club member brands. This example retains a “WPD” hot brand on the underside and measures 15” long.
