A very nice affordable low-head blue bill hen carved in the style found in the Alexandria Bay, Up State New York region.

 

Flat bottomed with the underside hole for the head screw. A slightly carved eye groove with prominent breast. The rig weight has been removed long ago and the white undercoat is visible on the bottom. While the maker is unknown to me, the style is very similar to both Frank Coombs and Sam Denny.

 

Hand carved with knife marks still visible under the tail. A nice inlet neck/head very similar (but of the low head version) to the Coombs pair shown on page 92 of The Great Book of Wildfowl Decoys, Edited by Engers. The head is slightly loose, but movement is very minimal. I only mention to be accurate. It appears that maybe this decoy suffered under some type of saw blade damage when being made. There is blade cut mark on the left side of the body, but prior to the original paint being applied. The craver likely just left the damage. The grey area in the blade slash is just years of dust buildup. The paint on the bill is old but appears to be reapplied long ago, maybe to cover damage? Nice old original paint with a slight spattering of white dots (someone was painting a ceiling over this guy, spray from a roller) as seen in the photos, with the only paint wear noticeable on the head. No cracks or splits and only two minor shot marks on left tail side.

 

Size: approx 13 1/8 overall long x 5 inch tall at head, nearly 5 ¾ inch across body at widest spot.