John B Graham, Redhead; Circa 1870
This wonderful John B. Graham Decoy is one of the upper bays great rarities. I have only seen 3 of these early red heads in my life and the previous owner, who is an even more experienced Upper 
Bay collector, has only seen 3 in his life.
There is speculation that this Graham Redhead might have been carved as early as 1860-1865. It was stated that Graham used this style head on his early 1860s iron sinkbox decoys.
If you have any information on this subject, please contact me at just2decoys@aol.com
Although the paint is almost gone, you can see the fine detail involved in this early 
carving. The high neck shelf, the paddle tail and the "flattened top" head. Notice how well the necks still fits on the neck shelf. This decoy expresses great form and Character.
Notice the double Brand on the bottom of this decoy. Although very light, you can see a "W.W." above the weight and what appears to be a highly worn slanted "SH" to the right of the "W.W." Brand.
If anyone has any information about these two Brands, please contact me at
William Heverin Circa: 1900
This is a rare early example of a William Heverin Bluebill. These are far less common than the Canvasback carvings from this prolific Charlestown carver. It is in Ralph Murphy paint and is originally from the Murphy rig.
Ralph Murphy was a Market hunter. Murphy and William Heverin were very good friends and hunting partners. It is known that Mr. Murphy used a great number of Heverin decoys along with other Charletown makers in his large decoy rig. This is wonderful original Ralph Murphy paint. Please look in the John Graham section to see a Ralph Murphy painted John Graham decoy also from the Murphy Rig and the Bob Litzenberg collection.
Notice the multiple Brand SGH on the bottom. This brand is related to the Somers 
Headley collection of New Jersey.