Antiques PR Publicity Announcements News and Information
Antiques PR Publicity Announcements News and Information

North American Decoys at Auction

Newton, MA – The world’s leading decoy auction firm, Guyette & Schmidt, Inc., will be hosting “North American Decoys at Auction” on April 23 and April 24, 2009 at the Pheasant Run Resort, St. Charles, Illinois. The “North American Decoys at Auction” features decoys by Charles Perdew, Harry V. Shourds, Charles Birch, Robert Elliston and many others. With over 600 decoys and related items, this auction is a ‘can’t miss’ for the decoy collector. Through Artfact Live! – or Invaluable Live! in the UK – it’s possible to discover and purchase your favorite decoys without ever leaving the comforts of home. So, if you can’t be part of the live auction action in St. Charles, Illinois simply visit Artfact.com or its sister site in the UK, Invaluable.com, to register free to bid live online and explore the world’s largest marketplace of fine and decorative arts, antiques, collectibles, and estate auctions. If you’re not ready to bid, simply watch the activity live from the auction floor using the Artfact Live! or Invaluable Live! auction console.

Highlighting the auction is a Rare Hollow Mallard Hen in a sleeping pose, carved by Charles Perdew, Henry Illinois, in the 2nd quarter of the 20th century. Retaining the original Perdew weight with embossed dots indicating the production year of 1937, this decoy is expected to sell between ,000 and 5,000. An exceptional and very rare Rigmate Pair of Bluebills by Harry V. Shourds, Tuckerton, New Jersey, circa 1900, is offered at ,000 to ,000. Another extremely rare offering is a Greenwing Teal Drake carved by Robert Elliston, Bureau, Illinois, circa 1880s, with a presale estimate of ,000 to ,000.

By searching the term “decoy” in Artfact’s past prices database of over 50 million auction results, one can view over 5,000 decoy records. Entering a search for “Lothrop Holmes” will yield a catalog entry for the world record decoy by Lothrop Holmes, an exceptional and rare red-breasted merganser hen, sold in 2007 for 6,000. Other notable decoy makers worth searching in Artfact’s database are: A.E. Crowell, Thomas Gelston, and William Bowman.

Since the departure of eBay Live Auctions, Artfact Live! has taken the lead in the live auction arena by partnering exclusively with the world’s most prestigious auction houses to host their online auctions. As it continues to build the world’s most affluent and knowledgeable bidding community, Artfact offers free registration, offering both unlimited access to Artfact partner auctions and free searching of the past 12 months of auction price results in its database. Artfact’s Advanced Search allows users to narrow searches by entering keywords, price range, auction date range, or auction house name.

About Artfact
Founded in 1989, Artfact is the largest global marketplace of fine and decorative arts, antiques, collectibles, and estate auctions. On January 1, 2009, Arfact launched Artfact Live!, its proprietary live auction bidding platform, enabling users to bid real time on auctions being held around the world by its prestigious auction house partners. Currently, over 1,000 fine auctioneers actively list their catalogues with Artfact.com and its U.K. sister site Invaluable.com, reaching the Artfact community of more than 10 million knowledgeable collectors and dealers worldwide. Artfact’s two websites, Artfact.com and Invaluable.com, now have close to 2 million unique visitors monthly, as verified by Quantcast. Artfact’s industry leading database includes more than 50 million complete auction results totaling more than 0 billion in value, including information on more than 500,000 international artists. In 2006, Artfact merged with RFC Systems, the leading provider of enterprise software developed specifically for the fine art and antique auction house industry. RFC helps prestigious auction houses around the world manage their businesses by automating their day-to-day operations.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Gordon or Tony Fusco
617-363-0405