Elmer Crowell - Hoover Rig Black Duck

Updated September 3, 2026

Lot number	169
Estimate	3,000.00 - 5,000.00 USD
Auction	Fall Feature Decoy & Sporting Art Auction 2026
Date	September 26, 2026 at 10:52 PM EDT
Auction house	American Sporting Auctions
Location	Syracuse, New York

A. Elmer Crowell (1862-1952) East Harwich, MA 16.5" Among the most notable associations in the history of Elmer Crowell’s working decoys is his connection to the Toussaint Shooting Club and the prominent Canton, Ohio, industrialist Herbert W. Hoover Sr., of the Hoover Vacuum Cleaner Company. Founded in 1885 on the marshes of Ohio’s Lake Erie coast, the Toussaint Club became one of America’s oldest and most distinguished private waterfowling clubs, attracting generations of prominent sportsmen. Hoover was a longtime member of the club and an accomplished waterfowler. His association with Crowell resulted in a notable rig of decoys, including black ducks, a species particularly important to Crowell throughout his career. Crowell had begun carving black ducks for his own hunting rig at just fourteen years old, and his lifelong experience hunting and observing the species informed the natural proportions, posture, and subtle paint work found in his finest examples. Surviving decoys from the Hoover rig provide an important connection between Crowell’s Cape Cod carving tradition and the prominent sporting culture of Ohio’s Lake Erie marshes. Classic working black duck with a large body, slightly turned and upswept head. Rasping to the breast and back of head with glass eyes and carved bill details. Soft fathering across the back with faded feathering across the side. 'HOOVER' in white paint on the underside with a Crowell business card tacked to the bottom.Condition: Original with darkening to the head. Roughness to tail and bill edges and around the bottom of the decoy, light wear shown otherwise across the body. Protected by a thin coat of varnish

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