From the personal collection of Ron Gard, a Captain Harry Jobes Signed Decoy and a signed copy of The McCleery Auction book.

The McCleery Auction documents the January 2000 sale of the most important collection of American bird decoys ever assembled. The $11,000,000 New York auction of the collection of Dr. James. M. McCleery by Sotheby's and Guyette and Schmidt Inc. was a seminal event in the history of decoy collecting and folk art, bringing world-wide attention to decoys as works of art and establishing astonishing new levels of value for classic birds.
"Because of the McCleery auction, the world at large now knows about decoys," says Nancy Druckman, Senior Vice President, American Folk Art at Sotheby's. "The prices that were achieved equal those for Winslow Homer watercolors, Remington bronzes, and other important examples of American fine and decorative art." Joe Engers, editor of Decoy Magazine adds, "There has never been and will never be another decoy auction that impacts us so. The McCleery sale elevated decoys to a new level. Great decoys, which many of us consider the finest of American folk arts, will never be overlooked again. For that, we can thank Jim McCleery." And, according to Frank Schmidt of Guyette and Schmidt, Inc., "Dr. McCleery's collection was essentially the center of the universe around which everything else revolved. It was a benchmark by which every other collector measured the potential value and importance of his or her own collection."

Edited by decoy experts and authors Ronald J. Gard and Robert Shaw, The McCleery Auction brings together all of the major press reports about the collection and the sale, including stories from The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Houston Chronicle, Forbes, Maine Antique Digest, Antiques and the Arts Weekly, Decoy Magazine, and dozens of other newspapers and magazines.

Packed with information, opinions, advice, and above all, fabulous decoys, The McCleery Auction is a must for anyone remotely interested in decoys or collecting. Whether you are a new collector, an old hand or simply curious about the art of the decoy, this book offers abundant rewards and stands as a memorial to the extraordinary passion and connoisseurship of a truly great collector-Dr. James M. McCleery.

Autographed book and decoy may be shipped at winning bidders expense.