THE SPORTING SALE
JULY 9-10, 2026 | LOT 165
165 Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Books
Edition one of one, each page is 10 1/2 by 8 1/2 in.
An exceptional and unique assembled volume of original watercolor paintings based on the designs for the United States Federal Duck Stamps as compiled by Philip F. Chew. Bringing together works by many of the most celebrated sporting and wildlife artists of the period, the collection represents a monumental undertaking that has never been seen before and can never be repeated. In his introduction, Chew writes, “In assembling these pages I have endeavoured, when possible, to persuade the artist-designer of the stamp to give me a sketch in watercolor related to the bird thereon.”
The first volume, covering stamps from 1934 to 1952, is led by Ogden Pleissner’s frontispiece titled Black Duck Grounds, and includes watercolors by Edgar Burke, Milton Weiler, Aiden Lassell Ripley, Maynard Reece, Francis Lee Jaques, Lynn Bogue Hunt, Edwin Richard Kalmbach, Walter Weber, Owen Gromme, Jack Murray, Roger Pruess, John Dick, and R. P. Grossenheider. The second volume covers the next six years and includes watercolors by Jack Murray, Clayt Seagers, Harvey Sandstrom, Stanley Stears, Edward Bierly, and Don Eckelberry. With screw-post bindings, pages can be easily removed from each book.
$30,000 - $50,000
