RIGMATE TO THE LOST ALBERT ORNE LOON OF JOEL BARBER FOUND IN MAINE

Mike Mallar, Mallar Decoys, www.mallardecoys.com

Even the father of decoy collecting had his favorite bird: A loon that he attributed to lighthouse tender Albert Orme (actually, Albert ORNE) of Sheepscot Bay in Southport, Maine. According to Barber, both the paint and structure were in fine condition even after two generations of use. The Barber decoy was one of two carved by Orne. When Barber got his decoy, it still had all of its rigging and ballast. Hunting a loon involved luring the bird into an ambush while the gunner remained concealed on the shore. As Barber recounts the process, "The long anchor line coiled at his feet, the gunner quietly launches the decoy, paying out the line as the decoy is carried out on an ebbing tide. The anchor follows, cast to the limit of the mooring line beyond the decoy. When in final position, the Toller is riding some twenty or thirty yards off the point. By pulling on the separate line attached to the mechanism controlling the head, the tender could move the decoy a full 380 degrees so that it appeared more lifelike."

Robert Shaw, former curator of the Shelburne Museum, published an article in which he recounts the following: In September 1944, thirty-four decoys from Joel Barber’s legendary collection were picked up by a moving company (Garrigan Moving and Storage, 230E 63 Road Street, New York City) from a folk art gallery at 771 Fifth Avenue, where they had been on exhibition since 1941. Tragically, however, the decoys were never delivered to Barber’s home. Although an extensive search was mounted for them, the birds did not surface during Barber’s lifetime and their fate remains a mystery to this day. “If I could have only one of the lost birds back, this would be it,” Joel Barber related. Barber's regard for the Orne loon was so deep that he created several watercolors of it in use; these are now in storage in the Shelburne Museum collection.

I have known and done business with the granddaughter of lighthouse technician Albert Orne. While he was alive, her father (Cecile Blake) had the rig mate to the Barber decoy for a number of years before giving it to a local store owner. Albert Orne’s granddaughter confirms that this decoy is, in fact, the rig mate to the ancient Loon Decoy sold to Joel Barber many years ago and that as Joel said only two were made in the maker’s hand. It is truly a gem and one of the finest decoys to ever be found in Maine. This decoy was carved in about 1875 and seems to be in mint condition.

For a number of years, the store owner displayed it in his establishment, and that is where I was first able to view it. The store owner sold the Southport Island store and moved out of town; as a result, the loon went with him. This individual also has a painting done of Cecile Blake holding the loon many years ago and it is obviously the same decoy! When compared with photographs of Joel Barber’s loon, the decoy is obviously by the same maker and the two birds are very similar.