Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/801177
S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S • 157 This exceedingly rare and important rigmate pair of hollow pintails was carved by Ivar Fernlund of Hamilton, Ontario, sometime between 1900-1925. They're expected to bring from $200,000 to $240,000 at Guyette & Deeter's decoy auction on April 27-28. This true pair of Ivo Fabbri Best game guns, engraved by Firmo Fracassi, will be offered at James D. Julia's next firearms auction. DU Collection. The ebook includes fascinating stories about waterfowling decoys and the carvers who created them. Read about conservation successes from areas in Canada that support our waterfowling traditions. You can own an important piece of waterfowling history. Bid on decoys from the collection, see your purchase, and go to work for conservation. n JAMES D. JULIA FIREARMS SALE IN APRIL James D. Julia's April 11-13 firearms auction in Fairfield, Maine, will feature a spectacular array of investment-level sporting arms. On the auction block will be one of the world's great sporting treasures by Italian gunmaker Ivo Fabbri. The exquisite pair of Best pinless, sidelock 20-gauge game guns was masterfully engraved in a bulino game scene by the renowned Firmo Fracassi, with ornamental patterns by Valerio Peli of Creative Arts. These game scenes are the epitome of the engraver's art, and one can almost feel the texture of the dog's coats. Examination with a 10X glass reveals the delicacy of the graver cuts needed to achieve such a wondrous effect. Work of this intricacy and quality will not be available in the future because engraving of this caliber takes more than 1,000 hours to complete. Originally made in 1994 for noted Italian super-collector Luigi Peppini, these guns are illustrated in the book Firmo & Francesca Fracassi—Master Engravers by Elena Micheli and Stephen Lamboy, and in Il Grande Libro Delle Incisioni by Marco Nobili. This auction also includes a vast assortment of Best English, Continental, and American sporting shotguns, in addition to investment-grade antique and collectible arms from around the world. Email firearms@jamesdjulia. com, call (207) 453-7125, or visit www. jamesdjulia.com. n ROCK ISLAND PREMIER FIREARMS AUCTION IN MAY We know the reasons you love a high-end rifle or shotgun. They're the same reasons we do. The way perfectly machined pieces slide together. How your eyes trace the patterns of the finely grained stock. Their reliability in the field. Their graceful lines and elegant designs that have withstood the centuries. Hundreds of such fine firearms will be featured in Rock Island Auction Company's Premier Firearms Auction on May 5-7. The auction will be preceeded by a day-long preview. Extraordinary arms from the world's finest manufacturers will appear in abundance, including Boss, Westley Richards, Rigby, Blaser, Krieghoff, and Holland & Holland. In addition to these pinnacles in gun-crafting, the auction will feature a large number of fully automatic weapons, such as Winchesters, Colts,