The canoe was bought by Jeff Cherry of Cherry Gallery, located in Damariscotta, ME. The actual winning bid price was $16,000, plus 15% 'buyer's premium', for a grand total of $18,400. I don't believe other sales tax was applicable in this case, but could be wrong. The auction was held by James Julia, Fairfield, ME. This makes the third sale of a 4' OT sample canoe totalling over $18,000. The other two were also sold in sales where Jim Julia was the auctioneer, but took place at Guyette & Schmidt decoy auctions held outside Chicago, in April 2002 and 2005. I was present at both earlier sales.
I have just returned from this year's decoy auction and the accompanying table show of 'outdoor/sporting collectibles'. No canoes in the auction, but a large number were seen in the show. Jeff Cherry was present for the show, for the first time. I asked whether the canoe he purchased could possibly have been over-painted and he said that he believed it had not, that all was original. He had with him yet another, later OT 4' sample which he offered for sale from his room, and at another Chicago-area show he had just attended. The asking price was $22,000. It was in near mint condition, likely from the 1930's (his belief), or possibly early '40's (a bit of leeway, from me).
There was also a carefully restored 5' Kennebec display sample from 1916 offered at the decoy show - $14,500. In both instances, the prices were "somewhat negotiable" according to the sellers (likely in the 10% range). Also seen was a 6' model of a "courting canoe" made in the early 1990's by Kevin Martin for Guy Gillette. It sold for close to the published price at which Kevin makes them at order ($2,500) with many people asking why it went so cheaply in comparison; seems they were quite prepared to pay more.
Following the decoy auction, Jim Julia toured the 'table show' in the nearby Mega Center, stopped to inspect the canoes, and had many enthusiastic comments.
Roger