Duff Tweed Carvings Collection - Something Old and Something New

Welcome back Duffers!

I shouldn't actually call you duffers as that is a term used for golfers who can't seem to make good contact with the ball. OH, by the way... Duff Tweed was actually a duffer! Maybe that's why he carved so many golfers.

Welcome back lovers of Duff's work!

We had a wonderful opportunity to pick up five carvings all masterfully carved by Duff Tweed.  It's been a couple of months since we were given this opportunity and have decided to share those carvings with you today.  We would like to thank Shawn in Fontana, California for making these available to us.  Shawn is a super kind lady and it was our pleasure to meet and spend some time with her. The Duff Tweed carvings below were purchased and kept by Shawn's father until his passing.  It was then Shawn's mother who decided to sell the carvings and we worked out a fair deal with Shawn.

Two of the carvings are ones we have shared with you in this blog, but were new additions to the Duff Tweed Carvings collection.  The last three were already part of the collection, but we picked them up as some were in better condition than the ones we already had.  We have not been in the business of buying duplicate carvings which are already a part of the collection.  In this manner we allow new collectors to build their Duffy collections.  We're all in this love of Duff's work together.  The more collectors, the more Mr. Tweed's carvings will increase in demand and value.  As we have always said, we collect because we love.

Let's start with the first two newly added to the collection:

Nothing Serious...The Boss and I just had a little chat - Duff Tweed Carvings

Sorry this one is blurry, I'll have to replace it with a clean picture.  Love this carving!  "Nothing Serious...The Boss and I just had a short chat."  I've had short and long chat's with past employers and it never felt like this!  Well, maybe once or twice.  LOL  There was a little scraping of the paint just to the left of the "bite mark", but other than that he is in excellent condition.  Even the backs still have the original paper completely in tact.  Sorry, no illustrations back there.  Let this be a reminder to you when you are having a bad day, it could always be worse.  Keep on smiling!!!

He Wants it When! - Duff Tweed Carvings

This second carving is obviously well matched with the first above, both depicting the stresses of work in a humorous manner.  This carving reminds me of the old saying, "When the boss asks you to jump, you respond "HOW HIGH" while already jumping."  Love the action in Duff's "He Wants it When!" carving.  Even in a rush, our worker is happy and ready to rise to the occasion.  This piece is in excellent condition and makes a great statement, especially in our times of working harder, longer and faster to meet modern deadlines.  If this carving was made today, it would most likely be of a person sitting in front of a computer, wildly pressing the keys on a keyboard.  Some things change, others never do.  Do what makes you happy and you'll smile morning to night.  Hope you are laboring in a love that brings you satisfaction and fulfillment. 

The next three carvings by Duff have all been previously posted in this blog.  You may wish to peruse past articles to see some of the other carvings not pictured here for a year or two.  Might give you an idea of what you would like to own.  They pop up for sale now and then on Ebay or Craig's List, but most people seem to find them at garage/estate sales and then sell them to me for five to ten times what they paid for them.  That's fine with us...keep em coming, and thank you.

Hobo on a Post - Duff Tweed Carvings

The Happy Golfer - Duff Tweed Carvings

The Low Bidder - Duff Tweed Carvings


We share because we care.  Hope you enjoyed this quick update and we look forward to hearing stories and acquisitions of your Duff Tweed carvings. 

One quick SHOUT OUT to Shawn in Fontana for making these wonderful carvings available to us! Thank you Shawn, we love them!!!

Wishing you all the best!
Joe  

  

Duff Tweed's Fishing Couple - Never Before Seen

Welcome back…figured you took the bait from our previous post.  Or maybe you just came back for the hal-i-but?  Casting bad jokes…should have stopped before we started.

Quite some time has passed since we discovered a new piece carved by Duff Tweed.  It’s amazing, but every time we see a fresh piece, it brings back that feeling of being a new collector.  The excitement, the opportunity to grow the collection and the chance to share it with all of you, just makes the entire effort worthwhile.  Honestly, we did go out of our way to acquire this piece.  When we first discussed the price with the seller Greg in San Diego, we incorrectly assumed it was the typical 16-18 inch carving and we offered too low a price for the piece.  We were turned down rather quickly and this got us thinking.

We knew something smelled fishy here, so after examining the pictures of Duff Tweed’s Fishing Couple carving we realized it simply had to be larger.  Greg had informed us if he did not sell it locally in San Diego, California; he would list it on Ebay.  So we inquired about the frame size and the discussions continued.  It’s large!  The frame is 40 inches by 25 inches. We agreed on a price and drove down to San Diego from Los Angeles to meet Greg at 7:30 a.m. to pick up the piece and had joined it with the Duff Tweed Carving family by 10:30 a.m. that morning.  Only once before did we make such a crazy, whirlwind trip.  That was when we acquired our first set of the Slaughterhouse Four. 

The seller, Greg is a very nice and interesting guy.  He finds estate pieces in his spare time and sells them locally or on Ebay.  He is also quite the handy man and I met him at a restaurant where he was doing some construction.  Greg purchased this Duff Tweed Fishing Couple carving for $45.  We paid him multiple times more for it and did so happily.  Greg does well!  LOL  We were fortunate to be able to acquire the piece as many collectors won’t part with their one of a kinds.

You’re going to fall in love with this piece, hook, line and sinker. 

Now presenting…Duff Tweed’s Fishing Couple:

Duff Tweed's Fishing Couple

The first thing that catches your eye is this wonderfully active fisherman standing in the center of the boat. Love the sea going colors Duff used to paint the man.  He actually stands in a very similar position to many of the golfer carvings Duff did over time.  Next we noticed and loved the expression on what we believe to be the fisherman’s wife’s face.  Who else would go fishing with this guy?  Take a look at the fish stuck on her hat while she is completely tangled in fishing line.  She is not loving it, but she is there to support her man.  That’s really why he is so happy!!!  We love the boat in red, white and blue.  It is also neat to have another female carved character as the only other one we have seen is of a female golfer.   Yes, we fell in love with the piece and are grateful to have seen it, let alone add it to the Duff Tweed Carvings collection.

Hope you enjoyed this share and we look forward to bringing you many more over time.

All the best,

Joe

A Couple of Summer Sales on Ebay

 Hello Duff Tweed Enthusiasts!  Welcome back...we missed you!

We’ve had a rather busy summer here at Duff Tweed Carvings, and wanted to report two individual sales that occurred on Ebay in July and August.  We have had fellow collectors contacting us and sharing their carvings, but all of them have been previously pictured in this blog.

First up we have our favorite three golfers, probably Duff’s most commonly carved set.  As a result, the set does not bring in as much as some of the less common carvings.

This particular set of three, dated 1964, is in well maintained condition with exception of the broken golf club which the seller still had and included in the sale.   The seller kglassgirl had it listed as a “1969” carving, but it sure looks like 1964 to us.  You be the judge.

Bidder              Bid Amount              Bid Time

r***y (7649)      US $102.50              Aug-5-14  19:28 PDT

u***s (1664)     US $100.00              Jul-30-14   13:25 PDT

Starting Price   US $99.00               Jul-29-14   19:52 PDT

As you can see the Duffy golf set sold FORE! $102.50 plus shipping and handling which we estimate to be at least $30 additional.  Hoping a new collector picked it up.  Now we're leaving the Country Club to go to the Yacht club.

Let's now go to the Tweeduff Yacht Club *wink * to visit with one of our oldest and dearest friends which we refer to as the Boatman with a Life Preserver.  How original, eh?  We should really come up with proper names for these characters, but I don’t have the heart to change or distort Duff’s vision for his characters.  (For example, we know the drunkard Duff carved was affectionately named Double Jigger Jack Grant.) This boat guy screams out “Mortie” to me, but for all we know, his name is Gonzo or Willie…so with out further pomp and circumstance, we bring you the Boatman in Blue! 

The piece had some nails missing from the back and a few other issues, but the carving looked to be in OK condition with several nicks in the character.  Remember, these are soft pine wood carvings done over 50 years ago in most cases.  It is amazing how well they hold up over time.  The seller, chazaz2 had this to say about the piece: 

"Got this DUFF TWEED, PASADENA framed carved figure over all measurements are 15-3/4" x 21-3/4" & about 5" thick. What I understand, Duff worked for Disney in the 1960s & 70s. I do not know what this picture was called Boatman?? I found this at an estate sale in their garage & frame has scratches around it & the burlap back ground has stains on it & his hat has some chips on rim of it all as shown & as I found it. The figure is loose & will leave it that way just needs couple screws, holes are there. I understand his work is hard to come by so if you have a collection on him & don't have this one BID."

Bidder                Bid Amount                   Bid Time

u***s (1664)      US $49.40           Aug-08-14   12:32:55 PDT

t***e (458)         US $48.40           Aug-06-14   20:20:41 PDT

Starting Price    US $38.00           Aug-06-14   17:47:00 PDT

Duff Tweed' Boatman with Life Preserver in Blue shirt!

As you can see, he is dressed in a neatly painted blue shirt and anchor logo.  All the previously seen Boatmen with Life Preservers have white painted shirts making this guy a bit more collectible.  Duff Tweed Carvings actually placed the original bid of $48.40 in this auction, but were outbid by a friendly fellow collector and decided to share the wealth and not counter bid.  

You can’t collect ‘em all, and we really want you to go out and be a part of the collecting fun! These carvings are fun to collect, to share and to display.  They seem to get more attention in my home than some of our more contemporary higher priced art.  That’s because there is always some sort of action portrayed in Duff’s works.

In our next post, we’re going fishing for Duff Tweeds.  You won’t want to miss this one!  We’ll be sharing with you a never before seen carving by the Captain of the blog, Duffield Tweed.  Talk about action, this one is full of it.  You’re going to love it. 

Be back real soon!

All the best!

Joe