The true bottom line for the purchaser in this case is whether he is happy with his purchase. He called me about it after receiving the paddle and he is definitely happy. I'm sure the seller is overjoyed...
That being said, I have some thoughts to add to the discussion. Let me first acknowledge, though, that I have not seen the paddle in question and am relying on the photos and description from the original eBay auction. I was tempted to post the photos from that posting here for comparison to known Willits paddles, but decided that would violate eBay's (or someone's) copyright, so am not going to. A comparison of photos of known Willits paddles with the eBay paddle supports my contention that it is not consistent with anything Earl or Floyd Willits produced from their shop. For those of you with copies of my book "The Willits Brothers and Their Canoes" refer to pages 150, 151, 219, and 223 for photos of Willits paddles. Compare those to the eBay paddle at:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170210732337
As you can see from those photos, the eBay paddle shape and handle is not at all consistent with later Willits paddles. In particular, later Willits paddles were not a beavertail shape. Rather, they were more straight sided and significantly narrower than the eBay paddle and earlier Willits models. The grip on every Willits paddle I've seen, and in every photo I've seen, is a pear grip. There is no evidence that Earl or Floyd ever produced a paddle with a rounded grip as seen in the eBay paddle. While photos of very early Willits paddles do show a beavertail design, the grip is always the typical pear shape.
Given the intense attention to every detail in their work, I believe that neither Earl or Floyd would have produced a miniature paddle that did not reflect their full size work 100%. They would not have made a paddle with a rounded grip unless they produced a full size one, and there is no evidence that they ever did so. Additionally, they are not known to have produced miniatures for any reason. While the nameplate inlayed into the eBay paddle is undoubtedly authentic, the brothers never inlayed nameplates in anything they produced, and paddles were never identified with a makers mark of any kind. It is apparent from the photos of the paddle that the inlay is very well done, and the finish of fine quality. The Willits brothers were not the only craftsmen capable of such work. Nameplates were available from the brothers as replacement parts for years, so the mere presence of an authentic nameplate does not prove the paddle's authenticity.
Believe me, if I had thought this paddle was authentic, the bidding wouldn't have stopped at the price that it did. There are no other examples of Willits miniatures. If authentic, it would be truly one-of-a-kind. That, in itself should raise red flags. The seller offered no documentation of the paddle's authenticity, other than to state that it was purchased from a Tacoma, WA estate sale, and had a Willits nameplate.
Regardless of whether I think the paddle is authentic or not, I take away a few thoughts from the experience.
1. No one can prove anything without authenticated provenance. Without that we're left with varying levels of educated opinion and one must choose which to side with.
2. People are willing to pay some pretty impressive prices for something they place personal value on.
3. I need to quit my day job and produce authentic miniature Willits paddles. I am accepting advance orders at $400 each (discounted because I don't have authentic nameplates).
