Poppy Harvey-Jones
Head of Sale
Lot 48
An extremely rare iron headed putter circa 1780
9 December 2015, 14:00 GMT
London, New Bond StreetSold for £62,500 inc. premium
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An extremely rare iron headed putter
circa 1780
With plain face, a 6 inch well-knurled hosel and suede grip.
87.7 cm (34½ in) in length; weighs 1¾ lb. and the face measures 6.4 x 3.7 cm (2½ x 1½ in).
With plain face, a 6 inch well-knurled hosel and suede grip.
87.7 cm (34½ in) in length; weighs 1¾ lb. and the face measures 6.4 x 3.7 cm (2½ x 1½ in).
Footnotes
Provenance
The Royal Blackheath Golf Club
This putter from the collection of the Royal Blackheath Golf Club is thought by the Club to be the one illustrated in Lemuel Francis Abbott's portrait of Henry Callender: it is shown resting against the stone column in the painting offered as the previous lot in this sale (see detail, fig. 1).
This forged metal headed putter is one of only a few known to have existed at the turn of the 18th Century; traditionally the putter in the feather ball era had a long nosed wooden head. This Royal Blackheath putter is similar in shape and age to the late 18th /early 19th century 'Royal Perth' putter (Sale, The Royal Perth Golfing Society, Christie's, 7 July 1998, lot 80 from The Jaime Ortiz-Patino Collection, sold for £106,000; Christie's, 30 May 2012, lot 26, sold for £55,000). Other surviving late 18th century metal headed putters include The Royal Musselburgh iron putter and The Los Angeles Country Club iron putter with a 14.7 cm (5¾ in) length hosel, both clubs dating to 1800.
