Lot # 102: Hardright Brassie

Starting Bid: $200.00

Bids: 0 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed
Lot / Auction Closed




This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed.

Item was in Auction "Spring 2021",
which ran from 3/3/2021 12:00 PM to
3/20/2021 8:00 PM



The solid black head on this c. 1914 Hardright brassie, produced by the Hardright Company of Belleville, New Jersey, is made entirely from Condensite. As defined in a 1916 Hardright advertisement, condensite is a "black hardened gum of peculiar properties, which maintains a brilliant polish, is absolutely non-absorbent, and will not chip or crack." It was the invention of J.W. Aylesworth, who in 1914 (when this club was first produced) and for the prior 25 years was the chief chemist to Mr. Thomas Edison. 

The brass sleeve on top of the neck extends down into the neck and allows for the shaft to attach to the head. The shaft is affixed in place by a pin that runs through both the brass sleeve and the shaft. The protective 3-screw slip on the sole is also made out of brass.

The side of the neck is marked "Hardright B" (brassie). The shaft measures 44 inches in length and has its original leather wrapped grip.

Hardright drivers and brassies were sold by mail order only.  The fact that so few remain today and that they were sporadically advertised for five years, beginning in 1914, suggest that these clubs sold in relatively consistent but small numbers. This particular example, which has a minor chip on the top line and a few smaller ones on the face, shows that, given the right circumstances, condensite can chip. Because these flaws are distinctly minor in the larger scheme of such a unique club, the club still stands as a beautiful example. For more on Hardright drivers and brassies, see TCA2 v1 p370

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