While this club is unmarked, it is unquestionably old and made as a Gassiat-style fairway wood. Here are the facts.  The original shaft measures 40" in length. The original grip is a pistol grip that matches many of those found on Gassiat-marked putters.  The face shape and line scoring matches those items on a number of other Gassiat putters. So does the bore-through sole. Even the brass plate with the evenly matched pairs of screws matches the brass plate and screws on a fair number of Gassiat putters. The 57-degree flat lie, 20-degree face loft, and 40-inch shaft are clear characteristics of a fairway club.

Some thoughtful engineering went into this club.  First. In order to prevent the back of the head, because it extends back so far, from hitting the ground as the clubs transitiions from the downswing to the follow-through, the back of the sole slopes up, away from the ground. Second. The face appears hooked when soling the club with the shaft coming straight back to the golfer.  But when the golfer positions his or her hands so they line up close to even with the face the face will then set square as can be.  For most golfers, their hands slightly lead the clubhead at impact.

This club has had its finish reworked, but even so, there is no real evidence of use anywhere on the club. For the record, the auctioneer knows of a single 42" Gassiat driver. It has a rectangular head, horn slip (no brass plate), the same bore-through sole, face scoring, and face shape that matches this spoon.  In the world of rare golf clubs, this Gassiat spoon is high on the list.

This club is second from the right in the middle row of the accompanying group picture.