William Bussey and Joseh Pinder, both from London, received a British
patent (No., 16,593) dated Oct. 23, 1890, that covered this putter head
made with a gunmetal blade and steel hosel. This same patent, the
seventh ever granted for a golf club, also covers the unique sewn grip on this
club.
According to Bussey and Pinder's patent, the hosel is made as a
hollow tube. An approximately 3/8" high extension (boss) atop a very
short "neck portion" of the blade fits inside the lower end of the
hosel. Once joined, the head and hosel are brazed toether. The shaft is
then placed into the regular hollow portion of the hosel where it is
"secured therein by means of cement, glue, or other otherwise."
One interesting point is that the hosel is actually made of steel, not iron. The back of the head also tells us this as it is stamped "Patent Steel Socket" along with "Bussey & Co. / London / Thistle".
The sewn grip, as shown in the image, consists of a rectangular piece
of leather sewn lengthwise into position on the shaft. This took some
engineering or sorts to accomplish, but it made for a long lasting grip
that would not come loose and unwind as could happen with a wound grip.
The word "Putter" is stamped onto the
shaft, just below the grip. The gunmetal blade does show some wear, as
often happens with gunmetal putters due to the softer-than-iron nature
of gunmetal. Overall this putter is a solid example, and of the tens of
thousands of golf club patents in existence today, this putter was
produced under the 7th golf club patent ever issued—which makes this
club one of the first clubs ever produced under a patent in the history
of the game. Now that is great history, not just great creativity!