Lot # 25: c. 1890 Bussey & Pinder's Steel Socket Putter w/Gunmetal Blade and Sewn Grip

Starting Bid: $150.00

Bids: 4 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed
Lot / Auction Closed




This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed.

Item was in Auction "Fall 2021",
which ran from 11/4/2021 11:00 AM to
11/20/2021 8:00 PM



William Bussey and Joseph 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 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 together. The shaft is then placed into the regular hollow portion of the hosel where it is "secured therein by means of cement, glue, or otherwise."

As mentioned earlier, the top of the hosel on this putter is made from steel, not iron. The blade is made from gunmetal. Gunmetal is relatively soft and collects nicks and dings with great ease, but this blade shows minimal wear and the "Bussey & Co, London, GGB, Patent Steel Socket" stamped on the back of the head is still clear and strong as shown in the images.

The 15-inch-long sewn grip, as shown in the image, is all there and in nice condition. It consists of a rectangular piece of leather sewn lengthwise into position on the shaft. This took some engineering of 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 grip itself is marked "Geo G Bussey & Co. / Patent Perfect...."

Of the tens of thousands of golf club patents in existence today, this beautiful putter was produced under the seventh 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!

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