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!