Lot # 59: Harold A Wilson, (Haskell) Spring Face Iron

Category: Golf Clubs

Starting Bid: $200.00

Bids: 4 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed
Lot / Auction Closed




This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed.

Item was in Auction "Fall 2022",
which ran from 11/3/2022 7:00 PM to
11/19/2022 8:00 PM



Stamped "The Harold A Wilson Co, Toronto" in a circle on the back of the blade, this spring face iron is actually a Haskell iron, but Haskell is not stamped on the head.  Nevertheless, the head has the same steel face backed with leather that is exposed at the top and bottom, and the blade is fastened in place with 4 rivets, but they are not readily visible.  The metal is beautifully finished and has aged "as one piece." 

The shaft is stamped "Made by The Crawford, McGregor, and Canby Co., Dayton, Ohio." along with "3 1/2". The shaft, which has its original sheepskin grip, was once cracked but has been repaired. You cannot really see the crack at all. It appears to have been glued as it does not open up when twisting or bending the shaft. 

The auctioneer believes that this clubhead was produced in the early 1900s by R.B. Wilson, a clubmaker in St. Andrews. This head matches his spring face Haskell iron, made for use with the Haskell or other rubber-core balls, in all respects.  The fact that the head bears the name of a retail company in Canada and the shaft was made by MacGregor of Dayton, Ohio, indicates that the heads and shafts were likely ordered by the Harold A Wilson Company and assembled in Canada.  Wllson was known to import Scottish golf clubs.

According to a review published in 1903, in the face of this iron is a groove about an eighth of an inch deep. Over or across this groove is a thin wrought-iron plate, securely riveted at each end. The vacant space between is compactly filled with leather specifically compressed. This gives great elasticity to the club, as it were, to which the rubber-cored ball responds in a marked manner. 

For more info, see TCA2: V2, p418.

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