Lot # 65: J Gray 1880s Lofter

Starting Bid: $50.00

Bids: 13 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed
Lot / Auction Closed




This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed.

Item was in Auction "Fall Golf Auction 2019",
which ran from 11/6/2019 12:00 PM to
11/23/2019 8:00 PM



On the back of this John Gray lofter, only the J remains strong and the RAY is faint but still visible. However, upon closer inspection, the 'RAY" letters are taller than the "J" and not nearly as strong and well struck as the J.  It appears that the letters RAY" were struck individually in recent years to correct for the lost letters.  This would also explains why the faint "G" appears to be so close to the "R".  None of this was the case when John Gray stamped his clubs.  The auctioneer believes this club to be a genuine John Gray lofter, complete with the original "J" from his stamp on the back of the head and a slightly concave face. It has been restamped with a few letters to make up for the letters that were lost due to cleaning with emery paper, as was the custom a century and a half ago.

The head has been reshafted and the grip is an old replacement.  The club, however, is representative of a nice John Gray hand-made 1880s lofter.   Again, the face is uneven and slightly dished, witnessed when placing a straight edge ruler across the face top to bottom. 

Views: 670