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 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."
The top of the hosel on this putter has been cleaned, possibly in
tandem with resetting the pin to tighten the 33" shaft, which is
original. What is interesting is the top of the hosel appears to
actually be steel, not iron. (The light oxidation lower on the hosel
makes the hosel appear to be iron.)
The 15-inche-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.
"Putter" is stamped in tiny letters on the
shaft, just below the grip. This is an original stamp to the club. The writing on the back of the head, "Bussey
& Co, London, Thistle, Patent Steel Socket," is mostly strong, just a few letters are faint.
The gunmetal blade is in good condition, not all dented up 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!