"As Hugh Philp was to St. Andrews, so was the firm of McEwan & Son to Edinburgh and Musselburgh." (Golf 25, Sept. 1895, p51).  indeed, the McEwan family of clubmakers were central to the world of clubmaking from 1770, when James McEwan opened for business, to the end of the nineteenth century, when long nose clubs were rendered obsolete. Across that 120 year span, five generations of the McEwan family were producing long nose clubs of the highest quality. TCA2 V1 p43-48

This is solid and attractive c. 1875 McEwan putter.  The slender head and its shallow face are stylish and pleasing to the eye.  The head measures 5 1/4” in length, 1” in face depth, and 1 11/16” in width. The McEwan stamp is clear and strong. The large lead backweight provides good heft to the club.

There is a small crack in the side of the neck near the tip of the shaft. It appears to be solid and nothing of consequence. It is not really noticeable as it looks much like a dark ribbon of grain, and, in fact, might have been part of the wood when the head was made.

The shaft, sheepskin grip, and neck whipping appear to be original.  When this club was in use, the grip was coated with varnish in order to stiffen the leather and preserve it in wet weather. A fair number of clubs remain with such varnish-coated sheepskin grips.  The hickory shaft measures 36" in length and was split by hand—its asymmetry can be felt when turning the grip with one hand and holding the shaft with the other.