"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.

The 42" McEwan long spoon spoon offered here dates circa 1870. It measures 1 1/16" in face depth, 6" in head length, and 2" in head width.  The shaft has been hand split and beautifully formed by hand. Both it and its whipping are original to the club as is the sheepskin grip.  The counter-wound whipping on the grip, however, is replacement whipping. The auctioneer believes it was wisely installed in recent years to help preserve the grip, which is showing old wear to its surface.  

This club shows far less wear than most long nose clubs and has a highly attractive shape.  The face has a pronounced curve from heel to toe, a trait often found on spoons from the featherball era.  There is a very small amount of checking in the wood along the topline of the face, but it does not really impact the overall beauty and elegance of this approximately 150-year-old golf club.

This club is sixth from the right in the group image that accompanies this lot. For more on the McEwan family of clubmakers, see TCA2 V1 p43-48.