This McEwan long spoon is a great club in many respects. First off, it dates to 1860 and has an outstanding head shape. The lines are eminently graceful. The face is untouched original with the original file marks still strong. The stamp on the crown is also clean and strong. The 44" shaft is original as is the sheepskin grip. The neck whipping and grip whipping are also original. The head itself measures 1" in face depth, 1 15/16" in width, and 5 3/4" in length. The McEwan name on the crown is clear and deep.  

The finish is also original.  Part of the finish across the toe area, however, is not even.  These lighter areas appear to be the remains/result of an old top coat of varnish or something that was applied to the club over a century ago.  It could be reworked to even out the color if one so desired but only if he or she knew what they were doing. As it is, the club is entirely original and solid—nothing wrong with that! The wood itself in the toe area has not been sanded or altered in any way.  All said and done, this is a nice original 160-year-old McEwan spoon. 

The McEwan family is among the top clubmakers of the 19th century.  "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 was 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 McEwans produced long nose clubs of the highest quality.

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