Updated 4-12-24

This lot consists of two highly interesting c. 1870 cleeks, although they could be from a slightly earlier date, as will be noted below.

The first cleek measures 37 1/2" in length and is marked "T.I. Smeaton" on the back of its blade. There are two distinct holes in the blade, and the auctioneer has no idea why they are there, but fortunately they are small.  The hosel measures 4 1/2" in length, and has some major sawtooth nicking.  The shaft is made from hand-split ash, with many distinct flat spots when rotated inside a clasped hand, and it is thick.  The giant sawtooth nicking and the thick ash shaft are characteristics typically found on much older irons. 

The second cleek is unmarked, with a 37" ash shaft and a 3 3/4" hosel.  The both the shaft and the hosel are slightly thicker when compared to shaft and hosel on the Smeaton-marked iron. The nicking on this iron is very strong, but not as large as it is on the Smeaton iron. This shaft is possibly a replacement shaft, made and installed by the same person who shafted the other iron. It appears to be ash, only the grain is much tighter on this shaft than it is on the other.  Even so, the ribbons run long and straight. Then again, because the grips on these two irons match, as do the shafts for all intents and purposes, in the auctioneers opinion it's more likely that this shaft came loose and was repinned somewhere along the way. 

Both of these clubs have their original sheepkin grips that have been covered with some type of coating.  It could be an early type of tape or some type of a varnish concoction. The auctioneer does not really know what it is.  But the original sheepskin can be seen at the butt end of the grips and in a few gaps where the coating is missing.  The coating was likely used to either preserve the grip from rain or to keep it from falling apart. It is well adhered to the leather and will not fall off anytime soon. 

Given the similar nature of their distinct hosel nicking and much thicker than normal ash shafts, all of which are not typical for a club made in the 1870s, I believe these two irons were made and shafted by the same person. The auctioneer also believes that T.I. Smeaton, the name stamped on the back of one blade, was likely the owner of these clubs, although "Smeaton" could refer to the location of the maker.  The small villages of Great Smeaton, Little Smeaton, and Kirk Smeaton, were all named with Old English smitha-tun, meaning ‘settlement of the smiths.’

In the accompanying images 4 through 10, I have included the c. 1880 Carrick cleek offered in this auction as a seperate lot.  Compared to the Carrick, these irons are very similar only a little older.  The hosels on these two irons are slightly thicker and have stronger sawtooth nicking, one dramatically so and with a slightly longer hosel.  Furthermore, the shafts in these two irons are ash, not hickory like it is in the Carrick, and they are much thicker. But no matter.  All three of these irons are great!  The auctioneer has never seen another iron marked with the name of T.I. Smeaton.

These 2 irons are in the final accompanying group image. The c1825 approach putter is on their left and the Wilson lofter and Carrick Cleek is on their right.