This “The Pneumatic” golf ball is marked “Pat Aug 19, 1902” on one pole and “Goodyear, Akron” on the other.   The patent was filed on Sept 11, 1900 by Addison T. Saunders who assigned half of it to Frank Seiberling, the man who founded Goodyear Tire &  Rubber in 1898. 

The making of this ball was a bit of a marvel in and of itself.  According to the attached 1905 advertisement, the wall of wound thread between the cover and the pure Para Rubber “jacket” that held the compressed air consisted of a single thread of Sea Island cotton over one thousand feel long that was wound with perfect accuracy and uniformity.  The cover of the ball was also made from pure para rubber.

In the center of the ball, inside the para rubber “jacket” is compressed air.  The accompanying ads show the core of compressed air and the other layers.  The first advertisement is a Goodyear ad from 1903.  The second was run in 1905 in the UK by the London firm of Geipel & Lange. Notice how Geipel uses Goodyear’s exact illustration of the ball.

This ball is missing a tiny piece of its cover, but it does not show any strike marks. “The Pneumatic” is marked on the ball twice, on opposite sides of the equator.  A tiny piece of the cover is missing.  

All things considered, this is another great early ball!