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One of the oldest collections of golf clubs in the world is set to go up for auction and is expected to fetch in the region of $1m.
The Roberto Family Trust Golf Collection comprises more than 130
clubs spanning the history of club-making from spur irons of the 17th
century to spoons and play clubs of the late 19th century.
Curator Will Roberto started collecting the memorabilia in the 1960s
and, over the past 50 years, has refined the collection to concentrate
on his passion for early golf clubs.
In his native USA, and during his many trips to Scotland and England,
he hunted down rarities by a combination of detective work and simply
knocking on people’s doors.
Among the many treasures from the Roberto Family Trust Golf Collection is a left-handed, child’s or light spur toe iron, circa 1690-1700 (below), one of the oldest and rarest.
Estimated at $75,000-$100,000, it is one of only eight such clubs
known to exist, most of which are in institutional collections. Missing a
shaft, now replaced, the toe iron lay overlooked in a box of tools for
50 years.
Other important clubs in Roberto Family Trust Golf Collection include:
A Bowmaker’s long nose play club circa 1750-1780 (above). Estimated at $40,000-$60,000, the club is one of the oldest of its type known.
The Duke of Atholl’s Heavy Iron, circa 1780 (above). This blacksmith made club, which carries an estimate of $20,000-$25,000, weighs 24.1 ounces.
It has an exceptionally large face and imposing hosel, and the original sheepskin grip is inscribed in ink, ‘Heavy iron’.
The club was the property of John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl (1755-1830), whose family seat was Blair Castle in Perthshire.
Willie Dunn’s long nose putter by Hugh Philip circa 1830 (above), estimated at $25,000-$40,000.
An attached typed brown paper label states, ‘This club was used by
old Willie Dunn in 1859 when Willie Park Sr beat Willie Dunn at
Prestwick for £100.00’ (Equivalent to £11,200 today).
A long nose wooden headed putter by John Dickson circa 1780 (above). Dickson from Leith in Edinburgh, is one of the earliest recorded club makers.
One of only three known Dickson clubs from the late 18th century, the
club was re-gripped and re-shafted in the 1889s by the same firm. It is
estimated at $12,000-$18,000.
A square toe iron circa 1770-1780 by an unknown
maker, from the famous ‘Woking Collection’ of Woking Golf Club, Surrey.
It is estimated at $25,000-$35,000.
The sale also features a cold painted bronze of amateur champion Johnny Laidlay circa 1895 (below), estimated at $40,000-$60,000.
British Amateur champion in 1889 and 1891, Laidlay won over 130
amateur medals during his playing career, representing Scotland every
year from 1902 to 1911.
Kevin McGimpsey of Bonhams, who are conducting the auction in Los
Angeles on March 29, said: “The Roberto Family Trust’s outstanding
collection of early golf clubs and other golf memorabilia ranks among
the top five in the world.
“It represents a lifetime of enthusiasm and connoisseurship and
provides an unrivalled opportunity to acquire pieces of great historical
significance and rarity.”
Will Roberto said: “Putting together this collection has been a
wonderful, absorbing hobby which has given me decades of pleasure but
the time has now come for a new generation of collectors to enjoy these
fascinating objects.”
All images credit: Bonhams
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