1933 Medal Awarded to Bobby Jones
On Thursday April 12th, PBA Galleries will host their spring Rare Golf Books & Memorabilia sale. On offer will be over 400 lots of golfing history including further selections from the library of Ron Muszalski and a selection of rare Bobby Jones memorabilia from the collection of John Burns, along with a variety of material from other collections.
A highlight of the sale is a prize medal once belonging to golfing legend, Bobby Jones. Awarded for his participation on the winning Warner Brothers Team in the 1933 Motion Picture Tournament. It was the first tournament Jones played since giving up his amateur status and after completing the Grand Slam in 1930. The majority of Jones’ medals reside in the USGA museum, making this a rare opportunity to add one to a private collection (Estimate: $8,000-$12,000).
Other featured lots with connections to Bobby Jones include: a photograph taken by George S. Pietzcker of Jones and Gene Sarazen on the green at Fresh Meadows Country Club in 1932 the day after Sarazen won the US Open with a letter of provenance from the Gene and Mary Sarazen Foundation (Estimate: $8,000-$12,000); one of only 300 signed limited first edition copies of Jones’ Down the Fairway, a cornerstone work and considered one of the most sought after golf books of the 20th century (Estimate: $10,000-$15,000); and the Bobby Jones Sports King Gum trading card, one of the rarest of golf sports trading cards and seldom seen at auction (Estimate: $2,000-$3,000).
Original Snoopy Cartoon
An original cartoon drawing by Charles Schulz has Snoopy asking Woodstock to “Go ask Nathaniel if we’re playing Mulligans.” It is one of a series of four single panel cartoons printed in the program for the 38th Big Crosby Pro-Am tournament at Pebble Beach in 1978. The strip first appeared in 1958 and again in 1965 before its use in the Pro-Am program. A copy of the complete program is included and is framed with the drawing (Estimate: $7,000-$10,000).
Also up for sale is possibly the only known copy of what appears to be the earliest American golf guide, Wright & Ditson’s Guide to American Golf for 1895. It is believed to be one of the first four American golf books overall. The contents include the USGA Constitution and By-Laws, instructions for laying out a course, a list of clubs, hints on play and detailed results for the competitions of 1894. Editions from 1897, 1899, & 1900 have been located but only this copy from 1895; the USGA Library possesses a 1900 edition (Estimate: $5,000-$8,000).
1895 Guide to American Golf
Other highlighted lots in the sale include: an inscribed and signed in the year of publication, first edition of Walter Camp’s Drives and Puts in the very rare original dust jacket designed by Amy Sacker (Estimate: $3,000-$5,000); the profusely illustrated first “Subscribers’ Edition” of The Royal & Ancient Game of Golf by Harold H. Hilton and Garden G. Smith published in 1912, and recognized as one of the most magnificent books in the library of golf (Estimate: $2,000-$3,000); and Hayden Carruth’s humorous A Hand-book of Golf for Bears in which each letter of the alphabet plays a part in describing golf and is illustrated with a charming drawing of bears playing the game (Estimate: $1,000-$1,500).
The sale will begin at 11:00 am Pacific Time and the public may preview the auction Monday, April 9th, 1-5pm, Tuesday and Wednesday, April 10th and 11th, 9am-5pm and on Thursday, April 12th, 9-11am at PBA Galleries in San Francisco. For more information, please contact the galleries at (415) 989-2665 or [email protected].