1927 'Essentials of Golf' Book Signed by Abe Mitchell Sourced From Bert Yancey JSA ALOA

This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/9/2020

1927 'Essentials of Golf' Book Signed by Abe Mitchell

Contained in this offering is a 1927 'Essentials of Golf' Book Signed by Abe Mitchell. "Yours sincerely - Abe Mitchell" is stroked on the top of the first flyleaf page in strong time-period ink. Abe Mitchell was a renowned British golfer, finishing in the top 10 of the Open Championship 8 times. Mitchell was also the personal instructor of Samuel Ryder, of Ryder Cup fame, and thus the figure atop the Ryder Cup trophies is modeled after Mitchell. In fact Mitchell dedicated this book to Samuel Ryder 'in appreciation of his great practical interest in professional golf.' Inside is an early black and white swing sequence of Mitchell to help educate the reader on the proper golf swing technique as demonstrated. James Spence Authentication (JSA) has reviewed this signature and their auction letter of authenticity comes with this lot.

THE BERT YANCEY BOOK COLLECTION

We thank Scott Yancey the son of Bert Yancey for giving The Golf Auction the opportunity to offer our collecting community his collection of golf books, many of which contain emphasis on the golf swing. Yancey was known over his career, which began in 1960, as perhaps the Tour's most avid student of the game. Frank Beard his friend and fellow PGA Tour pro summed it up "it was like he was on a mission to find the perfect golf swing". Yancey's efforts paid off with 7 PGA Tour wins, top three finishes in Majors that included the U.S. Open and Masters, along with financial success as a top 50 money winner every year on Tour from 1965-74. He joined the Senior Tour in 1988 and competed on that circuit until a fatal heart attack on the practice range at the Tour's Franklin Quest Championship claimed his life in 1994. A plaque affixed to a boulder near the site serves as a reminder, "Bert Yancey was a tenacious champion with unusual courage, determination, wit and wisdom...His quest for excellence remained remarkably intense and focused as he executed his final shot from this area."