c.1850's Inverleven Golfing Society Firmin & Sons Red Coat Jacket
Owning a green jacket is nice. However, the tradition goes back 75 years or so. A red jacket harkens back to the game's earliest foundation. In the middle 1860's there were only 38 golf clubs listed in the 1866 Golf Annual. Many had a club
jacket representing membership in the club. Clubs used
them in different ways. Sometimes they were required for
play or after golf activities. A lot of times they were used to
notify people of golfing activities near by. Remember, the
land was utilized by many people at the time. A visit to
courses in Scotland today and you are reminded of the
communal land use.
Our consignor has given us a unique opportunity to
auction off a very nice example of an early red
jacket. Normally, these are reserved for display in museums and very few have come up for auction for public consumption over the
past 10 years or so. Undoubtedly few survived due to so
few golfers prior to 1875.
This jacket carries 3 brass buttons marked Inverleven Golfing
Society. Inverleven is an early name for Innerleven. Most
golf history sites refer to Innerleven and not the former.
However, a search of newspapers from the 1840-1870’s
refer to Inverleven. The Inverleven Golfing Society was formed in 1820.
With close examination, the back of the buttons are marked Firmin & Sons , 153 Strand St. Firmin & Sons are one of the oldest UK firms and have a storied history for the monarch. Research
indicates the markings were used from 1822-1875. They
were used intermittently thru this period.
We are comfortable in dating this jacket to the 2nd and 3rd
quarters of the 1800’s! This makes it one of very few examples of the prized 19th century golf status symbol and haberdashery.
The red jacket is heavy wool, with some staining and small
moth marks. It also exhibits a repair mark in the lining of
the jacket. The collar and cuffs are a navy blue color.
A wonderful opportunity to acquire an artifact from prior to
the golf boom of the 1880s - convert this uncommon opportunity with the winning bid!
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