30 years to amass, gone in six hours: auction of antique golf-club collection brings in $2.17 million
“I don’t have any regrets,” said Ellis, author of the genre’s signature book, The Clubmaker’s Art. He receives the record amount for an antique-club sale of $2.17 million, minus 25 percent and a seller’s commission, which go to Sotheby’s.
Ellis, 55, said his decision to sell is a result of wanting to spend more time with his family. In 2002, his wife, Susan, was diagnosed with spinal cerebellar ataxia, and he believed he could no longer commit time to his collection.
Confounding the sale was a golf periodical’s pre-auction article that questioned the history of the club that ultimately sold for the highest bid (see The “Old” Hot List). The article also suggested Ellis might have sold prime items to a collector in Monaco. Ellis strongly refuted the claims, but there was a perception that the auction was affected. “We had hard-core collectors, but they didn’t come forward in the numbers we expected,” said Leila Dunbar of Sotheby’s.
Despite the sale’s predominantly big numbers, the thrifty buyer had plenty of options. fifteen lots sold for $200 or less, including my favorite, the $100 William Harness solid-steel-shaft putter with walnut grip, made in 1928 in my hometown of Bloomington, Ill.
Even though Ellis is disappointed the sale didn’t reach its $3 million potential, the auction plus the release this year of the second edition of his classic book have brought some satisfaction to this self-described “natural-born collector.”
THE ‘OLD’ HOT LIST
The top-three sellers from the Ellis sale:
1 / Long-nosed putter stamped A.D., attributed to Andrew Dickson, 1700s, $181,000.
2 / Square Toe Light Iron, 1600s, $151,000.
3 / Long-nosed scraper, mid-18th century, $91,000.
The auction moved a lot of hickory, but Ellis retained 159 lots, including the Henry Febiger Patent Lead Shot Driver (top), which can be yours for $6,000 to $9,000.
Author: Cliff Schrock