Description
A journey through time: Golf in Scotland. The oldest documents in the history of golf. After more than three years of research and in collaboration with The National Library of Scotland, The Scottish Record Office, The Hounoroble Company of Edinburgh Golfers, and The Archives of the City of Edinburgh, this set of facsimiles entitled “A Swing Through Time: Golf in Scotland (1457-1744)” was published in Dallas, Texas, in 2007.
This is an expert-guided tour through the earliest written records of golf, shedding light on its origins, techniques, and equipment, and, above all, on the social standing of the game as it evolved from an illegal activity to becoming the most popular sport internationally. With no surviving documentary evidence and few recognizable images from before the mid-18th century, the author’s sources are primarily original materials and books from the National Library of Scotland, co-publisher of this edition. The chapters cover: the “non-profitable” sport, golf for royalty, James Melville, the student at St. Andrews, a secondary school for boys, Sir John Foulis de Ravelson, Thomas Kincaid, the golfing metropolis of St. Andrews, and golf in Edinburgh.
The aim of this collection is to offer the general public faithful reproductions of those documents that played a crucial role in the early history of the game. It begins with the oldest surviving document mentioning the game of golf, dating back to 1457, and concludes with a reproduction of the first official rules for playing the sport, established in 1744.
Among other documents included are the prohibitions issued by Kings James II (1457), James III (1471), and James IV (1491) regarding the game of golf; records from the Treasurer of the Realm showing the king’s purchase of clubs and balls in 1506; the document granting a license to manufacture golf balls in Scotland; Thomas Kincaid’s Diary, containing the first instructions on how to swing the ball; and the stipulations established by the Edinburgh City Council for the First Open Competition.
Discover the obstacles the game had to overcome and the key figures who played a pivotal role in its development and consolidation. The work includes reproductions of the original rules established in 1744 by the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers for the first open competition organized by the Edinburgh City Council, the Silver Club Competition.
The entire set is presented in an elegant and luxurious wooden box with a lock, measuring 49 x 33.5 x 9.5 cm, with a gilt plaque on the exterior bearing the title and copy number. The box houses and protects:
11 folders containing a total of 22 facsimile documents printed on hand-aged paper.
An additional facsimile document from 1781 with updated rules.
A supplementary hardcover volume with an illustrated dust jacket, measuring 18 x 23 cm, 112 pages with color illustrations, containing the study and transcription of the documents. Texts in English by Olive M. Geddes. ISBN: 9781905267187. Facsimile of the 1804 map of Edinburgh.
Limited and numbered edition, certified by a notary. Complete copy, in perfect condition, new, unused, and the only one available in this luxurious presentation. Ideal as a gift for yourself or any lover of this prestigious sport.
An identical Spanish version is available in a slipcase with the same complete contents plus a 16-page supplement in Spanish, entitled “Key Documents in the History of Golf,” which can also be purchased here.
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