The head and shaft of this John Duncan Dunn one-piece Patent driver are crafted from a single, solid piece of wood, eliminating the need for a neck joint. The club retains its original natural finish, although most of the lettering has faded. The face insert, secured by tiny nails, and the lead backweight are both original, as is the grip. A small dowel has been installed on the top of the head to address an old blemish. The neck shows a noticeable warp, as seen in the images, having been originally steamed to shape. The club remains solid and crack-free, The shaft is stamped "Bournemouth," indicating this is one of Dunn's earliest one-piece clubs, predating his move to America and subsequent work for his own business and BGI.

Born in 1872, John Duncan Dunn hailed from a renowned family of clubmakers, including his father Tom Dunn, grandfather Willie Dunn Sr., uncle Willie Jr., and brother Seymour. Dunn’s British patent (No. 14.309), applied for on July 25, 1894, while he was a club and ball maker at "The Golf Pavilion" in Bournemouth, England, covers this club. He ingeniously formed the head and shaft from one piece of wood, bending the head by steaming.

John Dunn later emerged as a significant figure among clubmakers. After leaving Bournemouth in the spring of the year to assist his uncle Willie Dunn Jr. at the new course of the Ardsley Casino Club (The Golfer, 21 Oct. 1896: 325), Dunn was hired as the professional at the Buffalo Country Club in Buffalo, New York. Shortly thereafter, he was “appointed club-maker and professional to the Millionaire Club in America, that of Ardsley Casino, Dobbs Ferry, New York” (Golf, 19 Mar. 1897: 27).

While at the Ardsley-on-Hudson Golf Club, Dunn applied for a U.S. patent on his one-piece club (Golf, 30 July 1897: 401). Awaiting this patent, Dunn continued to market one-piece woods and promote himself as the “Inventor of One-Piece Clubs,” although he was primarily the first to advertise and market such clubs on a significant scale.

By the end of 1897, the Bridgeport Gun Implement Company had hired John Dunn and was producing one-piece woods under his "personal supervision." In early 1898, Dunn took charge of B.G.I.’s expanding golf department, where he continued to promote one-piece woods, prominently featuring them in many B.G.I. advertisements