Here it is - one of golf photography's Holy Grails.

This is an original cabinet card photograph of Young Tom Morris posing with the Open Championship Challenge Belt (predecessor to the Claret Jug). Historians have long debated when this photo was taken, though current scholarship dates it to the days following Tommy's 1870 Open Championship victory. This was Young Tom's 3rd consecutive victory, which allowed him to keep the Challenge Belt for good. That would make the young golf prodigy only 19 years old when this famous photograph was taken. 

Famed St Andrews photograph Thomas Rodger is only known to have printed two images from this session in his studio (yes, it was in studio.- that's a fake outdoor background!). The other image taken that day is one you're also familiar with - the iconic Young Tom & Old Tom joint photograph that will forever be the most well known image of the father and son duo. In that other photo with his father, Young Tom is not wearing the Challenge Belt. One can imagine that day in Rodger's studio 155 years ago where Old & Young Tom posed for a joint photo, and then Tommy put on the Challenge Belt and proudly posed for this iconic image. Tommy would only live for 5 more years - dying at the age of 24. But the photographs taken in the studio that day are still being celebrated over a century and a half later.  

That Old Tom & Young Tom Cabinet Card photograph from this same photography session recently set an all-time golf photograph record when it sold for $85,350 in our November Premier Auction. 

This large original cabinet card photograph measures 4 1/8" x 6 3/8" and 7 5/8" x 10" overall framed.