The magnificent c. 1830 feather ball was made by champion golfer and ballmaking artisan Thomas Alexander. It is in outstanding condition, showing little to no use.  The "T. Alexander" stamp is all there although it is distinctly faint.  Enough of the hand written "29" weight of the ball remains in order to made an accurate ID. (In the third image have drawn the numbers in blue on each side of what remains of the original numbers.)   All the seams are perfect. 

Tom Alexander was born in 1803 and died in 1841. He was located in Musselburgh where he made feather balls.  He was revered for not only his craftsmanship as a ballmaker but also for his skill as a golfer.  In 1835 he traveled to St. Andrews and defeated David Robertson, Allan's father who was a ballmaker in St. Andrews, to be crowned as the Champion golfer over all. It was not until 1840 when Alexander relinquished his title, losing a close match at St. Andrews to David's son, Allan. Unfortunately, Alexander died the following year at age 38. 

This changing of the guard from Thomas Alexander to Allan Roberson as the champion golfer is recalled in the August 27, 1863 issue of the Fifeshire Journal.  “At the beginning of the century….Balls at that time were a serious matter; they took long to make, and consequently they were dear, and one foul stroke would have ruined any of them….Professional golfers were then even scarce…David Robertson was Champion in 1830, but lost it in 1835, having been beat by Tom Alexander.  Mr. Robertson’s son, the far-famed Allan, regained the honours from Alexander in 1840 and retained them while he lived.” 

The Perthshire Courier dated 18 Feb, 1841 reported the death of Thomas Alexander, noting that Alexander was both a champion golfer and superb ballmaker. "At Golf House, Musselburgh, on the 7th instant, Thomas Alexander, golf-ball maker, [died] in his thirty-eighth year. As an artiste, in the laborious handicraft of ball-making, he held the highest rank, as a golfer, for nearly twenty years he had no equal in skilful execution of the nicer subtleties of the game; and his unexpected decease (from aneurism of the heart) has occasioned a blank in the golfing community not likely soon to be filled up.

When it comes to collecting named feather balls, a Tom Alexander ball is difficult one to locate. And this ball is a beauty! All its original paint is there (with the exception of a narrow, light scuff). It has just darkened across the past nearly 200 years. This is often the case with feather balls that have survived to this day.