A January 19, 1902, Forgan & Son Golf illustrated ad offers many different clubs including "Solid Ebony Headed Putters." Ebony heads were made from the wood of a tropical tree such as are grown in Africa. Today, these putters are hardly ever seen, but when they are, they are easily recognized by two traits.  First the entire head is jet-black. Because the wood itself is natually black, even the scoring lines are black.  Second, the sole does not have the traditional horn slip along the leading edge. Ebony is a hard wood.

Forgan marked this ebony head with the Prince of Wales plume because this club was made before Prince Edward became King Edward VII in January of 1901. The 35 1/2" shaft, and grip appear to be original. 

There is a large repaired crack on the top of the head that extends from the heel of the backweight onto the crown underneath the Forgan name.  There is a second crack that is on the sole closer to the toe.    The head has been recolored to help hide the crack in both locations.  The lead button on the sole is from back in the day. 

This is an extremely rare club, so the repairs rescued something that looked a lot worse and made it into something better, something much more like what it was when it was originally made. 

For more info on Forgan ebony head putters, see The Clubmakers Art 2nd edition volume 1 page 382.