Original Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club Photos

The Perry Maxwell Collection

        Green Jacket Auctions is proud to have the opportunity to auction a spectacular collection of original, vintage photographs from famed golf course architect Perry Maxwell. Perry Maxwell designed courses from 1913 to 1951, and designed or re-designed such historic courses as Southern Hills, Prairie Dunes, Crystal Downs, Augusta National, Cypress Point, Pine Valley, Merion, Colonial, and The National Golf Links. Maxwell is probably best known for his partnership with Alister Mackenzie, which lasted for over 10 years and resulted in the creation of Crystal Downs and the University of Michigan golf course, among others.

        These original photographs were recently discovered in a Maxwell relative's old home, and had been perfectly preserved in the same alphabetized file that Maxwell himself stored them in before his death over 50 years ago. Each photograph depicts a golf course that Maxwell had a hand in designing or re-designing. For instance, his personal collection includes spectacular photographs of Augusta National Golf Club, where he re-designed 11 holes in 1937 and 1938, and Pine Valley, where he re-designed 3 holes in 1933.

        Presented in this lot are 6 original photographs of "Nichols Hills", which became Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club.  The photos have each been been hand-notated in fountain pen with information about each hole depicted in the photos.  Since these photos were all found in Perry Maxwell's personal collection, it is certainly plausible that Maxwell himself would have written this information, but we are unable to verify this theory.  The course was a collaboration between Alister Mackenzie and Perry Maxwell - Mackenzie did the design and Maxwell oversaw the construction of the course.  These 6 examples represent the only 6 photos that Maxwell personally saved depicting Oklahoma Golf & Country Club, and amazingly pre-date the naming of the club, which is located in the Nichols Hills suburb of Oklahoma City.  These photos are all in the large 8" x 10" format, which was very large for the day, but likely gave Maxwell the exact details he so craved.  In fact, Maxwell's file contained multiple references to the need for 8" x 10" photos.