Historically Significant Receipt
from Leith Thistle
to William Ballantyne
Here it is!
For decades, golf club history buffs have sought proof that a club maker named William Ballantyne existed and worked in the first quarter of the 19th Century. Before today, his name was but folklore, as no known examples of his golf clubs still exist. He is briefly mentioned in the important work by Alastair Johnston, The Chronicles of Golf: 1457-1857. Jeff Ellis briefly acknowledges the existence of Ballantyne in The Clubmakers Art, but essentially states that not much is known about him since he apparently did not mark his work.
Without further ado, this fine original 1821 document secures that Ballantyne did exist and that he was professional and clubmaker to the Thistle Golf Club of Leith.
This nearly-200 year old receipt details Ballantyne’s involvement with the Thistle Golf Club. Rarely does such a historically important golf artifact reach the auction block, as most comparable pieces are in the collections of museums or centuries-old golf societies.
This receipt measures 7 ½”x 3”and is framed to 9”x 14”. Not only does this receipt definitively prove Ballantyne’s work for Leith Thistle golf club, but it also likely represents the only known signatures (there are two of them) of the early 19th century clubmaker, who is believe to have died in 1845.