“To the Society of Goffers At Blackheath”

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It’s interesting how different worlds find ways to overlap. I was talking with a new friend the other day about traditional golfing societies and coincidentally came across a rare story about the painting: “To the Society of Goffers At Blackheath.”

Blackheath is an inner suburb of London and some say it’s where golf was introduced in England — the year, 1608.

Below is a fascinating story where an individual found a print of “To the Society of Goffers in England” behind an old mirror from his grandmother’s house and wanted to know its value. He asked an appraiser who consults with WorthPoint – “an ebay for antiques,”  and below is the appraiser’s story and appraisal.

Mike Wilcox, of Wilcox & Hall Appraisers, is a Worthologist who specializes in Art Nouveau and the Arts and Craft movement.

This print has a long history, and is one of the most copied of the early golf prints. The original “To the Society of Goffers At Blackheath” was based on a painting by Lemuel Francis Abbott (1760-1802) and was issued by Valentine Green as a Mezzotint print, circa 1790. It is one of the first golf portraits ever published, and the Blackheath golf course depicted in the print was a primitive five-to-seven-hole golf affair, its members being wealthy merchants.

Based on the records that survive from those early days, the Blackheath club had 45 members at the time depicted in this print. The print itself shows William Innes (1719-1795), Blackheath’s captain, and an unnamed Greenwich Hospital Naval pensioner serving as caddie. Originally, it was printed in black & white and hand-tinted. Of the 50 first-issue prints, it is estimated less than 15 are still in existence.

Like many early Mezzotints prints, this one has been reproduced as lithographs, etchings, offset prints, etc., since the early 19th century. Without actually physically examining the print, it is difficult to determine the date of issue. But most prints were produced from the late Victorian period to 1920s. The clue to the origin of your print, though, is the name “R. Powell Of London” and the dimensions, both of which match the earlier reprints, which could make this a 19th century reproduction of the original.

Most of these early reproductions currently sell in Fine Art Auctions more than any other market, where the Powell prints list with presale estimates in the $400-$600 range. More recent 20th-century examples of this print can sell for less than $50.