ABBOTT, Lemuel Francis (1760-1802, artist); GREEN, Valentine (1739-1813, engraver)
To the Society of Goffers at Blackheath
London: L. F. Abbott, 22 November 1790. Mezzotint engraving. Sheet size: (30 1/4 x 21 1/2 inches).
An exceedingly rare engraving, regarded as the earliest dedicated golfing print, and a landmark image in the history of the sport. Published in 1791 and dedicated to the Society of Goffers at Blackheath, Abbott's portrait fixed golf's emerging club culture in one of its first great printed images.
A fine impression of the first and only 18th-century state of this print, engraved by Valentine Green after the now-lost painting by Lemuel Francis Abbott. The subject, identified as William Innes, captain of the Blackheath Golfing Society, stands poised with a long-nosed wooden club in one hand and a feather-stuffed ball in the other. Behind him, a Greenwich Hospital pensioner in uniform lugs the club-bag and a flask. The windmill and open common visible in the background firmly place the scene at Blackheath in south-east London, long associated with the origins of English golf. The plate, printed in mezzotint, showcases Green's technical mastery in handling light and texture, with velvety blacks and delicate midtones that lend atmospheric depth and lifelike impressions. The print was created to commemorate the Blackheath golfing society, which claims origins as early as 1608, and is frequently cited as the earliest formal golf club in England. By the late Georgian period, the society had become emblematic of a certain kind of gentlemanly recreation: deeply seasonal, social, and tied to rituals of dress and rank. The choice of Innes's uniform, the presence of a caddie in naval livery, and the scale of the plate all suggest a conscious effort to raise golf's profile as a sport of elite pedigree. The painting from which Green worked is now lost, but its composition survives through this engraving. Abbott, whose career as a portraitist included numerous naval officers and clergymen, here brings a grand, full-length format usually reserved for military or aristocratic sitters to a recreational context, presenting the golfer as a figure of noble poise and quiet authority. Green, one of the finest mezzotinters of the late 18th century and official engraver to the King, brings equal gravitas to the image. Golf in the Georgian period remained a niche pursuit in England, despite its popularity in Scotland. Blackheath, situated on high open land with easy access to London, provided an ideal venue for those seeking to emulate Scottish models of leisure while preserving English social codes of rank and decorum. The Society of Goffers at Blackheath, later the Royal Blackheath Golf Club, formalised these practices, holding regular competitions and codifying club dress. This print, predating by over two decades the better-known Henry Callender mezzotint by William Ward (1812), is therefore a foundational image in both golfing history and British sporting art, an early testament to golf's rising cultural visibility beyond Scotland. Today, impressions are held in major institutions including the British Museum, Fitzwilliam Museum, Yale Center for British Art, and the USGA Museum. This example preserves the plate's original lettering and image dimensions, and remains a touchstone of 18th-century sporting print culture.
Chaloner-Smith 75; Russell 75; ODonoghue 1; Lennox-Boyd i/i; Whitman (Green) 133.
Item #42292
Price: $35,000.00