2018 November Golf Memorabilia Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/18/2018
Bobby Jones' Personal Used Desk Lighter Gifted to Friend Charles Price - Multiple Provenance
From use by Bobby Jones at the Augusta National, to residence at the home of esteemed golf writer and Jones' chronicler Charles Price, followed by display at the World Golf Hall of Fame and finally to a fortunate bidder who will provide this cherished keepsake a well deserved place of honor in one of the top golf collections of the world. This lighter with a well documented story from Charles Price which appeared in Golf Digest, has experienced a charmed existence. Only if it had eyes and ears to recount the spectacular stories of what it has seen and heard. One of those would be of it's owner Mr. Jones in later life, a gaunt, twisted figure suffering from syringomyelia. A debilitating disease which destroyed motor skills yet left the golfing legend mentally strong. Jones, in this state, would struggle to bend his head down to a tray and take one of his holdered cigarettes in his mouth. Then he would punch the button on his trusty heavy brass table lighter with his right thumb and light the tip of the cigarette to show his friend and trusted editor of "Bobby Jones on Golf", Charles Price, that he was not quite helpless. Seeing his friend in this state, Price allowed a tear to slip down his cheek. Jones seeing this touching moment softly uttered a most famous line. "Now Charles, we will have none of that; we all must play the ball as it lies." From this point forward the chain-smoking Price vowed to never see Jones struggle to light another cigarette himself in his company. When he thought that Jones might like a smoke he would pull a cigarette from his pocket whether he wanted one or not and light one up giving him the excuse to light one for Bob Jones. This helpful practice carried on for the final years of Bobby's life.
Shortly after Mr. Jones passing this lighter which had been used to light many a cigarette between the two friends came in the mail from Jones secretary with a note dictated by Bob that Charles had not fooled him over the years always first lighting a cigarette in an attempt to help him light his own cigarette. We offer this very piece which belonged to Bobby Jones and was gifted to Charles Price on Jones passing in 1971. It is approx 2.5 H, and approx 3.25 H when in an open state.
While open the engraved words Augusta-Patent D.B.P. angem applic. pend round the world Made in West-Germany can be viewed. Augusta was a brand name for Mayer & Company based in Augsburg, Germany with the D.B.P. inscribed abbreviation on lighter for Deutsches Bundespatent (German for "Federal German Patent"). This marking has been used since 1949 for lighters manufactured in Germany. Accompanying this one of a kind piece of Jones memorabilia will be impeccable provenance which includes letter from Charles Price's widow Laurie Rider along with letter from The World Golf Hall of Fame returning item to Mrs. Rider along with the Hall's thanks for allowing it's use in the Jones on-sight display. The opportunity to own an item so intimate to the life of Bobby Jones, as his personal lighter, is one every collector will consider but only one collector will claim the prize displaying it as a cornerstone of their collection.
The Charles Price Collection
If golf had a Renaissance man, surely it was Charles Price. For nearly 50 years he touched the golf community with his flair for writing, a Hemingway of the fairways. Over that span his stylish writing was combined with an intimate players knowledge of the game based on his 1947-48 appearances as an amateur on the PGA Tour. This provided Price with a unique skill set to relate to players not found among his fellow golf scribes. He was highly respected by Bobby Jones as a writer and friend with the two visiting often for one-on-one conversations. He became a historian of the game through his time living with Walter Hagen, traveling with Gene Sarazen on "Shell's Wonderful World of Golf", competing with Ben Hogan & Sam Snead and writing about the careers of Jack Nicklaus & Arnold Palmer since they were college age players . Among his 17 books authored, co-authored or contributed to were "A Golf Story" (about The Masters, Augusta National and Jones); along with "The World of Golf: A Panorama of Six Centuries of the Game's History", and "Golfer-at-Large" all considered classics in golf literature.
The founding editor of GOLF Magazine in 1958, Price formulated the model for the game's contemporary magazines, and through columns for "Golf" and later "Golf Digest" where he spent his last dozen years his thoughtful analysis and retrospection presented the game.
He was the first golf director at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island and is largely responsible for establishing the Heritage Classic in 1969, one of the most prestigious events on the PGA Tour. These accomplishments led to countless far ranging awards in the golfing community which included 1988 recognition as one of the 100 Heroes of the First Century of Golf, the 1987 Donald Ross Award from Golf Course Architects and in 1985 he was elected by the Golf Writers Association of America to receive its tenth Memorial Gold Journalism Award, sponsored by Jack Nicklaus. His first place writing competition awards from the G.W.A.A. are too voluminous to list in this short space.
We at The Golf Auction would like to thank Charles Price's widow Laurie Rider for entrusting us with Charley's life-long golf acquisitions, and are appreciative of her desire to allow the collecting public to share in his love of the game.
Please note: This auction will end at 5:00pm EST Sunday, November 18th, with EXTENDED BIDDING to follow. All items in the auction will remain open until no items have received a bid within a 15 minute time period (up to 9pm EST, then countdown clock will adjust to 5min time period). There is a buyer's premium of 17.5% for all items. All lots are free to be bid on until extended bidding has ended.
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