Object Name: Ball, Golf
Other Name: Ball, guttie
Date: ca 1850
Description: Hand hammered, gutta percha golf ball in mesh pattern, painted white. Unknown maker. Label text: Hand—hammered Gutta Percha ca 1850 / Unidentified maker / James Paterson, a missionary to India, is credited with inventing the gutta percha ball in 1848. Gutta percha is formed fro the viscous milk from the Malayan gum tree. When warm, the material could be formed into a sphere, and hardened in cold water. By the 1880’s “gutties” were being produced with raised bumps and various markings to increase distance.
Maker: unknown
Material: gutta percha
Dimension Details: 1—3/4″ (diameter)
Object ID: B 149
