PRESENTATION COPY OF FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN GOLF, ONE OF ONLY 355 COPIES, WARMLY INSCRIBED BY MARTIN IN THE YEAR OF PUBLICATION

MARTIN, Harry Brownlaw. Fifty Years of American Golf. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1936. Large octavo, original red cloth, top edge gilt, uncut, original slipcase. $2500.

Signed limited first edition, number 165 of only 355 copies, inscribed and dated by the author in the year of publication to a fellow golf enthusiast and future inductee of the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame: "To Harry Radix, who has done much to promote the game in every way. With best wishes from the author, H.B. Martin, Oct '36."

Harry Martin contributed a regular golf column to both the Los Angeles Examiner and the New York Globe. His definitive history of golf at the turn of the century is wonderfully illustrated with scores of early photographs depicting golf as a gentleman's game. "Within [the last 50 years] this country has come to be the leading golfing nation of the world, not only in the development of outstanding players, but in the advancement of the game itself, particularly in its equipment." Donovan & Murdoch 25510. Recipient Harry Radix was "a behind-the-scenes leader who created the Radix Trophy in 1934 to honor the player with the best scoring average on the pro tour. It was succeeded by the Vardon Trophy a few years later. Radix was a fixture on the local and national golf scene, befriending countless players and attending every American major for decades. The pro vs. amateur Radix Cup were started in his honor in 1962" (Illinois Golf Hall of Fame).

Rubbing to slipcase. Book near-fine, with minor toning to spine and rear cover, gilt bright. A desirable inscribed copy with a nice golfing provenance.