Tiffany Studios

Presented to Mr. Joseph P. Knapp, New York, January 16, 1909

Thence by descent

Important Tiffany, Sotheby's New York, December 18, 2008, lot 32

Acquired from the above by the present owner

The Pinehurst Outlook, January 19, 1907, p. 7 (for a period image of the trophies donated for the annual Advertising Men's Golf Tournament showing a Tiffany lamp, numerous favrile glass vases and Tiffany & Co. silver items)

"Chief Golf Honors for New York Men," The New York Times, January 17, 1909, p. S1 (for a detailed account of the Advertising Men's Golf Tournament and Mr. Knapp's performance)

"J.P. Knapp the Winner," The Pinehurst Outlook, January 23, 1909, pp. 1 and 6 (for an account of the tournament and Mr. Knapp's victory)

Alastair Duncan, Tiffany: Lamps and Metalware, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 2019, pp. 31, no. 74 and 165, no. 671 (for the shade)

The present lamp is not only an unusual example of Tiffany's geometric repertoire, but it also -- by way of its provenance -- has an interesting place in the history of golf in America. In 1895, Mr. James W. Tufts purchased 5000 acres of land in the Sandhills of North Carolina for the means of building a winter resort featuring a golf course. By the winter of 1898 a nine-hole course was completed and, with expansions over the next five years, the Pinehust Golf Club was formalized in 1903. Mr. Tufts was aided greatly by the marketing acumen of advertising executive Frank Presbrey. Presbrey was instrumental in promoting the new resort through mounting a series of tournaments. One of Presbrey's innovations was the formation in 1905 of the American Golf Association of Advertising Interests. The association held annual golf outings at Pinehurst, which brought together executives from the advertising industry as well as their top clients. The Advertising Men's Tournament held every January from 1905 until 1912 was a great success that not only promoted the budding resort but more widely popularized the sport of golf among businessmen. Due to its advertising angle, the trophies for the event were donated by the leading industry sponsors, including Tiffany Studios and Tiffany & Co.