Last updated at 14:41, Monday, 11 June 2012

MILLIONS of golf balls are made each year on an industrial scale but a relic of the Victorian days of hand-crafted items is being sold in the next Barrow sale by Furness Auctions.

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A ‘featherie’ golf ball made from tightly-packed feathers stitched inside a cow hide sphere is likely to sell in the £500 to £600 range on June 17.

From at least the 16th century, Scottish enthusiasts were hitting wooden golf balls around the countryside until the ‘featherie’ was introduced around 1618.

It held sway until 1848 when the Reverend Adam Paterson, of St Andrews, developed a ball made from gutta percha, the rubbber-like sap of a tropical tree.

For those with even more to spend, the highest priced item in the sale is likely to be a diamond cluster ring of 2.74 carats and set in white gold. It carries a pre-sale estimated price of £2,500 to £3,000.

A longcase, or grandfather clock, with an eight-day movement and a painted face showing a country scene is rated at £400 to £600.

It was made in the period 1820 to 1830 by the maker William Matthers, of Penrith.

Two framed ceramic plaques which have been hand painted by an artist called S Pope are likely to reach £400 to £500.

A pair of vintage copper ship lanterns marked ‘masthead’ and ‘bow port’ should sell for £600 to £100 each in the sale.

First published at 10:36, Saturday, 09 June 2012
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk