My Golfing Valentine


This is the second of a monthly series focusing on some of the most significant and memorable artifacts in the collection of the USGA Museum. These artifacts will be featured in the new Arnold Palmer Center for Golf History, when the USGA Museum re-opens to the public in June. Read last month's submission on the Arnold Palmer portrait. Click here to go back to the main page.

By Nancy Stulack, USGA

Far Hills, N.J. - Tucked away within the walls of the USGA Library is a treasure chest of unique and entertaining ephemera pertaining to golf. Valentine’s Day cards with golf themes are only a small selection of what the library has to offer. What better way to say “I Love You” then to take your sweetie to a match.

A prominent example of an early Valentine’s Day card was “Valentine Thoughts” by Samuel F. Schmucker. A 1914 chromolithograph from his collection, Schmucker is considered the pre-eminent American postcard artist from the “Golden Age” of postcards (circa 1898 – 1915). He is best known for the “Schmucker Girl” produced by the Detroit Publishing Company, and the “Winsch Girl”, produced by John Winsch Publishing Company. He also contributed several sketches for the fashion section of the Philadelphia Daily Press. He was influenced by fashion artist Katharine Vaughn Holden in the faces of women, their postures and the use of Japanese lanterns. This influence carried over to his postcard designs.

Whether it be the United Kingdom, Europe, Asia, or the Americas, it subtly reinforces a theme that golf is a world-wide phenomenon.

 For additional information about Samuel F. Schmucker, “The Discovery of His Lost Art” by Jack Davis, Dorothy Ryan, and Durrae Johanek makes for an enlightening read.

Nancy Stulack is the USGA’s librarian. E-mail her with questions or comments at nstulack@usga.org. Click here to go back to the main page.