The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Vintage posters inviting keen golfers to Gleneagles likely to fetch £10,000
AUCTION: Ite-s to eo sibel ha--el gi Ne Iolk
A pair of century-old travel posters encouraging visitors to play golf on the King’s Course at Gleneagles is expected to fetch £10,000 at auction in America.
The posters were issued by the Caledonian Railway Company around 1920 – just one year after the world famous Perthshire course opened and four years before the luxury hotel.
One stunning landscape depicts golfers on the 15th hole “Howe O’ Hope” against the backdrop of the Perthshire hills.
The other, from the same series, shows golfers tackling the ninth hole “Heich O’ Fash”, or Hill of Trouble.
The posters, which may have been taken down as souvenirs nearly 100 years ago, will be among the highlights of Swann Auction Galleries’ Vintage Poster Sale in New York on March 1.
Nicholas D Lowry, posters specialist at Swann Auction Galleries, said: “Golf posters are highly sought after by collectors.
“The more prominent the golf course and the better the image, the more valuable the poster becomes.
“Golfers who have played at the course will be interested.”
Donald Matheson, general manager of the Caledonian Railway Company, first had the idea for Gleneagles in 1910 after falling in love with the Perthshire countryside while on holiday in Strathearn.
The James Braid-designed King’s Course first opened to the public in 1919.
A masterpiece of golf course design, five-time Open winner Braid wanted to test even the best players’ shot-making skills over the 18 holes.
In 1921, the venue hosted the first official international match between a team of US and British professionals, widely regarded as the precursor to the Ryder Cup.
Celebrities including the late Bing Crosby, Sir Sean Connery and Sir Jackie Stewart have since graced the fairways.
When the Gleneagles Hotel opened in 1924 it was described as “a Riviera in the Highlands” and the “eighth wonder of the world”. The Gleneagles posters are thought to date from around 1920. They both predate 1923 as the Caledonian Railway ceased to exist that year, as it was absorbed by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS).