Historical Golf Painting On Display At Wonder Works In Freshfields Village During PGA
August 6, 2012
The painting illustrates the first shipment of golf clubs arriving in Charleston, known as the birthplace of golf in America
CHARLESTON, SC – August 6, 2012 – Christine Osborne, owner of Wonder Works in Mt. Pleasant, West Ashley, downtown Charleston and on Kiawah Island, S.C., announced that the Wonder Works store in Freshfields Village Shopping Center at 574 Freshfields Drive in Johns Island will display the historical painting by Charleston artist, Carol Ezell titled “The First Shipment of Clubs to America” from Monday, August 6, 2012 to Sunday, August 12, 2012.
The painting depicts the first shipment of golf clubs arriving in Charleston, South Carolina in the year 1743, making the Holy City the birthplace of golf in America. This is the first time in five years that the painting will be available for a public viewing. Along with the original painting displayed for viewing, prints will be exclusively sold at Wonder Works in Freshfields Village for $34.99 during the week of the PGA Championship. A portion of these proceeds will benefit Blessings for Becky, a fund created in honor of the late Wonder Worker Becky Moran who recently passed away of colon cancer. This fund helps offset the family’s inherited medical expenses and increases awareness of colon cancer.
Osborne said, “We are absolutely honored to have this historical painting on display in our Freshfields store during the PGA. Charleston is full of such wonderful history, and this painting is just one representation of the amazing city that we live in.”
Many Scotsmen and Englishmen brought their passion for golf with them when they crossed the Atlantic Ocean hundreds of years ago. In 1743, David Deas of Charleston received a shipment of 96 golf clubs and 432 feather balls from his brother in Leith, Scotland. The Deas family came from Leith, Scotland, where the game of golf originated, and were devoted advocates for the game.
In the painting, on the side of the box where the clubs were shipped it reads, “Shipped in good order by William Course in and upon the good ship called the Magdalen departing from the Port of Leith and bound for the Port of Charleston, South Carolina Eight dozen golf clubs, Three gross golf balls to be delivered in the like good order (the Danger of the Seas only excepted) unto David Deas Dated 10 May 1743.”
With this large shipment of golf equipment to Charleston over 269 years ago, Deas is recognized for founding the first Golf Club in America. America’s first golf club dates back to 1786 where it was mentioned in the South Carolina Gazette newspaper as the South Carolina Golf Club in Charleston, S.C. The group would meet periodically at Harleston’s Green, a public park that is now in the area between Calhoun and Bull streets in downtown Charleston.
The original painting was commissioned from the artist for the 1990 Golf Expo held in Charleston. It was purchased in 1998 by Dennis Fassuliotis and is now in a private collection. The original is occasionally displayed in various golf club houses and special events. It was last seen as the centerpiece in the College of Charleston’s Special Collection Exhibit on Charleston Golf at the Addlestone Library in April 2007, when Kiawah Island Resort hosted the Senior PGA Championship. The display at Wonder Works during the 2012 PGA Championship is the first public viewing since then.
For more information about the painting or obtaining addition prints, contact Dennis Fassuliotis at (843) 270-1016 or by email at [email protected].
For more information about the display at. Wonder Works visit www.wonderworkscharleston.com and www.facebook.com/WonderWorksToys
About Wonder Works
Wonder Works was founded in Mt. Pleasant, S.C. in 1990 and currently operates four stores in the Charleston Tri-county area. The popular retail stores feature thousands of ‘wonderfuntastical’ specialized toys, gadgets, gifts and books for all ages of imagination. The company supports many worthwhile organizations and non-profits and is a proud member of Lowcountry Local First. Wonder Works was named one of the “South’s Best Toy Stores” by Southern Living Magazine and was voted the “Best Local Toy Store” by Charleston City Paper staff in 2011 and “Best Toy Store” in 2012 by Charleston City Paper readers. Wonder Works stores are located in Belle Hall Shopping Center in Mount Pleasant, S.C.; Savannah Highway in West Ashley, S.C.; The Great Hall at City Market in downtown Charleston, S.C.; and a new fourth location in Freshfields Village at the crossroads of Kiawah, Seabrook, and Johns Islands. For more information, visit www.wonderworkscharleston.com
