1874 Cabinet Card Photograph of Margaret Drinnen, wife of Young Tom Morris, golf For Sale

A Carte de Visite albumen print by J Hardie, Photographer St Andrews. Hand written on the back, ‘OCTBR 1874 ST ANDREWS WIFE TO CHAMPION GOLFER OF SCOTLAND TOMMIE MORRIS MARGARET DRENNAN DAUGHTER OF WALTER DRENNAN AND HELEN DONALD.’Even more incredibly, the image may include Margaret wearing Tommy Morris\'s Open Championship medal on her neck! The October 1874 date would be one month before the wedding of Margaret and Young Tommy Morris.

This photograph was formerly in the collection of Morris Family biographer and historian, Peter Crabtree. Peter purchased this photograph in 2011 at sale, records included in this lot. Peter subsequently conducted substantial research to authenticate the image as Margaret, wife of Young Tom Morris, as no previous photographs of Margaret were known to exist at the time. That authentication work is also included with the lot, including photographic analysis that compares this image to two others which were in Morris family collection and are noted as of Margaret which Peter was able to source privately as reference material. This analysis was done 14 years before these images were publicly seen at sale when they were referenced as the first known images of Margaret.

While historical census and marriage records frequently list her maiden name with the alternative spelling Margaret Drinnen (or occasionally Drinnan), the physical family plot memorial in St Andrews uniquely reflects the \"Drennen\" spelling where she rests alongside her husband and stillborn child. The \"Drennan\" spelling in the note on the back of this card is strong evidence of period (pre-internet and interest in collectibles) authenticity.

In the image, Margaret Drinnen wears a short overskirt, holding a posy of flowers and round her neck suspended by a ribbon that may contain Tommy’s Open Championship Medal(see photographic analysis included in the lot).

Margaret Drinnen (surname as spelt on her birth certificate) was born in Carluke Lanarkshire in 1841 to Walter Drinnen a specialist miner. She gave birth to an illegitimate daughter in 1866, but the child died after eight weeks. Eight years later she married Tommy Morris, though how the two met is not known. In 1871 she was living in St Andrews and was employed as a housemaid. The banns had been read and the wedding was celebrated on the 25th of November 1874. It is interesting to note that the strict Presbyterian Church allowed her to wed in her home church. They had forgiven her for her illegitimate daughter, Margaret having carried out the appropriate penance.

Margaret died on giving birth to a stillborn son on September 5th, 1875. The Scotsman on September 7th reported that Tommy, playing a match at North Berwick had received a telegram saying his wife was dangerously ill. There was no train connection that would get him home quickly enough. A local Summer resident of North Berwick offered his yacht to transport Tommy across the Forth. Just as the boat pulled away; another telegram arrived saying that his wife had died. The gathered crowd could have called out to Tommy but chose not to.Tommy never recovered from the blow. He continued to play matches, but died that December.

This is the only known extant photograph cabinet card of Margaret Drinnen, wife of Tommy Morris, and thus is an important golf item and significant in the Morris family story. Due to lack of comparables, the provenance must speak for itself, and the photographic analysis comparing to the only other two purported photographs of Margaret Drinnen is as close to a \"photo match\" as would be possible for an otherwise one-of-a-kind image.

See attache detailed writeup in images for further info.