Historical Hockey and Sports Memorabilia Auction September 2024
When contemplating the origins of our national sport and the world's fastest game, surviving relics originating from the genesis of ice hockey are seldom if ever found - especially paramount specimens that could precede the establishment and popularity of the game itself. Classic Auctions is honoured to offer to the collecting community the chance to own history itself, with this pair of extensively researched antique sticks dating to the 1800s and possibly serving as two of the oldest and most important hockey sticks in existence. This description will be broken down into sections regarding dimensions/details, provenance, radio carbon dating, wood specimen analysis, oxygen isotopic/strontium isotopic analysis and conclusion.
1) Dimensions/details. Differing in design, one stick has a curved underside blade similar in appearance to what we currently ascribe to ice polo; a game that used a metal ball with origins in the northern United States in the 1870s/80s. This sport featured players that would swing the stick in a full circle with one hand to make contact with the ball, similar to regular polo, hence the name. 45" in total length including the blade, there is a small 4" aluminum plate that has been affixed by a pair of nails to the upper shaft with "Stewart Jones" in raised letters (the Jones family will be discussed in greater detail in the provenance section of the description). While we have compared it to an ice polo stick, it is very possible even likely that earlier hockey sticks used this design, and sticks for the game of ice polo borrowed this design, while hockey sticks later evolved from this form into what we now regard as the common hockey stick shape. Regarding condition; the stick sports a slight bend to the shaft, and it exhibits thorough use including marks to the blade, wear to the underside and additional surface wear to the finish along edges of the shaft and at the top of the knob. There is also an "X" carved into the upper shaft, with this believed to have been done for identification purposes. This stick will be referred to as the "Polo" stick for the purpose of differentiating between the two, while the other stick will be referred to as the "Hockey" stick. The stick has an average weight and size in comparison to other polo sticks from the circa 1870s to 1890s time frame that we have sold previously. Next, the hockey stick is 49" in total length including the blade and is heavy for it's size, and it features the correct shape, cut and dimensions one would see with a typical late-1800s to early-1900s stick, minus the tapering usually found that occurs from the top of the blade as you descend to the bottom (during the early-1900s and closer to circa 1910, this reversed, with the tapering found as you ascended the blade - with the underside thicker than the top edge of the blade). The thickness of the blade remains consistent on the offered example, with this important to note as this style sporting a lack of tapering gives hint to earlier construction, when the hockey stick was in it's infancy stage. There is a finish that appears to be shellac to the shaft, with a name handwritten to the blade that is heavily faded/worn and not decipherable. The stick shows heavy use including dings and small gouges to the left side of the blade, and as approx 70% of Canadians shoot left-handed (research shows this has been the case for as long as hockey sticks have been retailed), this is exactly the wear one would expect to find on a well used stick. There is also "rubbing" to the underside of the blade which now sports a smooth surface, and wear to the finish on the shaft in areas including along edges.
2) Provenance. According to our consignors, the sticks were owned by the Schantz-Jones family, with the patriarch Johannes Schantz (anglicized to Charles Jones) born in Gondelsheim, Baden, Germany in 1721. He and his family sailed to the United States on the ship “Lydia” in 1749, as their names are listed on the passenger manifest under Capt. John Randolph of Rotterdam. Arriving in Philadelphia on October 9th, 1749, the Schantz-Jones family and others shortly after moved on to Germantown in Pennsylvania. Given land by the Benjamin Franklin / George Washington Land Development Company to develop in the area that would become Moncton, New Brunswick, the family and others traveled on a ship under Captain Nathaniel Shiverick in 1766 named the "Lovey". As was common during the era, the ship would have been disassembled upon arrival, with the wood needed for repurposing. It is believed that the wood for the "Hockey" stick possibly originated from this supply - as the research shows the wood to be from this era, as well as the fact that the Jones were ship builders in Moncton, and would have possessed the ability to steam bend wood; with the grain pattern on the wood showing evidence of having been shaped by this manner as the research shows (the fully detailed research regarding the provenance will accompany the sticks). As for "Stewart Jones" - the name on the aluminum plate affixed to the polo stick - our consignor mentions in his detailed research that he was the last owner of the sticks, born in 1900 and passing in 1980, and that the family patriarch Johannes Schantz was his great, great, great, great grandfather.
3) Radio Carbon Dating. Based on Radiocarbon dating completed by University of California, Irvine, the wood of the "Hockey" stick has an 80.3% chance of the date being before 1812, with a 50.5% chance of 1728–1785 - with Median Probability of 1764. The wood of the "Polo" stick has an 86.3% chance of the date being before 1898, with 58.7% chance of 1809–1898 - with Median Probability of 1839. The small metal plate affixed to the "Polo" stick with "Stewart Jones" was analyzed by Associate Professor and PhD Christa Brosseau of the Department of Chemistry at Saint Mary’s University, and she concluded that "The plaque is made of aluminum, and is of very high purity. In addition, the carbon content is high. As such, the plaque represents a cast-aluminum, not available until the late 1800’s, at the earliest. Hence, the plaque in this case is likely more recent than the nails, the nails being post 1840’s".
4) Wood Specimen Analysis. The identification report regarding the wood specimen was performed by Dendrochronologist Dr. Adam Czank, and he concluded that the "Polo" stick is made of Elm wood from the Soft Elm group, most likely Red Elm. The "Hockey" stick is made from Maple wood from the Hard Maple group, most likely Sugar Maple. It should be noted that according to the research done, a 2011 article is sighted that mentions that in 1887 E.B. Salyard made sticks in Ontario using Elm that were shaped using the steam bent process. Additionally, the stick known as "The World's Oldest Hockey Stick" located at the Canadian Museum of History was made using Sugar Maple.
5) Oxygen Isotopic/Strontium Isotopic Analysis. According to the research done, "The stable oxygen isotope values we found for these two samples are indicative of values that would place the origin of these samples in Northeastern North America. By using the mechanistic model of Roden et al. (2000) I can convert these cellulose isotope values into probable water values. When this is done the precipitation values fall between – 9 and -14 ‰. If we look at the map in figure 1 these values would place them away from the coast or further north (i.e. NS or NB)" Additionally, "Based on the isotopic analysis I would conclude that the two samples likely came from the Great Lakes region, more specifically Ontario or upstate New York".
6) Conclusion. While the wood for both sticks dates to a period that precedes the commonly accepted dates of hockey's origin, the sport - or a similar form of it - did conclusively evolve over a much longer period, including the time frame of the wood's radio carbon dating (19th century paintings showing a form of the sport being played will be included in the more detailed accompanying documents). As such, and when accepting the possibility of the wood being used at a later period to actually construct the sticks in their current form, they were both most likely used at some point in the second half of the 19th century, with none of the evidence ruling out an even earlier date of use during the first half of the 19th century. Regardless, these extremely rare museum-quality specimens serve as two of the oldest hockey sticks in existence, and are deserving of recognition as two of the greatest items of hockey memorabilia extant.
*** More detailed documents containing all the research partaken on the sticks will accompany.
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