Mail. First half of the 17th century

Pall Mall in The Time of the Stuarts. Anonymous artist, first half of the seventeenth century.

Oblivious to his sheated sword, a country gentleman prepares to drive a wooden ball to a distant target goal, described in Cotgrave's dicionary as a 'high arch of yron'. His companion's ball lies in perfect scoring position in the middle of the mall, a few metres of the 'archet'. The simplicity of contruction an open mall would have made the game as popular and accesible in the country as its descendant, croquet.

Private Collection

Literatuur

 Golf through the ages by Michael Flannery, page 155. January 2004