Indian Clubs

Going Gaga Over Gada

By Alice J. Hoffman

Color photos by William Abranowicz

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Left: One of a pair of commercially produced clubs later customized with this lovely floral embellishment designed to appeal to a woman.

Misconceptions about Indian clubs abound. Indian clubs are not bowling pins as some shops continue to mislabel them, nor are Indian clubs of Native American origin. In fact, Indian clubs can be traced to one of the most ancient weapons in India, the war club, or gada, a symbol of invincible physical prowess and worldly power.

Almost every god and goddess of Hindu belief is depicted holding a war club. Through the ages, the war club changed in both name and form. Eventually, its use evolved in India as a means of physical exercise.

During the nineteenth century, the British army, stationed in India, adapted Indian-club exercises as part of its own military exercise drill. In time, the clubs and the exercises were conveyed to England and found favor among civilians.

In 1861, Sim. D. Kehoe, an American fitness enthusiast and businessman, traveled to England where he observed the art of Indian-club swinging. Believing he had found the perfect exercise apparatus, he began to manufacture and sell clubs to the American public in 1862.

Societal and religious factors at work in America during the post- war period of the 1860s were instrumental in ensuring the popularity and acceptance of organized calisthenics and gymnastics, especially Indian-club exercises. The Industrial Revolu-tion changed the American workplace and lifestyle forever. Ameri-cans, in greater numbers, worked in factories and offices, lived in cities and towns, and led a more sedentary lifestyle.

A routine of physical exercise was seen as liberating and as a means of achieving and preserving good health. "Muscular Christi-anity," a religious movement established in England during the last half of the nineteenth century and embraced by many Americans, equated morality and godliness with exercise. To be a good Christian, one needed to be physically fit.

Kehoe's Indian clubs, described as "missives of Muscular Christianity," became one of the most popular forms of exercise and sport, linking spiritual health and physical vigor. Other manufacturers, including A. G. Spalding & Bros. of New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Chicopee, Massachusetts, were quick to follow Kehoe's example. American physical fitness enthusiasts, physicians, and religious leaders encouraged every man, woman, and child to incorporate Indian-club exercises into their daily routine. Fig. 1

The Indian club as an exercise apparatus is a social statement, an em-blem marking the beginning of America's physical fitness mania. Sports clubs, gymnasiums, and school curricula of the period featured Indian club exercises, exhibitions, and contests. The March-April 1895 edition of The Gymnasium, a monthly publication devoted to physical education, included advertisements for summer school programs that included Indian-club instruction.

Harvard and Vanderbilt Universities, the Chautauqua School of Physical Education in New Haven, Connecticut, and the Posse Gymnasium of Boston, Massachusetts, were among the advertisers. In 1908, W.G. Anderson, M.D., Professor of Physical Education and Director of Gymnasium at Yale University, noted in his introduction to Club Swinging for Physical Exercise and Recreation: "That the Indian club is the only piece of light apparatus adopted by the collegiate and intercollegiate gymnastic societies is an argument in its favor not to be lightly passed by." The "Indian Club Race," a competition first held in 1864, was still in use by the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education in 1927.

The clubs' function, however, was not limited to developing muscle and physical prowess. Rather, many exercises were choreographed for their visual elegance and boldness of execution. In this context, the clubs were often fancifully decorated with paint or other surface treatments.

Fig. 2. The maker's ability to combine functionalism with the qualities of sculptural vigor and artistic inventiveness in the finished product is what elevates Indian clubs to the level of folk art.

J.H. Dougherty, author of the 1892 manual Indian Clubs and Dumb Bells, noted, "there is a fascination about this exercise that grows on one with proficiency . The present generation is the first which had an opportunity of enjoying the exercise in this country. It will not, however, be the last ... the Indian Club unlike many equally modern innovations, [has] come to stay."

Little did Dougherty realize that Indian-club exercises would become the object of ridicule Fig. 3 and that their popularity as instruments of maintaining one's physical and spiritual well-being would wane by the 1930s, or that Indian clubs would become valued and sought after as folk art objects in the 1990s. Today, Indian clubs are prized by collectors for their sculptural simplicity, artistic strength, and inventive, expressive character.

How does one go about collecting Indian clubs? The first challenge is to become as knowledgeable as possible about the history and production of these objects. Next, forming a collection according to specific guidelines – shape, size, weight, manufacturer, and surface treatment – will allow a collector to establish authenticity, quality of design, and proper attribution, essential criteria in the evaluation of all folk art.

Manufactured Indian clubs were turned on a lathe and produced in matching pairs. Clubs manufactured in the United States have flat bases and can stand independently. English clubs were often rounded on the base, necessitating a rack for storage. Storage and safety concerns in gymnasiums led to the use of racks in the United States as well.

Makers individualized their Indian clubs by varying the clubs' shapes. This led to the creation of clubs with elongated necks, fanciful turnings, and "plump" clubs with wide bases.

Clubs vary in size and weight as well. Many advocates of the sport differentiated between "long clubs" and "short clubs." Athletes of varying strength and ability used clubs of different weights. The desired weight of a club was usually a function of the type of wood used in its manufacture.

Often a club's weight was stamped into the wood. Some clubs were intentionally made light and purposefully mislabeled to read 10 or even 100 pounds. These clubs were used for demonstration purposes by salesmen and instructors, by circus performers, or by unscrupulous showmen trying to dupe the public into thinking them stronger than they were.

An artist's signature or a firm attribution to a maker increases the value of an object. Commercially manufactured Indian clubs usually bore the label of the maker. Fig. 4 These labels were either stamped into the wood or applied as decals. For a list of known makers see page 27 of Indian Clubs.

Manufactured clubs as well as handmade clubs were often embellished by their owners. Kits available from manufacturers allowed owners to decorate clubs to their own taste. Handmade clubs were often irregular in form and surface. Clubs were often painted with images of flowers, scenes, or decorative elements adapted from popular print sources of the period. Period photographs, advertisements, and manuals attest to the diversity and ingenuity of decorated Indian clubs.

As with furniture of the period, clubs were often painted with faux grains to simulate more expensive woods. Other clubs were made of inlaid woods, creating intrinsic patterns.

Signs of age and wear are desirable, as long as they do not detract from a club's overall appearance, because they are evidence of use and help to recall that the club's original purpose was not ornamental. A painted surface will acquire a patina, a look of age. However, if a piece is being added to a collection for its rarity or historical significance, surface condition may be less important.

A.G. Spalding & Bros. Co. was retailing a pair of half-pound maple Indian clubs for 60 cents and a two-pound pair for $1 in 1910! Today, a pair of plain Indian clubs with no other distinguishing feature can still be bought for less than sixty dollars. Clubs that exhibit good design, paint, shape, size, weight, or wood grain, sell for hundreds of dollars. Unique clubs, such as those with their own carrying case, are valued in the thousands of dollars. Fig. 5

Where can you find Indian clubs? As noted above, during the late nineteenth century, it was said that "no home or gymnasium is properly furnished or complete without at least a pair [of Indian clubs]." As a result, Indian clubs appear for sale throughout the United States.

Most collectors find that antique shows, flea markets, and antique dealers are the best sources. Occasionally, Indian clubs have been featured in country and city auctions, including Sotheby's in New York City.

Collectors interested in the historical attributions of Indian clubs will have many opportunities to in-clude ephemera and other period artifices in their collections. Championship medals, ribbons, and trophies were awarded to athletes who excelled in Indian club exercises. Advertise-ments, catalogues, and manuals illustrating typical exercises can be found dating back to the 1860s.

Salesmen's samples included full- size but hollow clubs as well as miniatures. Other collectibles include jewelry, trade cards, posters, lithographs, certificates, and photographs. Such items are considered treasured finds. Fig. 6

Gerard C. Wertkin, Director of the Museum of American Folk Art, notes in the forward to Indian Clubs, "[Alice] has recovered an all but forgotten subchapter in the history of American sport and, at the same time, helped us appreciate another aspect of American artistic creativity."

According to Nora Campbell, rhythmic program director of USA Gymnastics in Indianapolis, and coach for the U.S. Olympic team, "All the current weights in the gym now are just other forms (of Indian clubs). What goes around comes around."

Indian club collecting is in its infancy. What a wonderful opportunity for a collector – new discoveries are still possible, prices are reasonable, and most exciting of all, there exists the chance to create a remarkable singular collection. Who knows, 1998 may even result in the return of Indian Club exercise "mania."

Fig. 7 A year has passed since the author's Indian Clubs was first published by Harry N. Abrams. During this period, in addition to hearing from those who still employ or recall this method of physical exercise, she has met and corresponded with collectors who share her passion for this new "exercise" in folk art collecting. She looks forward to hearing from and meeting more of you in the years to come.