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19th Century Baseball
5 Lots
 Lot 14. 1870 International Baseball Photo with a Prominent NY Politician + 15 CDVs! Early international baseball meets New York Tammany Hall politics in this sepia cabinet photo, graded Authentic by SGC. It is one of the earliest baseball cabinets, and quite possibly the earliest of a U.S. team taken overseas. The 4” x 5 ½” photo on a 4” x 6” mount pictures 19 members of the Lincoln Baseball Club, apparently of New York. Several players hold bats, and two U.S. flags are in the background. Nm photo on an ex mount One player is Clarence Lexow, a New York State Senator 1894-98. In 1894, Lexow headed the legislative committee that revealed corruption among Tammany Hall political leaders . He also boosted Teddy Roosevelt’s political career by getting him appointed head of the Police Commission responsible for cleaning up the New York City Police Department. The baseball photo, which came from Lexow’s estate, was taken in Bonn, Germany, in June 1870 by W. Hess. Most players are identified on the back of the cabinet mount. They apparently played baseball either while attending or visiting the Kortegarn Institute in Bonn. Dr. Arthur Kortegarn, one of Germany’s leading educators, was headmaster of the school. Accompanying the team photo are 15 CDVs, most of players in the photo, including six of Lexow. SGC has slabbed all 15 as Authentic. The others are Lexow’s younger brother Allen (2), Harrie Owen (2), John Mason Knox Jr., C. Gordon Knox, Henry Hutton, Alfred Soote (?) and an individual whose last name is Gordon. These CDVs feature strong photos that are generally free of any significant problems. There are four other CDVs, also SGC-Authentic: Crown Prince Frederick William of Prussia (Wilhelm I), who reportedly watched the U.S. team play, apparently Dr. Kortegarn, an unidentified man, and a woman identified on the back as the “Daughter of the Lincoln Base Ball Club.” She is an older woman who apparently accompanied the boys. Ten of the CDVs were produced in Germany, five in Brooklyn, and four are blank-backed. This is a remarkable collection of 20 high-quality 19th century photos. Impressive, historically exciting collection!
Winning Bid $300.
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 Lot 15. Rare, Uncataloged 19th Century Stiner & Co. Coffee “First Baseman” Card. “First Basewoman” might be more accurate and politically correct for the 21st century. The 2 7/16” x 3 7/16” sepia card has a photo of a bare-handed woman player on the front and, on the back, a list of New York City stores selling Stiner “Pure Teas and Coffees.” The copy on the back also promotes baseball: “All lovers of out-door sports find Baseball foremost in supplying them with amusement.” The card has a small chip out of the top border, a ¼” edge tear, one heavy crease and several lighter, and stains that do not affect the player’s image. P-f.
Winning Bid $240.
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 Lot 16. Harper’s Weekly 1878 “Baseball at Blackville” Woodcut Print + Two Trade Cards. The 9 ¼” x 13 ¾” woodcut on a full Harper’s page depicts humorous game action involving black players for the “Black Legs” and the “White Stockings.” The print itself is ex-m. The surrounding page from the July 27, 1878 Harper’s has some creases and is taped in two places along the edge to artboard; removing the tape would not affect the image. The same artwork is used in color for two trade cards. One, about 3 ¼” x 4 5/8”, has a small punch hole at the top and promotes Clarence Brooks & Co. varnishes. It has a very slightly irregular bottom border and apparently was part of something larger; .0vg-ex as trimmed. The other card has been trimmed to about 2 ¾” x 4 5/8”, and all of the pertinent artwork is present; p-f with a scuff in the upper left and a tear along the right border.
Winning Bid $125.
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 Lot 17. 1888 Pittsburgh Alleghenies Scorecard with Billy Sunday and Pud Galvin. Actually, only the front half of “The Blue Score Card” is present, and it contains Pittsburgh’s pre-printed lineup: Sunday, Carroll, Maul, Dunlap, Fields, Dalrymple, Kuehne, Smith and Galvin. The Alleghenies were one of eight teams in the National League, and pencil notes on the scorecard indicate that Philadelphia was the opponent. The scorecard is neatly and partially scored in pencil. There is writing in pen and pencil on the cover. Uncommon relic from the early days of Pittsburgh and Pirates baseball.
Winning Bid $125.
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 Lot 18. Rare Sporting Life Scorecard for an 1893 Yale-Harvard Game at the Polo Grounds. The color covers of this magnificent scorecard, which carries an 1889 copyright, present images representing baseball, riding, track, bicycling, hunting and fishing. Inside, it has the pre-printed lineups for the two schools and is neatly scored in pencil for a game played July 1, 1893. According to the scoring, Harvard won, 7-4. At least one participant subsequently played in the majors. Yale shortstop William “Yale” Murphy was a utility player for the New York Giants 1894-95 and in 1897. The scorecard is folded slightly off center and has a few light creases and a small chip in the lower right corner. You’ll do a lot of searching to find a finer example of a 19th century scorecard!
Winning Bid $220.
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