OT > The things that get us to say “What the ?”
 

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I was enjoyably gazing (from back-to-front) through the latest Hunt Live auction catalogue (Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory Auction, Saturday November 12th, 2011) when I came upon the two beautiful chairs offered as lots #280 and #281. Both chairs are early 1900’s/1910’s mission-style, with wood headrests carved with a baseball game scene. And as I studied the carved headrests, it occurred to me that part of the carving was oddly familiar. While not exact (especially the stadium structure background), there are similarities between the umpire/catcher/batter combination in head rest carving, to lot #399 in the same auction (Honus Wagner signed publication photo). It is unfortunate that the lot descriptions for the chairs dos not list a manufacturing origin, but perhaps it’s not a stretch in knowing that Pennsylvania was (is) a source of fine furniture making. And given the Pittsburgh team’s success during the first decade of the 1900’s, perhaps Wagner and team might have served as an appropriate model for the artistic headrests.

If you go back to last years L/S auction at Hunt, you will see the complete office set, search under, mission oak