Posted By:
Butch & Co.Apologies for not following up more promptly on the news of the discovery of another example of Zimmer's Base Ball Game. We received photos from one of the owners, who asked us to post them on our own website. Indeed we have those posted there ("had" them posted, by the time most of you read this), and were just about to post a couple of those shots in this thread as well when the ownership contacted us again and asked us to remove them, thinking their presence might undermine the REA auction of Murphy's Zimmer's.
Very well, that will be done momentarily. We can say, however (and feel at some liberty to say, since the pics were already viewable for a couple of days), that the Missouri Zimmer's is, in our opinion, definitely on a par with Murphy's in terms of overall condition. The Missouri example -- glossy finish to the gameboard, no stains nor any apparent wear whatsoever but for a tiny bit of paper loss near the bat -- has an intact bat and features both (what appear to be original) wooden balls, as well as a few extra bits which may or not belong to the game. The most significant flaw is with the pitcher-plunger device, which is missing the pull-back dowel that propels the ball but could easily be replaced (the rest of the mechanism is present and functioning).
We're told that the institution's board of directors has made no decision as to whether or not to sell the game, in the near future or ever, considering it may be better kept as an attraction and central feature among its other antique games and furnishings.
Baseball Games
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/baseballgames/