Help to Id Spalding Guide

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Posted By: Jason Mishelow

I tried to post for this item on the old board but that was before I could scan in pictures.
The guide is not from 1876 as the cover states, nor is it a reprint intended to fool anyone,
there are referecnes to the 1900 and 1904 worlds fairs in the ads and the equipment is not 1870, the gloves look early 1900's to me. Any ideas

Thank You Jason

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Posted By: barrysloate

That's a puzzler. I pulled out my 1876 reprint and it does look different. It's clearly a 20th century creation, and the question is did Spalding reprint the original rules of the National League, and if so for what reason? Perhaps to commemorate some event, or maybe for a special occasion like a world's fair or convention. This is a new one to me. I'll check my Grobani and see if there is any reference.

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Posted By: barrysloate

I found no mention of it in Grobani. I'll guess that Spalding had some special reason for republishing the first National League guide, but I don't know what it would be.

P.S. -your picture is too big!

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Posted By: Max Weder

My guess is that it would have been published in 1926 on the 50th anniversary of the National League.

Max

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Posted By: ramram

How is it bound? With a staple?

Rob M.

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Posted By: Jason Mishelow

It is bound with two staples which are rusty and have atleast a bit of age to them

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Posted By: barrysloate

A 50th anniversary reprint in 1926 is certainly plausible.

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Posted By: Jason Mishelow

Does anyone have a 26 guide? If I recall spalding was very good about listing in the front pages of the guides just about every publication that they had for sale- if this is a 1926 reprint I have to belive that they would list it in the 26 guide

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Posted By: barrysloate

I just pulled out my 1926 Guide and there was no mention of a reprinted 1876 book, but in the back they paid tribute to the Golden Jubilee of the National League. As Max suggested, that was as good a reason as any to reprint it.

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

My guess is that this was issued somewhere around 1904 considering the ad for the gloves. They weren't making gloves with the crescent pad in 1926.

As for the reason for putting in the 1876 rules??? Who knows?

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Posted By: Joseph

The equipment and prices are circa 1905-10. The 1906 guide has the exact same pages of ads for the first basemen's mitts, the featherweight shoes and the $1.25 ball. The $1.50 ball ad is earlier (the price went down!)--that is to say, part of the commemorative issue.

I doubt it's a 1926 reprint UNLESS there's other ads showing prices through the years. Otherwise, if all the other ads have 1906ish prices, I'd say that's about when it would have been printed

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Posted By: barrysloate

The Mills Commission was in 1905, and since Spalding spearheaded it, maybe he decided to reprint the 1876 rules. Not that that's a logical connection, but I'm looking for an event ca. 1905.

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Posted By: Jason Mishelow

Based on the info that the ads seem from the 1905-10 era I took a glance and looked to see where the wordls fair was in 1908 and found that it was in London- maybe the guide was printed for that fair and the rules were reprinted for the English audience- I noticed that on the ads they list there being Spalding stores in London. Any thoughts

Thanks again for the all of the information

Jason

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Posted By: ramram

Any of you with an original early 1900's Spalding Guide have staples in the binding?

Rob M.