Congtrats...
 

Here's a few more.
 

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Thanks Carlton,

Nothing in comparison to your collections. You guys are the masters!

1860's-1870's bats
 

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1867 Cincinnati Red Stockings Union Grounds Trophy Bat
 

This is a Lignum Vitae trophy bat presented to George Ellard of the Cincinnati Red Stockings for most clean home runs hit in The Grand Tournament of 1867. G. Ellard was one of the founders of the Red Stockings. The bat is 32 inches long and 40 ounces.


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Just jaw-dropping....

I know this is a Bat thread... but simply must acknowledge some of those other insanely rare gems like the fingerless and tipped-finger gloves, pillbox cap, boater style cap, bead-weld mask, Testi Catcher, Lemon Peel and Trophy Balls, and inflatable chest protector (just for a start!)

As a Reds fan, I'm also drooling over the Pennant ensemble. I was the under-bidder many years ago... in an early Mastro Auction if I recall.

Lastly... is that Ted Klu Jersey an actual Gamer? Wow!

Mutual admiration!
 

Mark,

I have enjoyed your collection and Gary's and of course my good friend Carlton's for many years. That's why I call you guys the masters. That's very nice of you to say. I hope we can visit some day soon!

Unbelievable collection! I've seen the image of the black catcher before. That is one of the best baseball images that exists in my opinion. It is riveting.

Thank you John!

One more question...

Is the Catcher statue a depiction of Buck Ewing? It sure resembles him, and I believe it originally appeared on a gorgeous and ornate 19th century clock. The clock is pictured below, as taken from Carlton's website (of course...)

I have the other figural statue (left of the clock), which I believe is a depiction of John M. Ward. Stunning antique artifacts!

Ewing
 

Yeah...it came out of the Hapler sale. I could only afford a piece of the clock. :)

Well, it's definitely the best portion, FWIW :rolleyes:

Javan Emory
 

Gary,
That's Javan Emory. He was an amazing African American ball player. Paul R can give you the story the next time the two of you speak. He is the expert on Javan. That image came off of a glass plate negative. It's museum quality. It's very impressive in person. Please get my number from Paul or Carlton. I'd would be honored to speak with you some time.

Searle's patent bat
 

I have found a reference of this twine grip bat as early as 1868 in Peck and Snyder.
The name Searle's is as plain as day in person. I can't seem to pick it up on my cheap camera!

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Other side of the bat rack
 

A couple more Spalding bats

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Wow!! unbelievable collection...I know this is a bat thread but can we see more of your collection lol?

The catcher statue right side in the back if that's the one you're talking about was done by P. Testi in 1910 also did the batter and also the pitcher. I have the original batter from 1910 which is in pristine condition. unfortunately for some reason I can't seem to upload my pictures

Difficult to comprehend
 

John, have always known you had a stunning collection but just super stuff, glad you posted.
My favorite, as I think you might have guessed, is the Ellard bat. Such an amazing bridge to the 1869 team, but also to one of the great early histories of baseball, written by his son, but based upon the records and collection of material he saved. Wow!
What is also cool is how many different items, the great collectors on here have noted as their favorites. The essence of collecting.
Thanks again for sharing.

Collection
 

Ron,
I've put enough enough of my junk up on this thread. I do not want to monopolize it.
If you are ever in Cincinnati I'll be happy to show you my stuff and also show you some of my friends collections. There are some awesome collections in the Tri-State area. There is a great deal of baseball, football and basketball history to draw from around here.

Ewing catcher figure
 

Hey Kevin,

We were discussing the smaller catcher to the left of the photo. I really like the Testi statues as well. I have been fortunate enough to acquire the set, (batter, pitcher and catcher), over the years. I'm not sure if you have seen Carlton's website, sportsantiques.com. He is the guru of figural statues. He has pretty much any example to reference on his website. He has been a mentor to me in that regard. He also helped me use ImageShack to upload my photo's on net54. He's a scholar and a gentleman!

Ellard Trophy Bat
 

Thank You Bruce!

I knew that bat would grab your attention being the Red Stockings expert and George and Harry Wright expert that you are. You have been a good friend and mentor to me over the years. I know that you could tell the forum about the Grand Match at Union Grounds in Cincinnati where that trophy bat was presented match better than I ever could.

To me this has been a most enjoyable and informative thread. Thanks to all the posters for sharing their knowledge and fabulous collections. Unfortunately I don't have any 19th century bats to share at this time but, as some of you are aware, I also make replica 19th century bats. These bats are my interpretation and have been inspired by many of the vintage bats posted in this thread. The top bat in the first picture is 39” in length and made of cherry with 2 silver badges. The 2nd and 3rd bats are made of willow and finished with a highly polished lacquer finish. The 4th bat is made of “Tiger Flame” birch and was inspired by an 1860's presentation bat that John has posted in this thread. The miniature bat at the bottom is made of black walnut obtained from the Gibson Guitar Co. In the second picture the top 2 bats are made from the “Tiger Flame” birch and the 3rd bat is made from ash with a leather grip. At times, like now, when you don't have the real thing, I can enjoy these tributes hanging on my wall plus they were a lot of fun to make.

Oh yes I did not see that that is an awesome statue of him just the stuff on here is unbelievable

Bill- Your bats are beautiful works of art. I think they are outstanding.

Great, great items everyone. My favorite is that super rare white band Spalding.

Love the replica cherry bat Bill. Well done.

Works of art!
 

Bill,
Those bats are amazing works of art! I wonder how long it takes just to make one bat. They look extremely labor intensive. How did you learn your craft? I'm sure there were a few splinters along the way!
Let me know when I can have one commissioned!
Thanks for sharing!

Those are all indeed beautiful, Bill... Incredible craftmanship!

Interesting that you obtained some black walnut from the Gibson Guitar Company. Did you have a contact person there? It would never have occurred to me, to source wood from a place like that. But I guess that's what makes you the Bat Guru!

Thanks Gary, Bruce, John and Mark for the kind comments on my replica bats. They are all hand turned from three inch billets. I learned how to use a lathe from a very gracious mentor and, as John says, a lot of splinters along the way. It takes anywhere from about 4hrs to 6hrs depending on the model. Not sure on the willow bats. Willow is soft and hard to work with. The finish on them is about 12 coats of clear lacquer that is hand rubbed with a 9 step sanding process after each third coat.
John, to your question about availability. I do make them for resale, just don't be in a hurry. I only have a couple of the Tiger Flame birch and a couple of the willow billets left and not sure of current availability. After searching the internet for about 8 years I finally found a local mill that could supply me with willow. It took 13 months to get 12 billets and I had to buy the whole tree. Mark, to your question concerning the black walnut mini bat. I traded a ton of low end, flee market type stuff to a former employee of Gibson Guitar for enough black walnut and mahogany to make about 450 mini bats. He said the wood is cut offs and rejects for the guitar necks.

Put me on your list Bill!
 

Hey Bill,
Can you make me a bat with some of your willow to match Gary's beechwood Spalding bat? I don't think any of us will ever see another bat like that again!
I would be honored to have the Rayburn logo on my bat!

John...I can do that. Let me get with Gary on a couple of details and will get back with you. THANKS !!!

Wow- wonderful collection! One of the best I’ve ever seen! I agree with what everyone said , so no need to see more .

As for a Rayburn bat , everyone should own one . Bill is as modest as they come , the bats are absolutely amazing works of art . He’s an absolute perfectionist.. and amazingly reasonable for the amount of time and effort that goes into each bat .

Great stuff everyone - glad to see some excitement on the memorabilia side
Matt

Saw this cool c.1870s cabinet on ebay and, in addition to the cool pants, belts, and awesome shoes...noticed the bats. The resolution from the ebay pics isn't quite good enough to definitively id the bats as wrapped handles vs. painted, but they sure look very similar to the styles of these bats in our collection.

Quarantining and social distancing sure does lead to WAY more photographic scouring that I would have imagined!

www.dugouttreasures.com

1867 Trophy Bat
 

This bat was awarded to the Tri-Mountain Base Ball Club of Boston for winning the 1867 New England Base Ball championship. It is pictured in the sheet music, The Base Ball Quadrille, which was dedicated to the Tri-Mountain team. The bat was also described in period newspaper reports about the tournament, as well as old books on baseball history in New England. The provenance of the item is that it was sold by the estate of the caregiver of the owner of the Tri-Mountain Base Ball Club. He gave it to her before he died, and it remained in her possession until she passed in the latter part of the 20th century, when her estate consigned it to a prominent New England auction house. The bat is multi-toned being made from a variety of historic American woods. It is housed in a custom-made period wood box. Each wood used to make the bat is identified by a silver mount affixed to the bat, along with a mount showing the scores of the games the Tri-Mountains won. The woods are identified to come from the (i) battleships Kearsarge and Alabama (two of the last wooden naval ships, deployed in the early days of the Civil War before the first use, later in the war, of steel battleships),(ii) historic Elm tree at Boston Common, (iii) tree under which Lee surrounded to Grant on April 9, 1865 at Appomattox to formally end the Civil War, and (iv) Lincoln's cabin.

Corey, obviously a great bat. I believe that elm tree on the Commons was also the location where a number of very early games were played before other fields took over.

Hey Corey,

that bat is absolutely breathtaking. I've been enamored with it since seeing your collection in Smithsonian Baseball. When considering it's condition, historical importance, construction, and overall aesthetics... it is arguably the greatest piece of 19th century baseball memorabilia in existence.

Thank you Brent. I've always enjoyed collecting baseball items that cross over into other areas of collecting, which this bat well symbolizes.

Absolutely! thanks for including that most astounding bat in this already astounding survey of 19th century bats.

That is an amazing work of art, Corey. It's as good as it gets.
I must add that you are looking a little mysterious in your scan.

Wow, incredible bat!

Rayburn replica
 

Thanks to this thread, especially Matt’s comment that everyone should own a Rayburn bat, and John announcing he was ordering one, I am now the fortunate owner of one Bill’s bats. It is a 39 inch willow bat, wrapped in leather, with a lacquer finish. The “CBBC” stand for the Cincinnati Base Ball Club. It is such a work of art my wife is allowing me to have it in our living room.
I hope this jump starts this thread again, sorry it is not vintage, but it does fit the topic.
Thank you Bill.

Bruce, thanks for the kind words. I get a lot of personal satisfaction out of making these bats but the real pleasure is making new friends such as yourself. Thanks again and I am glad you like it.

This post is for "Jimmie" that sent me an email. I'm sorry. I erroneously deleted your message and don't know your ID. Please resend if you read this.

19th century
 

Great thread--great bats! Here is a King of the Field mini bat that I believe dates to the turn of the century. The address of Hillerich and Son listed here was used only until 1901 according to the H and B historian. Think it would be considered a salesman sample bat. Would be interested in any other opinions/comments. I have seen a full size one sell before at auction exactly like this but never a mini. Thanks.

1866 Rosewood trophy bat. 41". Images aren't the best, but you get the idea.

Gary, you are on another hot streak. I like that one better than the willow.

Thanks, Bruce. I've had this one for a few years thanks to a board member.

Gary, absolutely beautiful bat. Do you have any history associated with it?

I do, Bill. The bat originates from a member of the Cumberland Base Ball Club of Nashville TN and was awarded in 1866 per my documentation. I have a copy of an image of the team passed down through the generations of the family.

That's great Gary, as we are all painfully aware that most of the time the history of these relics is lost over time. By the way, Nashville has a very active Vintage Base Ball Society. Actually that bat might belong a little closer to home...Hint...Hint.

Absolutely gorgeous!