Show Your Early Baseballs

[aelefson]

Very cool Henry! I also really like the trade card/ticket. I do not have many illustrations of old baseballs in my collection. I think I have several woodcut advertisements for baseballs for sale beginning in the 1870s but none earlier.

For any of you who posted already or plan to post, any cool backstories with the balls? I am always curious where they were found. I remember reading about one being found within the walls of an early house in Massachusetts several years ago.

Alan

[Kzoo]

Mark and Henry...... Just curious, as I have several early baseballs.... do you guys 'clean up' the leather a bit to get some of the 'shine' in the pictures? Maybe just a damp cloth? They look great and if there's a process, it might work on mine as well. I'll post some pictures soon. Thanks...........Matt

[1880nonsports]

I never touch them. On a shelf in a cabinet. Imagine at some point I'll have to dust them - but 100% I would never introduce any cleaning agent. As to how they were handled before me - out of my hands.... Now if I could just find the right glove...

[perezfan]

Me neither...

I may have wiped off some dust or debris when I first acquired them. But have never "treated" them, and never used any cleaners or solutions.

I just don't recommend it for items this old, as I really don't know how the early leather would react. And it's not like something you can re-do (once it's done).

The battle scars are part of their histories. So I just prefer to leave them as-is.

[sicollector1954]

I only have this one.

[pedodds]

Most of these are pretty self explanatory. The two that I wanted to make note of are;
1. Second row far left. That is a Gutty Baseball. It has a Gutta Percha, (rubber outer layer), with twine and some type of core that shows up on x-ray. I would not have understood the ball had I not seen an example in "Banana Bats and Ding-Dong Balls". Reach was trying to create a seamless baseball.
2. The second is the baseball in the third row closest to the viewer, second from the far right. It has over 130 stitches. It has to be late 1860's early 1870's.




1858 New York rules baseball. One piece lemon peel trophy baseball Atlantics 39 Mutuals 20.



Possibly a seamless baseball. Possibly a "Dead Red" baseball. Lynch ball and Tenner ball.



1870's baseball with it's original canvas wrapper. 1890's J. Carr's baseball with box.




D&M double seam with deerskin leather. Possibly a "Dead Red" baseball. Spalding High Flyer. '03 Pullium baseball.






Early 1900's UPenn and Columbia trophy baseballs.



1890 Kiffe Sporting Goods baseball trophy.

[1880nonsports]

am I gonna say your balls are great :-) I also love the totality of the initial display and I'm thinking about how badly I need a glove like either example displayed there. Super post. Many thanks for sharing!

[Bill Rayburn]

John, fabulous ball collection and extremely well displayed. If space allowed it would be great to hear the hunt and acquisition stories on each one.