Auction Item Details
Lot 83
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Lot Number: 83
Description: UPDATED DESCRIPTION: Museum quality "Tri-Mountain Base Ball Club" baseball player ambrotype with related presentational baseball bat c.1860s. Monumentally important quarter plate ambrotype photograph is one of the earliest known to depict a baseball player and housed within thermoplastic gutta-percha Union case (exterior measurements of 4"x5" when closed). The player is dressed in full uniform with "TRIMOUNTAIN" team name in block letter visible on his tooled leather belt. In the player’s hands he holds the included octagonal baseball bat and while each piece stands on its' own merits, when combined they represent a remarkable pairing and one of the crowning pieces within the genre of important early baseball artifacts. The ambrotype is color tinted and remains in exceptional condition with no mentionable wear having been well protected for the last (150+) years and now displayed within a Union case of the same period (which have some very minor typical/expected chipping). The bat was meticulously crafted with at least two types of wood intricately joined in a beautiful pattern and hand turned before the sides were cut resulting in an octagonal shape. "TRIMOUNTAIN BASE BALL CLUB" is marquetry inlaid into three of the surfaces. PLEASE NOTE: For accuracy,the specific “Trimountain” inlay panel on the trophy baseball bat was executed at a subsequent period after the team initially was awarded the bat. As customary for presentational trophy objects of the period, teams would simply update the recipient names specifically as they won for a given match versus issuing a new overall trophy award. This practice was done for a number of reasons the most common of which being due to cost. The Trimountain team of Boston won the majority of their matches during the period but teams such as Lowell and Bowdoin also won on multiple occasions leading to the bat pictured in the ambrotype (the offered bat) being updated with team names accordingly with its final rendering ending with an additional Trimountain presentation. The level of craftsmanship cannot be overstated and as a folk art piece it ranks among the most accomplished we have seen of baseball relation from this time period. The Tri-Mountain team of the Boston area was one of the most prominent of the period and the first to adopt the New York rather than the Massachusetts rules of play which to pitch instead of throw the ball, to place the men on the bases, and not throw the ball at a man while running, but to tag him with it at the base. One such victory included the 1867 New England championship which according to news articles they were presented with another similar trophy bat having silver appointments and crafted from several historical sites including a section of wood from “the apple tree under which General Lee surrendered at Appomattox”. The offered bat and the 1867 trophy bat referenced above were both discovered within the family estate of a caretaker for Moses E. Chandler. Chandler was involved with the Tri Mountain team and in fact presented the aforementioned 1867 trophy bat according to period accounts and memorialized on sheet music of the day (see catalogue illustration). While not definitive, it is possible that the offered ambrotype in fact pictures Moses E. Chandler himself but we cannot confirm same. Singular opportunity to acquire what is certainly the earliest "photo matched" piece of baseball equipment extant in addition to one of the rarest forms of 19th century baseball photography: Overall EXEstimated Price Range: ($50,000-$75,000)
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