Price: $25,000.00
SKU: 2789
ARTIST: Henry Sandham
PUBLISHER: Printed in Paris and published April 1, 1897 by Boussod Valadon & Co. Sucessors to Goupil & Co. . . .
MEDIUM: Goupilgravure (photogravure),
DATE: 1896
EDITION SIZE: Image size 38 5/8 x 51 3/4" (98.1 x 131.4 cm).
DESCRIPTION: Painted by Henry Sandham in 1894. Copyright 1896 by Boussod Valadon & Co. were successors of Goupil & Co. <BR><BR> This image is one of the greatest baseball images produced before 1900. The game represented is the first “Temple Cup,” best of seven, post-season play-off between the best teams in baseball. It was played four times between 1894 and 1897 and is similar to today’s World Series games. However, the American League did not formally exist until 1901, so the Temple Cup games were played between the best teams in the National League. The Temple Cup itself is a thirty-inch high, silver cup that cost $800 to make in 1894. The cup is currently in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. <BR><BR> The 1894 Temple Cup contest was between the New York Giants and the Baltimore Orioles. The Baltimore Orioles with an 89-39 record in were first place. The New York Giants, with an 88-44 record, were in second place: 3 games behind the Baltimore Orioles. The Baltimore Orioles boasted the best starting line up with each player batting .300 or better. Unfortunately, for the Baltimore Orioles, the New York Giants swept the series 4 to 0. <BR><BR> The location is the Polo Grounds. Officially, the third Polo Grounds, located between 155-157th Streets and Eighth Avenue. It was home to the New York Giants from its opening in 1891 until the team moved to San Francisco in 1957, the New York Yankees from 1913-1922, and the New York Mets in 1962-1963. It was also home to the New York Giants football team 1925-1955 and the New York Jets 1960-1963. The stadium was demolished on April 10, 1964. In the distance the High Bridge can be seen, as well as a Westchester bound steam locomotive. <BR><BR> This is a very rare image in spectacular condition. The print itself is not common, but with the portraits of the players and officials, it is rare. <BR><BR> The game of baseball is older than most people realize. It was not invented by Abner Doubleday as the myth goes. He was given that title fifteen years after his death. The first mention of baseball in America is in a town ordinance from Pittsfield, Massachusetts, in 1791. The ordinance banned the playing of baseball within 80 yards of the town meeting house. Teams played by rules created regionally or with no rules at all. It was common in these early games to plug the runner, hitting him with the ball to call him out. The New York Knickerbockers created a set of rules dealing with organization and game play. One of the rules made it illegal to plug the runner. In 1845 teams in the New York area adopted the Knickerbockers rules of play. These rules were known as the New York Game. In Boston there was another set of game play rules known as the Massachusetts Game. The first formal game played under the New York Game rules was at the Elysian Fields in Hoboken, New Jersey, on June 19, 1846. The New York Nine beat the New York Knickerbockers 23 to 1. <BR><BR> In 1857 a group of New York area baseball clubs formed the National Association of Base Ball Players. The rules established three key features of the game: ninety feet between the bases, nine-man teams, and nine-inning games. With the popularity of the game during the Civil War, 400 teams were organized by 1867. In 1858 at the Fashion Race Course, the first games of baseball to charge admission took place. Also in 1858 the first known All Star game took place with the best players from a group of the New York baseball clubs. In 1869 the NABBP created a professional category allowing teams to pay their players. Before that time, the players were strictly unpaid amateurs. The first team to be declared a professional team was the Cincinnati Red Stockings. A few years later it moved to Boston and was known as the Boston Red Stockings. The Boston Red Stockings dominated the league and had the largest stable of the best players. Between 1871 and 1875 the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players existed. After many disagreements the NABBA and the NAPBBP folded. In 1876 the National League of Professional Baseball Clubs (today known as the National League) was created. In 1901 the American League of Professional Baseball Clubs was founded. <BR><BR>
ADDITIONAL INFO:
CONDITION: Good condition, with original color. Some soft foxing in the margins.
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