Unusual early photo
Picked this odd photo of a drawing circa 1870’s I think, up from the recent auction of some of Mark Rucker early photos. There are over 40 drawings, mostly of players, depicting some sort of baseball action, or inflicting some pain on the poor injured player.
Aptly entitled The Close of Ball Season, the photograph is by A B Gardner of Utica, and the drawing is by C S Sayler also of Utica. There are no gloves, no mask and an underhand pitcher shown. I believe Gardner was active around 1873 but merged with another photographer and moved in the early 80’s.
A few of my favorites include the ball crashing through a window, a group of players giving him a headache by beating a drum and hammering him, and the depiction of an artist and photographer.
If anyone can provide any information on the photo, photographer or artist I would appreciate hearing it.
Sorry upside down.
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