19th Century Base Ball Prize Ribbon

[Archive]

Posted By: Adam J. Baxter

Hi everyone,

I won this neat item at auction on ebay back in April. I have tried to find any info I can on it, but thus far I've come up empty. I'll give a description of it below.

The ribbon is made of a silk-like, shiny fabric that is golden yellow in color. The text on front is blue. the text reads: " South End Base Ball and Social Club Committee". There is nothing on the back. The ends have an even fraying or frill. I know that there is a South End in Boston and I think one in Philadelphia. I deduced from the style of the text that the ribbon may from the 1890's period, however I'm not sure. I won the ribbon for just under 50.00. Any info or opinion anyone may have regarding this ribbon's possible geographical point of origin, period it was made or value would be greatly appreciated. I have searched all over the web for info on 19th century baseball ribbons and the "South End Base Ball and Social Club Committee" and found basically no information of any kind.

*I had some difficulty uploading a scan for some reason, so I included the ebay link of this for anyone who'd like to view an image of it.

LINK:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=403&item=3605105214

Thanks,
Adam

[Archive]

Posted By: Hankron

I can't offer you any info other than concur that the lettering and font looks to be from the 1890s/turn of the century. I can almost promise you that if you find out where it's from (which obviously is your question in the first place) that it will sell for much higher than your buy price.

[Archive]

Posted By: Hankron

It may be of your interest to know that during the time period of your silk, the Boston Braves played at the 'South End Grounds.'

[Archive]

Posted By: peter thomas

hello:

I'm origionally from Boston and I am quite sure this club was in Boston. South End was natural land bridge to mainland from Boston before Back Bay was filled before and after the civil war.

[Archive]

Posted By: Adam J. Baxter

Thanks for the info guys, much appreciated. I've lived in the Massachusetts all my life and I too believe that this ribbon is probably from the Boston area. The South End grounds actually came to mind when I first saw it. I've searched everywhere for some info, but nothing yet on this. Maybe a member of SABR who frequents the forum might know something about this or someone else who does? I had given thought to putting this silk up for auction on ebay, But I agree with David that the more info I have on it, the more valuable it could be. In the end it may be better for me to consign it for auction, If an auction house would sell it, rather to try and sell it myself.

I would like to know if anyone has an idea as to the ballpark value on an item like this with or without the info? I haven't seen many 19th century ribbons come up for auction, so value or a potential selling price are a mystery to me. I know that it probably is incomplete as it has no pin on the reverse, but I think it's pretty decent conditon wise. Any thoughts or opinions would be surely appreciated. Thanks all and for anyone going to the National... Have fun!

[Archive]

Posted By: Hankron

The ribbon didn't neccesarily have a large button or such at the top, as many old silk ribbons had a simple pin/needle on the back.

I would not dare to predict a specific auction or sale price, as I likely would be off. However, I beleive it's somewhere between what you hope its worth and what you paid. Which, in the scheme of things, is a fair compromise.