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Old 12-11-2009, 03:10 AM
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CarltonHendricks CarltonHendricks is offline
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Default 1888 Bailey Championship Prize - Sterling Silver Plaque 18”x 15”


I’ve been going to the Alameda Point Antiques fair for years, it’s a once a month outdoor affair directly across the bay from San Francisco….you can clearly see the SF city skyline as you walk the show….comes first Sunday of every month. Actually I wrote a story on the show a long time ago that you can read here. Anyway in all the years I’ve been going to it, up till the item we’re about to look at, I’d never found anything really ground shaking in sports…at least in my area of antique display pieces. As much footwork as I’ve put in, that is amazing. So last month I dutifully trudged thru it once more….but this time I hit the mother load!

Towards the back of the show I came to a booth that put my radar on full alert…leaning against a black pickup was a 18” wide by 15” tall silver plaque that really caught me by surprise…You know how it is when you’ve been looking hard a long time for stuff, and when you see something great and you’re off guard and you have to sort of stop and try to think clearly about what you’re seeing….kind of like you’re dreaming it…anyway…I see this plaque and the relief work is so fine I had to study it hard….the title “Bailey Championship Prize” was in high relief and very c1890 art nouveau… and it had about twenty…actually twenty three individual portraits done in low relief, of athletes in various athletic endeavour…it was killer…I thought it was silver plate. There wasn’t a price tag but from the looks of the booth I basically figured it would be under priced…partly because it looked like it would be worth what ever you had to pay…

So the seller is talking away to customers big time. Finally I got tired of waiting and sort of interrupted…pointing to it I asked, how much for the plaque….$__________ he said….top retail…enough to choke a herd of reindeer. I was kind of stunned. I thought for a second…Now usually if I think a guy’s way out of line I never say a thing…just thanks and walk away…it’s their piece, people have a right to ask what ever they want…However….in this case I was really seriously interested in it…I figured if I was going to grind him I’d give it everything I had….so without flinching….about two seconds after he gave me the price I shot back loud and clear….I repeated the price with mock shock…The guy looks at me and didn’t even flinch….with complete confidence he goes to me…“Is there some reason I shouldn’t get $_________?”…my plan didn’t work…as a matter of fact it backfired…I actually semi alienated him….he says to me….I know you….you’re the guy that never buys anything…you just take a bunch of photos…Boy did he have me pegged…he was right…I never buy anything…..unless it’s what I want…and let’s face it….how many dealers are gonna have what I want?…..

So….we discuss the piece….he gives me what he knows pretty straight up…I told him I think it might be English….I came upon it so fast I hadn’t had time to sort it out…that is…what it was, how much I would pay, who made it, etc….He said he thought it might be English too…I sort of thought it was; particularly since there wasn’t a baseball player in it…but on the other hand no cricket…so I couldn’t quite get a handle what I was looking at…Anyway….the guy was completely adamant on the $__________….said he would not come down at all and if he didn‘t sell it it would just go back home with him…And I could tell it wasn’t because of what I said…he just wasn’t interested in taking less…said it would go back on his wall…(right…it didn’t even have away to hang it)…anyway….He actually seemed pretty straight forward about everything….I asked him where he’d gotten it and he said in San Francisco (I think he said)..and that he’d gotten it as payment for doing an art appraisal…and that his fee for doing the appraisal was $1,000.00.…And he went on…that Heritage wanted it but he didn’t like auction house fees….but that they wanted it…and something about the $figure$ they thought they could get for it yada yada…which of course I could have construed as a threat but I just ignored it….So finally I said something to the effect I might make an offer….the guy goes to me again…that he wouldn’t take less than what he quoted me…

Now I found that almost confusing…I mean…what dealer doesn’t at least listen to an offer…it really didn’t add up….just didn’t really make sense to me….but he was serious..so…I walked…of course I mended the fence before leaving and admitted I was just trying to shake him out with the initial pony show …that I just had to see where he was. He seemed ok with it, and we parted amicably….but I did go back several times over the course of the morning to look it over and over…each time there was no indication he would come off the $____________ the guy was tough as nails…..So anyway I left. The following Sunday was the Sacramento Antiques Fair and I knew the dealer sets up there….I went hoping to see the plaque again but he wasn’t there…

As the month wore on I couldn’t find much at all on the internet about a Bailey Championship Prize plaque, so I eMailed my friend Tom Cardiopoli in Cape Cod…

EMAIL TO TOM CARDIOPOLI:
c1890 Multi Sport Relief Plaque, 18" wide x 15" tall
Bailey Championship Prize in HIGH RELIEF....athlete portraits in low relief

http://sportsantiques.com/scullerinkwell.htm
Tom, FYI, Check out the attached photos plus the inkwell in this link above....about the plaque, silver plate, ...found last Sunday at a large outdoor show (Alameda Point)...wanted $__________ ...said got for doing an art appraisal??...said $__________ was it...I was thinking maybe $__________ as it's probably English..(no baseball)...but on the other hand no cricket either...but the guy wasn't open to offers so walked...after kept coming back and looking at it 5 times!...photographs terrible...plus needs polishing bad...because of the high wheel bike it could be as early as 1880.....your opinion? -Carlton
PS, wow that giant shoe photo!


TOM CARDIOPOLI’S EMAIL REPLY:
Carleton - the Plaque is FANTASTIC - it is solid silver I believe - and DEFINITELY American. Here is a short notice about the "Bailey Championship Prize" from the front page of "Sporting Life":

From the Sept 9th, 1888 “Sporting Life”

(headline)The A. A. U. Championship.
A solid silver prize in the shape of n plaque handsomely
mounted and framed, has been presented by
Bailey, Bunks & Diddle, through the Athletic Club of
the Schuylkill Navy, to the Amateur Athletic Union
of the U. S. The Prize represents players engaged in
the twenty-three varieties of sports under the jurisdiction
of the Union and is to be awarded each year to
the club making the best average in all of them. It is
known us "The Bailey Championship Prize," and will be competed for September 19th at Detroit for the first time.

I am sure you know that Bailey, Banks & Biddle was a major Silver and Silver Plate manufacture - made stuff that was almost as good as Tiffany.

The Plaque must not have been given for very many years - the above reference is the only one I can find and it is likely that once high wheel bikes went out of style, this particular trophy was retired. It's American, its sterling silver, its beautiful - my guess is if the inkwell was worth $__________ , the plaque has to be worth $__________ !!

Good luck!!
Tom


LINK TO SPORTING LIFE REFERENCE
http://www.la84foundation.org/Sports.../SL1124001.pdf

END OF EMAIL CORRESPONDENCE

So….after learning all that it was a different ball game…first of all it was American which was all important to me, and if that wasn’t cool enough it was sterling silver not silver plate. but even so, the price was still tough for me to chew. Nevertheless, I was beginning to take the plaque a lot more serious. I emailed him to let him know I was still interested, but never heard back.

So…this last Sunday Dec. 6th , a full month after I initially found it, I went back to the Alameda Point show with $_______ in green folding cash, the full amount he was asking. Though I didn‘t want or expect to have to spend it all. ……I got there late around 1:00PM…and it was a miserable freezing cold day….the dealers were already starting to pack up at 1:00PM…I headed back to the dealer with the plaque towards the back of the show. I didn’t see the plaque out, but he looked like he had just starting packing up….Hi how’s it going I said….Do you still have the plaque I asked….yes he said…still had it. Did you get my email I asked…no, computer blew up he said. So have you softened up on the price I asked….No, I’ll just take it home if I don’t get it he said and launched into the same longstanding platitudes about keeping it. After a little chit chat I started to leave…as I did I said to him…how about giving me some wiggle room on this thing…..the guy says to me….Alright….what’s wiggle room?, he says…Then he kind of had me on the spot….as difficult to deal with as he’d been, I couldn’t lowball him into oblivion…So I knew I had to cough up a number that was at least respectable….like I say he really put me on the spot….$________ I said, which was $1,000.00 less than he what he was asking….three seconds later he shot back with a $500.00 discount….now he had my attention, it was a crack in the wall. It was significant but I still just couldn’t get behind the new discounted price. I himmed a minute and said let me think it over, I’ll take a walk, he said OK.

In the mean time I found a commercial meat slicker I’d always wanted for $130.00. After I wrapped up that deal for a practical item, I walked back by the plaque dealer. I thanked him for the discount and asked him if he still had my card in case he decides to take my offer. He said yes. Then I told him….you know I have green folding cash on me and we could do the deal right now! Today’s the day I told him, we can make it happen!..He thanked me and said he’s already come off a lot. I had kind of been convincing myself with all my talk about today’s the day etc….so I said…alright how about
$___________and I offered $200.00 over my initial offer….he shot back almost immediately with $__________ …$100.00 off his last offer, which put us at $200.00 apart….I tried the I’m here now card again…and he wouldn’t budge. So almost from fatigue I said OK $__________ which then made us $100 apart…and he immediately shot back with $__________ $50.00 over my last offer….so we were $50.00 apart…and I started to cave. I said bring it out let me take a look at it again…and I paid the $__________

Obviously it’s tarnished and needs polishing but I was concerned about doing it right…I got a hold of a silver repair guy in Southern Calif I know and will take it to him for him to polish, he says it will look fantastic when it‘s done….then….I think I’ve decided on a cherry wood/deep dark red stained wood plaque to mount it on…and I think I’ll trace the outline to match the silver plaque with a nice routered edge….I’ll find a wood working shop to do make it.

All the info Tom supplied about the AAU awarding it in 1888 took a new turn also…turns out the AAU was founded in 1888...which probably makes this their first trophy. At the very least it’s very early and a significant piece of American history since the AAU was the most prominent athletic governing body in the United States in the late 19th century….I’m now in Contact with John Apostal Lucas, below a link to his writings:
http://www.eifrigenterprises.com/assets/PDF/lucas.pdf
Lucas has written about the history of the AAU, and I hope to learn more about my plaque from him. As well, Lucas is the official historian of the AOC (American Olympic Committee)….so it’s getting interesting! I‘ll keep you up on what I learn, plus I‘ll post photos after it’s polished and mounted. -Carlton
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Old 12-11-2009, 03:53 AM
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mjkm90 mjkm90 is offline
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Congratulations Carlton!!! That is a spectacular addition to the Hendricks collection my friend. We also greatly appreciate the story. I was riveted by every word. Maybe the seller will let his buddies know that the guy who takes pictures has a good eye
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Old 12-11-2009, 06:56 AM
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canjond canjond is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CarltonHendricks View Post
said it would go back on his wall…(right…it didn’t even have away to hang it)…
Carlton - awesome piece! About the wall, however, I see four holes, 1 in each corner. I think he could have hung the piece!
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Last edited by canjond; 12-11-2009 at 11:55 AM.
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Old 12-11-2009, 11:47 AM
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smokelessjoe smokelessjoe is offline
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Hi Carlton,

All I can say is Nice Prize!!!!

I am finding all kinds of info on this Bailey Prize... Here are a couple of articles below.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg bay award1.jpg (35.5 KB, 402 views)
File Type: jpg Question1.jpg (66.5 KB, 403 views)
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Old 12-11-2009, 12:24 PM
barrysloate barrysloate is offline
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Hi Carlton- beautiful piece, and you never expect to find anything like that at an outdoor antique show...but, I have to ask you: for something that special that you wanted that badly, how could you risk losing it over $100, or for that matter wait a month before clinching the deal? You know how easily you could have lost it? Of course, I don't know what he was asking and maybe it was way too high, but I would never quibble over a jugular piece. Just my three cents.
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Old 12-11-2009, 01:48 PM
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perezfan perezfan is offline
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Carlton:

A landmark acquisition, and congrats!

I had a question about the athlete depicted under the letters "pi". You said that neither Cricket nor Baseball were depicted, but it sure looks like a guy swingin' a bat of some type. Is it Jai Alai, or maybe something else?

Thanks for the great post!
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Old 12-11-2009, 03:12 PM
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mjkm90 mjkm90 is offline
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I thought the same thing Mark, but upon closer inspection it appears to be a racket sport perhaps.
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Old 12-22-2009, 02:37 AM
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CarltonHendricks CarltonHendricks is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by perezfan View Post
Carlton:

A landmark acquisition, and congrats!

I had a question about the athlete depicted under the letters "pi". You said that neither Cricket nor Baseball were depicted, but it sure looks like a guy swingin' a bat of some type. Is it Jai Alai, or maybe something else?

Thanks for the great post!

Mark, It's a lacrosse player. I think there isn't a baseball player because the A.A.U. was not the governing body of baseball in 1888. Haven't had time to do any new research but here's a good synopsis below of the A.A.U.'s beginnings

In 1870 the New York Athletic Club (NYAC) was by far the best known athletic club in the United States. That year they started their series of athletic meets, known as the Spring Games and Fall Games of the NYAC – two per year. Early in 1876, it was decided that a national championship meet was necessary and desirable and the best known meet of the year was chosen to serve that purpose. Thus, in late 1876, the 7th Annual Fall Games of the NYAC became the first national championship meet. The NYAC sponsored the meet for three years.

In 1879, however, a national organization had been formed, composed of many member athletic clubs and known as the National Association of Amateur Athletes of America (NAAAA). They sponsored the 1879 meet and ran the meet through 1887.

In 1888 a rival organization to the NAAAA, the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) came into being, quickly became the more powerful group, and held a national meeting in that year. The NAAAA, however, refused to fold immediately and also conducted a national championship in 1888 – thus there were two that year.

The national championship was held under the aegis of the AAU for almost a century. In 1978 the President's Commission on Amateur Sports was able to pass the Amateur Sports Act that delineated how amateur sports should be governed in this country. The AAU, which controlled the majority of the sports on the Olympic program, would see its powers severely crippled. A new organization, The Athletics Congress (TAC), was chosen to oversee track & field athletics. In 1980 TAC held its first national championship and control of the meet has rested there since.
Source http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/dis...cle.php?id=258
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