Show your Baseball Ambrotypes

[Leon]

Newly picked up and only 157 yrs old~~

[drcy]

Not many exist.

[slidekellyslide]

Great Ambro!!! 14 years old in 1860...wonder if he fought in the Civil War?

[Leon]

Probably, according to this write up that was with it.

Fantastic rare historical photograph! Needless to say, baseball ambrotypes are very rare. This is an original, dated 1860 1/4 plate ambrotype of C. A. Neide at age 14. He is wearing a baseball uniform with a belt which reads either Pacific or Pacifics. Plus he has his bat with him. The attached paper on the back with his name and the date is in period handwriting. The research I did leads me to believe that he played for either the Newark Pacific or the Jersey City Pacifics. It's hard to read the side of the belt to clearly see if there is an "s" there or not. Both clubs started in 1859. The research I did on his name came up with a likely candidate being Dr. Charles A. Neide (1846-1907) who served in the civil war, became a dentist in Albany NY, was the secretary of the American Canoe Association, and wrote a book titled "The Canoe Aurora; a Cruise from the Adirondacks to the Gulf." He was described as "tall, handsome and athletic." Now as to the condition: The paper that is attached on the back has lifted up some of the black varnish backing. (On ambrotypes, black varnish was put on the back of the glass to make the image a positive.) This has created the grey blob area. Additionally there is some tarnishing in a few areas which can be seen for example on his right shirt sleeve. The old black varnish can easily be scraped off and reapplied which would improve the appearance greatly. Of course you would be removing the attached paper. I chose not to do this and to leave it to the future owner to decide. The tarnish is not repairable as far as I know. Also, the case smells a bit like old powder. Case is separated. Maybe it was stored in a drawer for a long time. The floor and I believe the white areas of the uniform were hand tinted as seen best in the photo taken with the over glass removed.

Originally Posted by slidekellyslide

Great Ambro!!! 14 years old in 1860...wonder if he fought in the Civil War?

[ksfarmboy]

Fantastic Leon. The best part is it's identified.

[GaryPassamonte]

Great pick up, Leon! The closest I can come is this daguerreotype of a boy holding a ball.

[Michael B]

Here are two possibilities based on New York and New Jersey.

Neide , Charles A.
BATTLE UNIT NAME:
79th Regiment, New York Infantry
SIDE:
Union
COMPANY:
A
SOLDIER'S RANK IN:
Private
SOLDIER'S RANK OUT:
Commissary Sergeant
ALTERNATE NAME:
FILM NUMBER:
M551 ROLL 103

The 79th New York Infantry was originally the Highland Guards and associated with the Caledonian and St. Andrews Societies in New York City.

Major Battles:

Blackburn's Ford, Va - Bull Run, Va (1st Manassas) - Bayle's Cross Roads, Va - Bay Point, S.C - Port Royal Ferry, S.C - James Island, S.C - Secessionville, S.C - Gen Pope's Campaign, Va - Kelly's Ford, Va - Sulphur Springs, Va - Groveton, Va - Bull Run, Va (2nd Manassas) - Centreville, Va - Chantilly, Va - South Mountain, Md - Antietam, Md - Fredericksburg, Va - Vicksburg, Miss - Jackson, Miss - Siege of Knoxville, Tenn - Wilderness, Va - Spotsylvania Court House, Va - Ny River, Va - Before Petersburg and Richmond, Va - Hatcher's Run, Va - Fort Stedman, Va -
Fall of Petersburg, Va -

Neide , Charles
BATTLE UNIT NAME:
Battery C, New Jersey Light Artillery
SIDE:
Union
COMPANY:
C
SOLDIER'S RANK IN:
Private
SOLDIER'S RANK OUT:
Private
ALTERNATE NAME:
FILM NUMBER:
M550 ROLL 17
The NJ LA was organized in Hoboken, NJ in 1861 and traveled to Washington, D.C. August 20 of that year.

Major battles and postings:

SERVICE.--Duty in the Defenses of Washington, D. C., until May, 1864. Moved to Belle Plain, Va., May 11-12. Guard rebel prisoners until May 24. Siege of Petersburg June 29, 1864, to April 2, 1865. Deep Bottom July 27-Ream's Station August 25. In lines before Petersburg at Fort Hell until October 1. At Battery 16 and Fort Alexander Hays until November 22. At Fort Haskell until January 31, 1865, and at Forts Sedgwick and Hascall until April 2. Actions at Fort Sedgwick September 30, 1864. Battery 16 October 3-12. Fort Hascall November 27 and March 29, 1865. Fort Sedgwick April 1-2. Fort Stedman March 25, 1865. Appomattox Campaign March 28-April 9. Fall of Petersburg April 2. Pursuit of Lee April 5-9. At Ford's Station April 7-14, and at Wilson's Station until April 20. Moved to Washington, D. C., April 20-May 2. Grand Review May 23. Mustered out June 19, 1865.

[rman444]

Gary

I'll match your boy with a girl with ball



And I'll raise you 2 young men with ball

[GaryPassamonte]

I wish mine was in the condition yours are. The little girl is so lifelike.

[Leon]

Thanks for showing the dags, guys. They are very cool.
After quite a bit of internet searching I found around 3 Amrbotypes of baseball. Two were in a museum (Or Library of Congress) and one was posted on this board years ago, though I am not positive it was an Ambrotype, I think it was. I know of one member who has one but it is probably buried too deep in his collection to dig out and show . I also read where Barry S (hey Barry) had mentioned in a thread years ago he thought there might be around a dozen. Does anyone have some pics of one they can at least show?

ps....Michael- thanks for the legwork. I don't think it's a far leap to go with your first example above as that is the exact name and the time frames make sense.

[bgar3]

Leon, really tremendous piece. It may the one you refer to, but the only one I know of has 2 people, a bat and a ball if I recall properly. Certainly there are not that many in existence.

[rman444]

Leon

This is the ambro you may be thinking of

[Leon]

Yeap....I think it was said to be an ambrotype at the time. That is a wonderful photo. Do you have any other info on it? it was that one and the 2? in David Cycleback's book that I was able to find and that was all. I am sure there are some more, only not online.

Originally Posted by rman444

Leon

This is the ambro you may be thinking of

[GaryPassamonte]

I've said this before. For my taste, that is one of the best (very) early baseball images I have seen.

[ruth-gehrig]

Fantastic pickup Leon! Im really digging the early stuff lately. (As opposed to the latest stuff earlier )

[ramram]

Outstanding ambro Leon. You can also add a piece of black felt behind the image to make up for any loss of the black, however, the attached paper does complicate the issue.

Would love to see that boy try to swing that colossal piece of lumber.

Rob M

[Leon]

Thanks Rob et al. I should have it in hand tomorrow,.
As I was saying to Barry S (hey Barry) I think that since this is the type of Ambro which has the black varnish type backing, instead of another piece of black glass, I will most likely do my best to preserve it exactly the way it is. I might let a conservator look at it but I can't imagine I would try to do very much to an image that has survived as well as it has for so long. My main concern is any type of deterioration. So in that respect if there is any kind of stabilizing that could be done, I would consider it. Also, taking the paper off the back might not be smart as it is quite identifying the way it is. There is virtually no leap of faith needed for the exact year and person, which seems unusual on very early baseball photos.

Originally Posted by ramram

Outstanding ambro Leon. You can also add a piece of black felt behind the image to make up for any loss of the black, however, the attached paper does complicate the issue.

Would love to see that boy try to swing that colossal piece of lumber.

Rob M

[Forever Young]

Originally Posted by Leon

Thanks Rob et al. I should have it in hand tomorrow,.
As I was saying to Barry S (hey Barry) I think that since this is the type of Ambro which has the black varnish type backing, instead of another piece of black glass, I will most likely do my best to preserve it exactly the way it is. I might let a conservator look at it but I can't imagine I would try to do very much to an image that has survived as well as it has for so long. My main concern is any type of deterioration. So in that respect if there is any kind of stabilizing that could be done, I would consider it. Also, taking the paper off the back might not be smart as it is quite identifying the way it is. There is virtually no leap of faith needed for the exact year and person, which seems unusual on very early baseball photos.

Leon,

That photo is badass. Congrats on your rare pickup.

Ben

[Leon]

Received the photo yesterday and it is better than expected. It really is 3D in person. I have never seen anything quite like it. I guess my title to this thread was a bit ignorant as, at the time, I didn't realize they are as rare as they are. I couldn't find, other than Cartwright (not in baseball attire) more than a total of 3 other images of baseball attired Ambrotypes. No sales found whatsoever. Once it was out of the well packaged box, I examined it and carefully put it back in the tissue and in a padded box....and in a cool safe place. As stated, I might have a conservator take a look at it to stabilize it, if possible, but most likely I will try to keep it 100% the way I got it.
it's also seems difficult to find any really old baseball photo like this with a pinpoint date. So that does make it a bit more interesting as we don't have to say "circa" and all experienced hobbyists I have chatted with say to leave the back paper the way it is. I am sure I will. This is the kind of stuff that keeps it fun for me. Happy collecting and off to the next "find".

ps...I inquired and the seller said this came from an auction they won it at. They did ask the auctioneer about its provenance as they also like to know. Unfortunately, there was none. It just walked in....