Federal League Lithographic Stone Find...

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Posted By: Jeff S.

Hello - I just pulled this lithographic stone from the estate of a printer and am interested in your opinions on it. The stone measures 10" x 14" x 2 3/4" and features various advertising and images for the Victor Sporting Goods Company of Springfield, MA. I believe the top portion of the stone was used to print either the box that housed Victor baseballs, or perhaps a paper band that went around the box. The proof marks are 2 3/4" apart, with four sections and an end tag, which would perfectly fit around a baseball box. Under that are four various sporting-themed images including baseball. Victor was the official baseball of the Federal League:

"In 1914-15, the Federal League, the last serious threat to the two established major league circuits, utilized a ball made by the Victor Sporting Goods Company, at the time one of the leaders in the business." -The Official Rules of Baseball Illustrated - By David Nemec, 2006

I’ve included a reversed image of the stone for ease of reading – interesting that it mentions the ball being adopted by the American Association, Southern Association and Pacific Coast League, among others. I believe Victor began in 1898, and the image on the reverse of the stone has dates of 189_and 190_. Can anyone provide any further information?

Thanks!

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Posted By: Max Weder

Jeff

I can't offer any further thoughts on this, other than to say it is a very cool piece and a great find.

Max

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

I can't help you with it as I've never seen anything like it before...I just have to say though that it is a great find. I love the pre 'Wright Ditson' Victor logo. My favorite bat from my collection is a Victor bat.

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Posted By: davidcycleback

This is the first baseball themed lithographic stone I've seen. Great condition too.

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Posted By: Jeff S.

Thanks guys - it's a hefty piece, weighing roughly 35lbs. I would love to see a Federal League ball with original box - Kovels has a sales record for one, but I lack a password:

http://www.kovels.com/priceguide/kovels_sports/1997/baseball/1519255.html

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

Jeff, I may have a photo of a Federal league ball with box somewhere on my computer...it was sold on ebay about 3 years ago and IIRC it sold for nearly $6,000. When I was collecting baseballs I held that up as my holy grail piece...I had no idea that it would sell that high though.

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Posted By: Greg Theberge

What a great piece.

Can someone in the know explain the process of how this was used? I can't recall the use of a "Stone" but it obviously is one. Very interesting. We have some original lithography proofs which are also reversed, but these are actually lithograph images themselves, nothing like this neat stone.

And if you think that puppy is heavy, we recently added a ten foot long Narragansett Brewing Company Terrazzo tile to our beer collection dated to 1916 (there's a newspaper image stuck to the back). That bad boy weighs at least 800-900 pounds and we needed a moving company to get it to the house. It reminds me a lot of this stone in it's construction as seen in the side view.

great piece, congrats!

Greg

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Posted By: davidcycleback

The stone is the printing plate. The original form of lithography was printed from a stone, and the final prints are often referred to as a 'stone lithographs.' Stone lithography is better quality, but, for practical reasons including the weight and size of stones, commercial printers switched to metal sheets as is used today.

So the above stone is not only a unique baseball item, but a historical printing artifact.

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Posted By: Jeff S.

Found a few bits through Google Book Search, which if anyone is unfamiliar with, it's quite amazing.

"I have played with the Victor baseball and have also made a careful examination of its material and construction as compared with other balls. It is durable, holds its shape well, and is the nicest ball to handle I have ever used." – John M. Ward

From: Recreation - By George O. Shields, American Canoe Association, League of American Sportsmen - Published by G.O. Shields (Coquina), 1896

And an image from The Sportsman's Magazine, 1897:

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Posted By: Clint

Jeff, that is an awesome piece. I was wondering, are going to get it graded?

Clint

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Posted By: Jeff S.

Slab the slab right? Maybe Beckett with those new oversize holders...

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Posted By: Greg Theberge

David,

thanks for the reply. how does the process work?

greg

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

Jeff, I found this photo in my computer today...it doesn't show the box, but it's a pretty cool photo of the ball. I think this one may have been in a Leland's auction.

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Posted By: Jeff S.

Thanks Dan! That ball sold for $7186.00 with juice through Lelands. Here's a link showing all the Federal League items they've offered since 2001 - check out that Eddie Plank signed Fed. League ball that sold for $44k+. Great stuff.

I'll probably be putting the stone on ebay soon - I'll give a heads up when I do.

http://lelands.com/searchlist.aspx?auction=all&type=Title&keyword=federal%20league

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Posted By: Shawn

Nice stone Jeff... I would love to have this but probably out of my price range! Good luck with the sale, the shipping cost will probably scare the devil out me.

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Posted By: Jeff S.

Ok, the stone is listed - take a moment to check it out if you get a chance. Started it at $9.95 so have fun...also have a Boston Garter box up this week:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&item=260309839241

Thanks again to everyone who responded.