John, let me know when you are ready to downgrade that Weidman, I have you covered
Kevin, thanks for the follow-up on Arundel’s knob
Apparently it was common for players to pass the bat and in this case probably a studio prop that was used player after player, team after team. Per details outlined in the original post, I believe Boston was the first team photographed by Gray Studio in 1887. Burdock, Tate and others have a different bat with a dark ring at the end (which could be a Burlingame bat - they had models with ring at end, but different than the Burlingame bat we see in our negatives). All the teams that would follow Boston (Philadelphia, Washington, Pittsburgh, New York, Indianapolis, Chicago, and Detroit)
could very well be using the same Burlingame bat we see on the 1887 Indy and Detroit negatives. Consider that none of players from the mentioned teams are using the commonplace Spalding or Reach bats (easy to identify). That Burlingame bat may be the most photographed baseball bat in the history of baseball cards (Gray Studio has far more poses in OJ set than any other Studio). Jump to Fearnaught studio in 1888 and all Detroits (5 players) as well as the 1888 Indy photos have what appears to be the same Spalding ring bat. Start looking at specific team photo shoots within OJ set and you see the bat trend time and time again.
Jay, I bet Spalding was not happy with Anson’s endorsement of Reach bats and may have contributed to his aggressive takeover of the company in the years that followed. Then again, Spalding purchased many of his competitors, not just Reach. I think Baby Anson enjoyed rubbing more than just the umpire and opposing players the wrong way. That had to be awkward to play for Chicago and not swing a Spalding bat in those years. I find it equally surprising that Spalding didn't have the foresight to request his team to bring a Spalding ring bat to Gray Studio in 1887; they all appear to be posing with the Burlingame bat.
I posted the following image on the Memorabilia side and figured I'd post it here as well. I believe this 1888 (or earlier) Hillerich bat reads:
J F HILLERICH & SON
216 FIRST ST.
LOUISVILLE, KY.
Enough about bats . . .
For those who have or desire to collect negatives, Goodwin & Co. or otherwise, I will again give props to Chicago Albumen Works who offer just about any service you could want. In my case that included a light cleaning, scanning (1200dpi), making back-up LVT negatives (modern high quality flimsy negative to preserve the image if the unthinkable happens to the glass negative), prints (sepia toned in my case), providing me with several digital options on CD, and the all important archival storage materials (box holds up to a dozen 5”x7” negatives). Chicago Albumen Works is not cheap, but good help usually isn’t. I’ve attached a couple pictures for those who might be curious.
Note that the four flap envelope is preferred to avoid sliding the negative in and out of envelopes such as the glassine envelopes that can be seen at bottom right. The glassine envelopes may actually be original to the negatives but are not the best way to store them. I'm saving the envelopes but the negatives will no longer call them home.
Thank you to everyone that has responded here and in personal emails. I'm elated to share with my hobby friends, we all share a common interest and feed off each other.