Early woodcut
In 1832 a famous baseball woodcut appeared in a little chapbook entitled Mary’s Book of Sports. The woodcut, by Alexander Anderson, was then reused in about 10 other books from 1832 to 1842, according to Block. Due to scarcity of Mary’s Book, collectors make due with one of the other early ones, which are also very rare. The photos that are attached are from a circa 1840 miniature book, Village Green, with a new, different verse. Although not a uniquely American scene like the 1834 Boston image I posted about earlier, this one is clearly meant to represent a New England scene, as evidenced by the title and the New Haven publisher.
For information on all these early titles and their importance I recommend Block, Baseball Before We Knew It.
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