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jay behrensCan't imagine a social club specializing in throwing dances back in the 1850s (sarcasm off) My first impression upon seeing the item and reading it was that it is a social event for a social club. If it came from the Halper collection, I would hope he had done the research to verify this is truely related to a base ball club. Short of some sort of verification that the names on the item as actual members of the Newark base ball club, it's ties to the game of baseball are dubious at best.
Just saw ramram's post. Back then, a social club that threw dances would want to be known as a Ball Club since dances were an informal affair and usually had conotations of a country event. A ball is a much more formal event and would much more appeal to high society than a group calling itself a Dance Club.
Jay