Syracuse cabinet photo on ebay

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Posted By: Max

Can anyone confirm who the players were in this auction, recently ended on ebay? As it sold for a nice sum, I assume that these were indeed professional players. Thanks,

Max

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=3692720653&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

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Posted By: ramram

Max -

From the type of CDV, with this type of border around it, and the fact that the players have long pants on instead of knickers, I'd place this image from the late 1860's. Obviously, it is pre-professional teams and they were probably just from the Syracuse area. The star on the hat was quite common. I think the auction price came from it being a fairly early base ball image (but still awfully high imo).

Rob

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Posted By: hankron

Rob is correct. The pricing is likely due to the age-- and that it's a nice looking early example. The rule of thumb is that, all other qualities equivelant, the earlier the baseball photo the rarer and more expensive. Baseball photos of any kind from the 1860s-70s are limited, substantially rarer even than examples from the 1890s.

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Posted By: hankron

I add that Pre-1880s photos is one of the few areas in baseball memorabilia where an item doesn't have to depict famous or even known players for it to be expensive. This is due to the scarcity and historical significance.