Most creative and ambitious displays

[WahooSam]

I am constantly surprised by the creativity shown by collectors. Brendan M, for example, is putting together a collection of bats used by players featured in the T206 set. That is a display I would like to see more of if Brendan would share images here.

What stands out for you as the most creative, ambitious, or effective display you've seen or heard about? What displays are you trying to tackle? Please post some pictures of some of the objects in your display.

[sphere and ash]

I first saw the Hall’s “evolution of the baseball” display in 1979, and I was mesmerized. It really told a story, and what it lacked in content it made up for in curatorial boldness, using the Fashion Course ball as an example of an 1858 baseball.

With time I came to see that the story could be told more extensively, and I set out to do my own “evolution of the baseball.” I was lucky that one of my first acquisitions was an 1858 Excelsior baseball. There are now about 30 baseballs in the display.

Attached are images of a circa 1890 Spalding baseball, an Atlantic baseball attributed to Brooklyn ballmaker Harvey Ross, and a 1938 yellow baseball invented by Frederick Rahr.

I would love to donate this to the National Museum of American History—I think it could be a very popular exhibit. Does anyone have any relationships there?

[WahooSam]

That is a fantastic display. I can remember seeing the Hall's "evolution of the baseball" for the first time.

I would love to see some of the bats in the T206 collection.

I'm also told there is a collector trying to recreate all of the equipment in the Spalding Guides of the late 1880s and another who has done an "evolution of the Brooklyn Dodgers uniform" display beginning with 1913. I would love to see more of these ambitious collections.

[sphere and ash]

The Dodger uniform exhibition I’ve seen, and it’s wonderful. It’s part of what may be the single most impressive baseball collection. Here are two pictures that I found online.

[brookdodger55]

Are the items in a private collection, or in a museum

[sphere and ash]

The uniforms are part of a private collection, but were displayed in a museum-like setting. The collection contains a large number of very creative displays. When someone conceives of a display like a recreated turn-of-the-century Spalding gymnasium, you have to tip your hat. The creativity of some collectors goes unacknowledged.