Earliest piece of baseball memorabilia - Pictures - Pre-1880 only, 18th Century Wins

[GaryPassamonte]

This is my earliest.

[SetBuilder]

Originally Posted by GaryPassamonte

This is my earliest.

I wonder what O'Fake sounded like.

[jpop43]

Some of our 19th century bats.

1. Circa 1860's/1870 silver plated trophy bat. This 35" bat is made of dense, heavy rosewood and features two very nice, engraved silver adornments.

2-4. Circa 1860's- 1875 era baseball bats. The handles of these bats are bound in leather and using a number of images from the 1860's and 1870's, we can quite definitively date them to this period. The bat on the bottom is specifically shown in a sporting goods catalog that dates to 1875..."leather wrapped willow bat".

[jpop43]

Our circa 1850's- 1860's era lemon peel balls...

Check out the entire collection of 19th Century Memorabilia at our website...www.dugouttreasures.com. We recently published a book that contains our entire collection...it can be previewed and purchased thru the website.

[GaryPassamonte]

I always wondered if O'Fake was one person named O'Fake or a group of O'Fakes...Oh, well.
Here's one of the earliest baseball CdVs known and a favorite of mine. It's as much a piece of Americana as it is a baseball image.

[novakjr]

Definitely not the oldest piece. But it's my oldest.

[benjulmag]

Gary,

That has always been one of my favorite CdVs.

[WWGjohn]

Here's a bat that dates to the 1860-70 period. It is 31" long, weighs 39 oz, and is made of cherry wood. Nice example of an early ball knob.

John

[ksfarmboy]

Silver baseball from 1875.