Vintage Die-cut Questions

[Butch7999]

We've seen these attributed to McLoughlin Brothers, circa 1890, but we haven't yet been able to verify that
nor to associate them with any of the many McLoughlin tabletop baseball games of the era.
McLoughlin made loads of paper toys (and children's books) in addition to their well-known boardgames.

[aelefson]

Thanks Butch and Phil! I really appreciate the help.
Alan

[T205 GB]

alan how tall are the players?

[Butch7999]

Alan, we've seen so many different games over the years that sometimes we forget what we've looked at.
And sometimes we're just inexcusably lazy in our research.

Thanks for getting us off our keesters and prompting us to take a closer look at our McLoughlin files.

Again, we haven't seen these die-cuts actually included with any McLoughlin game -- but as far as we can tell without being hands-on,
the artwork of your die-cut player-figures is identical (except for color) to the players illustrated on the playing field
of McLoughlin's circa 1892 Base Ball Game.

So unless our eyes deceive us, we can say that your die-cuts are in fact definitely a McLoughlin product.
Whether they (and the game itself) date to precisely 1892 or a few years earlier or later we don't yet know.

[aelefson]

Very interesting and thank you Butch! I do not know why I was thinking 1905 era as I do agree they look just like the players in the game you posted. And thank you Phil for offering that opinion as well.

Andrew, I am on the road but will measure them when I get home over the weekend.

Alan

[aquarius31]

Hi Alan, I recall seeing a few of these come up for auction about 2 years ago. As other posters have pointed out, it comes from a board game. In fact, these items would have been affixed to a wooden stand so I think what you have is the "raw material." I recently found the link somewhere....I'll find it.

So here's the picture. Looks to be similar style although different teams. Someone on here should now be able to identify the actual McLoughlin board game.

Source = http://www.sportsantiques.com/2007NA...inStandups.jpg

[Butch7999]

Hi George, thanks for that photo -- the pic, of course, is from Carlton's amazing website, and those items were part of
the offerings from Mechanick's Historical Gallery at the 2007 NSCC. Did you (or anyone else here) pick those up (then or since)?

Actually, though, no one here has yet suggested the die-cuts came from a tabletop baseball game (although they may well have)
-- only that the artwork (except for the colorizing) was identical to that in the circa 1892 McLoughlin game we showed
(sadly, not ours of course).

We've never seen those die-cuts included in any example of the 18 different verifiable McLoughlin baseball games --
which is not, by any means, to absolutely rule them out as playing pieces; they may merely have been lost
from any of the scarce-to-rare examples of those games that have surfaced.

The wood-mounted examples of the die-cuts offered in 2007 by MHG, however, rather than being original parts
to a game, might have been crafted and assembled at any point in the last 90 to 120 years or so by anyone who had
the original unattached die-cuts in their possession. Certainly the little labels on the wooden bases are not "period."

We're not sure how many collectors on board here have (or have had) one or more McLoughlin games in their possession,
but they might be able to attest to the die-cuts being present in a game. If Mark Cooper, who's owned all or almost all of
the McLoughlin baseball games at one time or another, is still a member, he might be able to say whether he remembers
the die-cuts being part of a game in his now-dispersed collection.