Lemon ball too good to be true?

[Ghumbs]

Originally Posted by william_9

It's a modern ball made for use in 1860s rules play. Looks to have been made to look older than it is. Could easily be 25 years old though.


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Thanks for the info and I trust you know a thing or two about these types of balls. What gives it away as modern?

[murphusa]

Originally Posted by Ghumbs

Thanks for the info and I trust you know a thing or two about these types of balls. What gives it away as modern?

William knows

[Ghumbs]

Originally Posted by murphusa

William knows

Sure. I was just hoping to learn something out of the experience.

[vintagesportscollector]

As you said, to good to be true, it's modern IMO. You are best off familiarizing yourself with what a 150 year old ball would look like, even under the best conditions. Here is a good source of examples:

http://www.baseballglovecollector.co...on-peel-balls/

Here is the best condition ball I think I have ever seen, and at least the leather and thread show some age.

image.jpg

[Ghumbs]

Thanks, that's a really good link. When I come across balls like these, it makes me doubt my doubts. Mine doesn't appear to be too far off of the examples below. Now obviously I'm going to be the most biased here, but does it basically come down to provenance on these since they aren't marked? Or are there certain attributes to look for other than condition like materials, techniques, etc?

[vintagesportscollector]

Originally Posted by Ghumbs

Thanks, that's a really good link. When I come across balls like these, it makes me doubt my doubts. Mine doesn't appear to be too far off of the examples below. Now obviously I'm going to be the most biased here, but does it basically come down to provenance on these since they aren't marked? Or are there certain attributes to look for other than condition like materials, techniques, etc?

Good questions, but I think you are seeing what you want to see. What about the other 100 examples on that site that look nothing like your ball?? It doesn't come down to provenance, it basically comes down to condition and age of the leather and thread, and yours looks like it was made yesterday. I thought you might hone in on those two examples. To be honest not sure the authenticity of everything on that site can be confirmed, but the top ball picture is blurry so you can't really tell the condition, and I don't think the bottom ball looks like yours - it at least shows some age.

You should also know that these balls are reproduced a lot today for use in playing vintage rules ball - as a couple people have told you.

Hope this helps some.

[Ghumbs]

Originally Posted by vintagesportscollector

Good questions, but I think you are seeing what you want to see. What about the other 100 examples on that site that look nothing like your ball?? It doesn't come down to provenance, it basically comes down to condition and age of the leather and thread, and yours looks like it was made yesterday. I thought you might hone in on those two examples. To be honest not sure the authenticity of everything on that site can be confirmed, but the top ball picture is blurry so you can't really tell the condition, and I don't think the bottom ball looks like yours - it at least shows some age.

You should also know that these balls are reproduced a lot today for use in playing vintage rules ball - as a couple people have told you.

Hope this helps some.

While it's true I want to see this as a nice example of an 1860s ball, I really want to know more about what to look for. Generally with these types of things, the simplest answer is the truth. But on the off chance this ball was never used and always kept in a box all those years, i don't imagine the leather would have aged much at all. Now the likelihood of that being the case is low, but it does seem plausible.

Am I hearing that this ball is not authentic because it's in too good of condition? Or is there something else that is more concrete like the way it was stitched or the tanning of the leather?

I have come across many of the reproductions in my research, but none of them matched the same leather or stitching of this one.