Help with Photo Dating - 1870's?

[prewarsports]

My guess is Wesleyan. They had a flourishing Baseball program in the 19th century and were among the best teams in the country. I could be wrong, but that is an off-the-hip shot at it.

I also would agree that the date is either the very late 1870's or the very early 1880's. I have an 1883 Cleveland Blues team cabinet with similar uniform types but even by then this style was "older".

Rhys

[vintagesportflips]

Thanks alot for the help guys. My initial thought was possibly Wesleyan as well, but my research is only in it fledgling steps right now.
thanks again

[drc]

The writing on back doesn't prove the item was stolen. As noted, libraries do get rid of stuff and have sales and the 'library' doesn't automatically even mean public library. I have books with old public library stamps that I legally own. I purchased them from the library.

[ramram]

I hate to say, but from what I'm seeing, I don't think that the image is from the 1800's, just the content. Hard to say without holding it but that image of the back doesn't look right and some of the front looks off. The coloring looks correct though.

Rob M.

[barrysloate]

Interesting observation Rob. Based on the scan the sepia tones look period. But I questioned the typeface that identifies the players, as it looks modern. Also, the back of the mount looks white. Again, very hard to make these determinations from a scan; you really need to have it in hand.

If the photograph is a thin albumen glued to the mount, I feel good about it. If it is printed onto the mount, it probably isn't period.

[19cbb]

Agree with both Rob and Barry.

[vintagesportflips]

I see what you guys are saying. I'll take a closer look when I get home. The back scan came out odd, because of the size of my scanner bed (the photo is a bit larger) and it is slightly bowed making it appear a different color. The front scan that I took came out looking odd as well, so I showed Mears' scan here.