Posted 5 years ago
rickzog4
(57 items)
This is a 19th century gem tintype of a seated baseball player in uniform with a bat and a hat on his knee. Gem tintypes were very popular in the 1860s, and this one is about 1" X 3/4" in size. I have searched for other gem tintypes of baseball players and haven't come across any others - usually gem tintypes were of close-up head shots to be put in lockets - hence the name "gem." I was able to get a nice shot of this player with a 40X zoom lens, and you can see that there is a great amount of detail in something so small. You can see its size in comparison to a penny.
The seller of this mentioned that the player looks a lot like the star player of the time, Lipman Pike. There are similarities, but I can't say he's a dead ringer. The uniform and the fact that he had a gem tintype created makes me think he was at least a serious player. His belt buckle seems to be a shield, but there is not enough detail to see what it might say. This is another little detail on the uniform to show that he may have been a legitimately serious player. Either way, it's a gem.
Thanks for looking.
Nice image-- I like early sports image as well!
scott
I agree … nice image. These extremely small pics are sometimes referred to as "postage stamp" images because they are smaller than the 1/16th plate standard format. Only a couple cameras could produce pictures this small and the most likely would be a multiplying camera made by Simon Wing.
Thanks for the info.
What about the tintype makes you think it was from a Simon Wing camera? Because most gem tintypes were? Do you think it’s from the 1860s or 1870s? I know they were most popular in the 1860s, but after researching Simon Wing cameras, they were still being made in the early 1900s. Thanks again for your help.
I would research the bat to try and get a "no earlier than" dating. The tapered end with no knob and the dark striping may be distinctive enough to identify the era of the bat.
scott
Hi rickzog4 … first, I agree with Scott's suggestion to do some research on the bat.
In regards to my opinion about a Wing camera, there were a lot of multiplying view cameras made from the late 1850s onward that created "gems" but only a few were capable of shooting images smaller than 1/16th plate using a combination of specialized masks and hardware (registration) to control camera back movements for very small pics.
"Gem" is a term used by these early camera makers to describe images smaller than "bon-tons"; there is no standard gem size but the industry stopped designating standard formats at 1/16th plate (1-3/8 x 1-5/8 inches). These are fractional multiples of what is known as whole-plate (6.5 x 8.5 inches).
Most anything smaller than 1/16th plate was sometimes called "postage stamp" by a few makers. Only a couple makers advertised "stamp" formats (including a Butcher Royal Mail I have posted on this site).
In regards to my Wing attribution (opinion), I see a detail in your image that is characteristic of a Wing mask. The upper corners of the image have a slightly rounder curve than the bottom corners. There are many examples of uncut Wing tintypes that are similar. I've seen a lot of uncut tintypes but this "smells" of Wing. The overall plate this image came from could be anything from 4 x 5 to 8 x 10 inches (possibly bigger depending on the number of desired pictures).
Keep in mind that lots of pics are created on a single plate and then cut apart where the masked portions separate the images. You might also want to check my post showing a tintype that is a tiny bit smaller than yours: https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/273809-a-tiny-tintype--postage-stamp-format?in=user
Here are some of my multiplying cameras: https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/91814-early-multiple-lens-wood-and-brass-field-c
In the end, we'll never know the exact camera that made your image bit it is a nice tintype. FWIW, I happen to like really early baseball player images.
Thanks guys. I went back to an older post of mine that was of 2 baseball tintypes to show you guys, but it looks like you already commented on those 6 months ago with a ton of information.
Thanks for all the info on both posts. You guys know your stuff.
Glad to help.
This old posting of a Civil War era carte de visite image of a base ball team may be of interest to you:
https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/172555-rare-civil-war-era-baseball-card
scott