Untitled (Baseball game)

This proof before letters aquarelle print includes the color chart below image. It is of the print titled Bass Ball by Henry Sandman and published by L. Prang, Co. and depicts a baseball game in progress. The batter is dressed in a dark blue or blackish uniform with long white socks and may belong to the Chicago White Stocking Team. His teammates are sitting on a bench in the right foreground. The players in the field are dressed in white or cream uniforms with red belts and long red socks and are probably members of the Boston Beaneaters-earlier known as the Boston Red Stockings. Their star player/manager during this period was Mike "King Kelly", who would have played for the Chicago White Stockings the year earlier but who was in 1887 Boston's catcher, outfielder and star batter. Kelly was noted for his slide and for reciting "Casey at the Bat". The team's name was later changed to the Boston Braves in the National League and they eventually became the Atlanta Braves -but by then Boston had the American league Red Sox. The players are watching the ball being caught by the shortstop.

The baseball diamond is enclosed by a wooden fence with spectators standing on a hill in the background, outside the fence. In the background, in the far outfield are several flag poles flying the American flag, and lines run between the poles displaying numerous colorful pennants. Curiously, there are also 2 flag poles flying white flags with big red balls or circles in the middle and a third that had a red border on the top and edge. They appear visually similar to the national flag of Japan that was introduced in 1868 but maybe they were Sandman's invention to add additional color and variety and have no significance?.

Henry "Hy" Sandman was born May 24, 1842 in Montreal, Canada. He studied under British artist/lithographer John Arthur Fraser, and later married Fraser's sister. He became an illustrator and painter, creating works for Harper's Weekly, Scribner's Monthly, and Century Magazine. In 1885 he moved to Boston and would have then worked with Prang. By 1901 Sandham had moved to England and participated in the Royal Academy of Arts Annual exhibition. He died in England June 21, 1910.

Louis Prang (1824-1910) was the founder of L. Prang and Co. He was born in Breslau, Prussian Silesia, and immigrated to America in 1850. Settling in Boston, he began his lithographic career in 1856, partnering with Julius Mayer. In 1860, he established his own firm, which grew to become one of the largest producers of American colored lithographs during the 19th century. The company’s first lithographic prints were Civil War battle scenes, maps, and portraits of military and political leaders. Louis Prang & Co. remained in operation until 1898, producing greeting cards, facsimiles of American and European paintings, and natural history prints.

Currently not on view