Lot # 60: 1859 Harper's Weekly Elysian Fields Baseball and Cricket Woodcut

Starting Bid: $50.00

Bids: 4 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed
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Item was in Auction "Fall, 2023 Premier Auction",
which ran from 11/5/2023 12:00 AM to
11/25/2023 9:00 PM



Baseball’s popularity was certainly on the rise in the second half of the 19th century and was often noted by newspapers and periodicals of the day. One of those journals on record was Harper’s Weekly, which was largely a political magazine based in New York City that was published between 1857 to 1916. Its contents included foreign and domestic news, and essays and humor, often alongside illustrations. Offered here is a centerfold, panoramic woodcut illustration that appeared in the Oct. 15, 1859 issue. Found across facing pages (664 and 665), the top half of the spread shows a cricket match in progress at the Elysian Fields in Hoboken, New Jersey, while the bottom half reveals a baseball game, also in Hoboken. The cricket match is titled “The Cricket Match Played at Hoboken on Oct. 3-6, 1859, between the All-England Eleven and the United States Twenty-Two.” The bottom half of the spread is titled “A Base-Ball Match at the Elysian Fields, Hoboken.” The overall dimensions of the center spread measures 22” x  16” high. It remains in Very Good condition.

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