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19th Century Gem Tintype - Baseball Player In Uniform With Bat And Hat (Lipman Pike Look-Alike)

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    Posted 4 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.

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    Comments

    1. scottvez scottvez, 4 years ago
      Nice image-- I like early sports image as well!

      scott
    2. rniederman rniederman, 4 years ago
      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.
    3. rickzog4 rickzog4, 4 years ago
      Thanks for the info.
    4. rickzog4 rickzog4, 4 years ago
      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.
    5. scottvez scottvez, 4 years ago
      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
    6. rniederman rniederman, 4 years ago
      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.
    7. rickzog4 rickzog4, 4 years ago
      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.
    8. scottvez scottvez, 4 years ago
      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

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