1881 Princeton Baseball Nine, Nast Double, Coaching Club, Cornell Crew — May 14
$55.55
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1881 Princeton Baseball Nine, Nast Double, Coaching Club, Cornell Crew — May 14
📜 ABOUT THIS PIECE OF HISTORY 📜
This May 14, 1881 issue of Harper's Weekly is a collector's dream combining early college baseball history, two Thomas Nast political cartoons, the glamour of the Gilded Age Coaching Club, and the Cornell crew heading to England — all in sixteen beautifully preserved pages. The Princeton baseball illustration alone makes this one of the most sought-after sports history issues in the 1881 Harper's Weekly run. For collectors of early baseball history, Thomas Nast, Gilded Age sporting culture, and 19th-century Americana, this issue is exceptional.
⚾ "THE PRINCETON COLLEGE BASE-BALL NINE" — EARLY BASEBALL PRIMARY SOURCE
The most significant illustration in this issue — and one of the finest early college baseball images in the entire Harper's Weekly run — is the half-page print of "The Princeton College Base-Ball Nine," showing the full team in uniform, posed with their bats, ball, and two catcher's masks, accompanied by a related article "The Princeton Nine."
This is a primary source document of extraordinary importance for collectors of early baseball history and college sports history. Princeton was one of the pioneering institutions of American college baseball, and this 1881 image — showing the team in their period uniforms with the equipment of the era — is among the earliest and finest illustrated records of an Ivy League baseball program in the American press. The inclusion of the two catcher's masks is a particularly notable detail, as the catcher's mask had only been introduced in 1876 and remained a novelty and point of fascination for the general public. A fully displayable piece of exceptional rarity and historical significance for baseball historians, Princeton alumni and collectors, and early sports history enthusiasts.
🎨 FULL FRONT PAGE — THOMAS NAST: "IS THERE TO BE A POWER BEHIND THE THRONE?"
The full front page delivers a Thomas Nast political cartoon — "Is There To Be A Power Behind The Throne?" — a pointed commentary on the behind-the-scenes political power struggles of the early Garfield administration, rendered with Nast's characteristic allegorical precision. Published just weeks before Garfield's assassination, this cartoon carries the weight of historical hindsight — a document of the political tensions that defined his tragically brief presidency.
🦅 THOMAS NAST — "HOW THEY EXPECT TO GET ON A SOUND FOOTING"
The back page delivers a second Thomas Nast political cartoon featuring Uncle Sam — "How They Expect to Get on a Sound Footing" — making this one of the prized double-Nast issues of the 1881 run. Two complete Nast illustrations substantially elevate the collectible value for Nast enthusiasts and students of Gilded Age political art.
🐎 DOUBLE-PAGE CENTERFOLD — "THE COACHING CLUB"
The visual centerpiece of the issue is a sweeping double-page centerfold of "The Coaching Club" — one of the most fashionable and exclusive sporting institutions of Gilded Age New York, whose members drove four-in-hand coaches through Central Park and along the city's finest roads in the grand English tradition. The Coaching Club attracted the wealthiest and most socially prominent sportsmen of the era — the Vanderbilts, Belmonts, and their circle — and its annual parade was one of the great spectacles of the New York social calendar. A fully displayable centerfold of great appeal to collectors of Gilded Age sporting culture, carriage history, and New York social history.
🚣 "THE CORNELL CREW FOR ENGLAND"
A print showing four members of the Cornell University crew preparing for their transatlantic journey to compete in England — a vivid document of the era's exciting international collegiate athletic competition and the growing prestige of American college rowing on the world stage.
🏔️ "UP THE MORNE BRABANT, ISLAND OF MAURITIUS"
An illustration of the dramatic volcanic peak of Morne Brabant on the island of Mauritius — a striking piece of Victorian world travel illustration capturing one of the Indian Ocean's most iconic landscapes.
🖼️ ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS & PORTRAITS
"In the Toils of the Telegraph — To This Complexion We May Come At Last" — a comic illustration on the growing tyranny of telegraph communication in modern life, with sharp contemporary resonance
"John Presents the Monthly Gas Tax" — a comic domestic genre scene
"The Late James T. Fields" — portrait of the celebrated Boston publisher and editor of The Atlantic Monthly, one of the most influential literary figures of the 19th century
"Sir Stafford Northcote" — portrait of the prominent British Conservative statesman
"The Late Emile de Girardin" — portrait of the pioneering French newspaper publisher and political figure
🔍 CONDITION & TRANSPARENCY 🔍
Completeness: Complete 16-page issue.
Authenticity: Guaranteed original woodblock printing from May 14, 1881 — not a reproduction.
Condition Report: Presents well for its 144-year age. Natural toning to the newsprint consistent with age. The Princeton baseball team illustration, both Nast cartoons, the Coaching Club centerfold, and the Cornell crew print are all clear and displayable.
I photograph every page of every issue so you can inspect the condition closely before purchasing. Please review all images carefully and don't hesitate to ask any questions — I'm happy to provide additional detail or close-up shots of any page, illustration, or area of concern before you buy.
📦 SHIPPING & PRESERVATION 📦
Housed in an acid-free archival folder with Mylar overlay to protect the 144-year-old newsprint
Flat-shipped with heavy-duty reinforcement to ensure safe arrival of the centerfold
Fully tracked for your peace of mind
🏷️ TAGS
1881 Harpers Weekly, Princeton Baseball Nine 1881, Early College Baseball History, Princeton University Baseball, Thomas Nast Power Behind Throne, Thomas Nast Uncle Sam Sound Footing, Coaching Club Centerfold, Cornell Crew England 1881, Catcher's Mask Baseball 1881, Gilded Age Baseball Primary Source, Ivy League Baseball History, Antique Newspaper 1881, 19th Century Americana, Gilded Age Coaching Club, Victorian Collegiate Sports History Sonnet 4.6
1881 Princeton Baseball Nine, Nast Double, Coaching Club, Cornell Crew — May 14
$55.55