How History Unfolds on Paper: Important Americana from the Eric C. Caren Collection, Part X

Washoe County, Nevada, ca. 1890s-early 1900s. Silver gelatin print on original cardstock. Corners slightly worn; some scattered stains to mount; dampstaining to verso. Photo: 7 3/16 x 9 3/8 (182 x 238 mm); mount: 10 1/4 x 12 1/2 in. (260 x 317 mm).

An early photograph of a women's basketball team from Washoe County, Nevada. In the United States, basketball was the first women’s team sport. First played by women at Smith College in 1892, a year after the sport’s creation, it quickly spread throughout the country over the ensuing decade. The early history of the sport was dominated by Senda Berenson, known as the “founding mother of women’s basketball”, who taught the sport at Smith. In line with Victorian norms, she modified the rules of the game to meet social expectations relating to women, such as increasing the number of players and prescriptions on types of playing and maneuvers, in order to reduce physicality and keep physical exposure to a minimum. This is reflected in the present photo by their concealing uniforms, typically comprised of long skirts or bloomers. The first inter-collegiate game was played in 1896, and the first high school game the following year. In 1899, Berenson published the first rules guide for women’s basketball, which was largely adhered to until the 1960s. Over the following decades the rules restraining the types of play were loosened, and in 1978, the first professional league was formed.