[Baseball] Group of 4 Periodicals Related to Baseball, Including an Early 19th Century Illustration of the Game and a Front-Page Image of Willie Mays in an African American Newspaper

1. The Gift of Friendship; Seasoned with Instruction, Both for the Mind and the Eye
New Haven: S. Babcock, n.d. [1835]. Woodcut vignettes throughout. Original pictorial yellow wrappers.

The front wrapper depicts an early rendition of children playing baseball. Although variants of the game had existed for decades, modern baseball was not formally codified until 1845, when Alexander Cartwright helped establish the rules for the New York Knickerbockers.

2. National Chronicle Journal of American Sports and Amusements
Boston, May 28, 1870. Vol. II, No. 21. Printed newspaper. Folio. pp. (161)-174. Disbound. Numerous reports and scores of early baseball matches.

3. The Chicago Evening Post
Chicago, Monday, July 25, 1921. Printed newspaper. Folio. (ii), 12 pp. Toned and very brittle; wear along edges; worn with losses. Reporting on the 1919 Black Sox game-fixing scandal in a local Chicago newspaper.

4. Chicago Daily Defender
Chicago, May 1, 1961. Vol. VI, No. 49. Printed newspaper. Folio. 24 pp. Slightly toned. African American newspaper with a front and rear page image and a report on Willie Mays hitting four home runs in a single game—the first and only time he accomplished the feat in his career. With an article titled "What Happened to Negro Baseball?"

This lot is located in Philadelphia.

[Baseball] Group of 4 Periodicals Related to Baseball, Including an Early 19th Century Illustration of the Game and a Front-Page Image of Willie Mays in an African American Newspaper