Vintage 1860's stereoview photograph of an extremely early baseball game in progress and captured from above, providing a rare image of the entire field and playing surface. A game is in progress and shows the umpire, players, bench, and a batter ready to hit the ball from a pitcher with his bat poised in the air. While the image itself is extremely rare and important as one of the best images of a game in progress from the Civil War era, it actually has an element that sets it apart from other early game action photographs, they appear to be playing the "Massachusetts Game" or at least a hybrid of it, making it perhaps the only image of this style known. The underlying ascertain is supported by the fact that the defense has ten men in the field of play, which was strictly forbidden and codified at nine by the "Knickerbocker Rules" or the "New York Game." There is clearly a pitcher, catcher, and player manning each base, while there is also a fielder between each base and three outfielders. While the style is murky, it is clearly not your standard New York Style game and is worthy of note. The reverse carries a faded pencil caption that appears to state this was the BBB Club. This is almost certainly a unique image from a local photographer as there is no studio credit or stamps on the back, and it is being offered here for the first time ever! An exciting new discovery that is sure to provide some debate about what exactly was going on here and what style of baseball is being played! The portion at left grades almost perfect while the image at right has a chip off the upper left corner, not affecting the game image at all.

Size: 4x7
Designation: Vintage 1
Condition: 2/5
Quality: 5/5
Overall Grade: 7/10