SIGNED FIRST EDITION OF SPALDING’S GREAT BOOK ON BASEBALL
Albert G. Spalding. America’s National Game. Historic Facts Concerning the Beginning Evolution, Development and Popularity of Base Ball with Personal Reminiscences of Its Vicissitudes, Its Victories and Its Votaries. Cartoons by Homer C. Davenport. New York: American Sports Publishing Company, 1911.
First edition, first printing. Octavo. 542 pages. Numerous black and white illustrations and photographs throughout, including a portrait frontispiece. Publisher’s blue cloth with striking gilt titles and decorations.
Inscribed on the front free endpaper by the author A.G. Spalding, “To my esteemed friend, Mr. Samuel Bonn with my compliments and Christmas Greetings. A. G. Spalding, Point Loma Calif. Dec. 25, 1911”
A.G. Spalding (born Sept. 2, 1850, Byron, Ill., U.S.—died Sept. 9, 1915, Point Loma, Calif.) was an American professional baseball player and sporting-goods manufacturer, who contributed to the development of professional baseball and manufactured gear for many sports played in his day. Spalding’s pioneering spirit also led him to aim for technical excellence and innovation in other sports equipment: between 1880 and 1898 Spalding’s company set an enviable amount of records: it created the first tennis, football and golf ball in the U.S. and the very first basketball ball in the world.
America’s National Game is a book by Albert Spalding, published in 1911, that details the early history of the sport of baseball. It is one of the defining books in the early formative years of modern baseball.
