Lot # 44: 1884 "Our Base Ball Club" Signed First-Edition Hardcover Book - Superb Early Baseball Cover Artwork!

Ornate first edition example of the first baseball novel ever written, "Our Base Ball Club And How It Won The Championship" by Noah Brooks, printed in 1884. The offered example is signed by the author to Walter Dobbins, manager of the Peekskill Highlanders Baseball Club, and features a foreword by noted baseball pioneer and Hall of Famer Al Spalding. This is one of only a few copies of this 200+ page hardcover novel that we have ever seen. We have seen later printings that do not feature the elaborate and colorful baseball images on the front and back covers as is the case with the offered example. Both covers exhibit minor wear which is heavier along the edges and at the corners. The spine on both sides exhibits slight separation and heavy wear. The interior pages are toned but in overall excellent condition. Noah Brooks is also notable for his work with Abraham Lincoln as an early biographer of the president as well as an invited - but unable to attend - guest to Ford's Theatre on the evening of Lincoln's assassination. This baseball novel is an outstanding title worthy of any early book or ephemera collection. Full LOA from James Spence/JSA for the signature.