This 1940s hot dog vendor's basket from Harry M. Stevens auction is one of only two originals that still exist, the other belonging to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Stevens, a baseball fanatic from England, is sometimes credited as being the inventor of the hot dog and was a preeminent concessionaire of the 1900s. The story goes that Stevens, unable to sell ice cream on a cold April day in New York in 1901, was forced to instead sell German sausages. After running out of the wax paper they were traditionally served in, Stevens again had to call an audible and had an employee pick up buns to hold the sausages, with the end result being the genesis of hot dogs. The wicker basket has stainless steel inserts, with a two-sided lidded receptacle for "red hots." There is a matching holder for napkins and swab for mustard. It measures 24x18x12". Great American food and sport collide in this treasure.