Exceedingly rare original carte de visite (CDV), issued by the J. A. Pierce Company of Chicago, Illinois, capturing eleven members of the 1871 Boston Red Stockings, a founding member of the National Association, baseball's first professional league. PSA has encapsulated the CDV and certified it as "Authentic." This CDV, along with the 1871 Rockford team CDV in this sale, was just recently discovered in a vintage nineteenth-century photo album. The album belonged to an elderly woman whose family originally lived in Rockford, Illinois. Both the Boston and Rockford CDVs were the only two baseball related photos in the album, which consisted mainly of family photos; however, several CDVs and cabinet cards of various circus figures and acrobats were also present, including Tom Thumb.
To the best of our knowledge, this is one of only four surviving examples of this rare team CDV (one resides in the permanent collection of the Chicago Historical Society, another first appeared at auction in 2006 and has remained in private hands since that time, and the third appeared as Lot 13 in Lelands' 2023 Fall Classic Auction). What makes this example significant is that while it was sold by the "J. A. Pierce & Co.," as were all the others, it has a different mount and, most important, predates the other three. That fact can be established by the address listed for the "J. A. Pierce & Co." on both the front and back (on an affixed label): "No. 61 Clark Street, Chicago." The other three known 1871 Boston team CDVs all bear the printed address for the company as "129 West Madison St., Formerly No. 61 South Clark Street." We do not know when the "J. A. Pierce & Co." moved from Clark Street to West Madison St., but we can assume it was probably due to the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Therefore, this is the earliest known 1871 Boston Red Stockings team CDV. Like the other three known 1871 Red Stocking team CDVs, the offered CDV makes note on the reverse that the photographs were taken by O. F. Weaver of Chicago, Illinois. It should also be noted that the J. A. Piece Company issued team composite CDVs for each of the nine founding members of the National Association in 1871.
The composite CDV photograph features portrait images of each player in uniform, including Hall of Famers George Wright, Harry Wright, and Al Spalding. The Boston Red Stockings boasted the league’s most star-studded lineup in 1871. In addition to featuring four former members of the legendary 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings (George Wright, Harry Wright, Cal McVey, and Charlie Gould), the roster also included Ross Barnes, who batted .401 that year, Al Spalding, one of the top pitchers of the era, and Dave Birdsall. Although they finished in second place that year, that nucleus of players helped lead the club to four straight pennants from 1872 to 1875.
The CDV (2.5x4.25 inches) displays a small horizontal crease that is only visible on the reverse and also a small stain on the reverse along the right border.
Estimated domestic USA shipping cost only. Does not include handling or insurance: $27 Please feel free to contact us for a more accurate shipping cost.