Baseball Photography of the Deadball Era

Download or read book Baseball Photography of the Deadball Era written by Jim Chapman and published by Chapman Deadball Collection. This book was released on 2023-05-31 with total page 399 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the 2024 SABR Larry Ritter Book Award for best Deadball Era baseball book. Finalist (2nd Place) for 2023 CASEY Award for best baseball book of the year. "A treasure trove of baseball photographs from the first two decades of the Twentieth Century, Baseball Photography of the Deadball Era is not only a visually stunning coffee table book; it is a heavyweight history of the game's first photographers and the images they captured and serves as a definitive reference guide for researchers and colletors." -Doug Skipper, chairman of the Larry Ritter Book Award Committee" While ostensibly a tool for collectors to identify and authenticate Deadball Era photographs, a purpose at which it excels, this book is so much more. At its heart, Baseball Photography of the Deadball Era is the definitive story of the rise of baseball press photographers in the early 20th century and a celebration of the visual splendors of the game they captured. Collectors have long admired the artistry of their beautiful sepia toned baseball prints from the early 1900’s. These images are visual time machines that transport us back to those halcyon days when we romanticize that baseball was pure. What collectors haven’t appreciated, as they have long been shrouded in mystery, are the stories of the men behind the lens and the photo syndicates who distributed their work. These Photographers’ indelible images brought the game from the field to the fans and helped create the baseball legends we still revere. This book lifts the veil on their previously untold stories. Through extensive research and newfound discoveries, the lives of many of the photographic artists and innovators who brought the game to life have been revealed. Their stories are as fascinating as those of the more famous men in front of the lens. Some names are iconic, such as Charles Conlon. Some should be, such as Frances Burke. Dozens more are profiled, all in far more detail than has ever been presented before. Of course, the book contains hundreds of gorgeous are rare images of the Deadball Era, many never seen before by the public. Longtime collectors have generously granted use of their private collections to embellish this story, and what a visual feast it is. Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Christy Mathewson, “Shoeless” Joe Jackson and other ballyard legends are all here, as seen in their glory days. Many readers will buy the book for the images alone. My hope is they stick around for the stories.