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Although rooted in humble beginnings, the game of baseball had become a cultural phenomenon by the close of the nineteenth century. The offered scrapbook entitled Our National Game is a stirring glimpse into the early game. Although dating this approximately 11x14 hardcover book is speculative, the colorful illustrations that depict baseball terminology suggest a possible release in the 1880s or early-1890s. A total of six of the twenty leaves exhibit baseball imagery, while another five leaves contain period trade cards (or remnants thereof) affixed to the pages, all of which are not baseball-related. The key baseball pages that are dispersed inside this book are entitled "Wild Pitch", "Fly Ball", "Caught Between Bases", "Foul Ball" and "Home Run". These illustrations exhibit bold, vibrant colors set against a small town backdrop. The handsome blue cover reveals negligible soiling and wear amidst a gold-embossed, floral-and-baseball-diamond theme. The spine also displays inconsequential fraying, while the age-toned inner pages reveal minor instances of writing, and a single torn, non-illustrated page. An impressive artifact relating to the zenith of nineteenth-century baseball fervor.
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