1899 Herman Long Imperial Cabinet Card (Elmer Chickering Studios)

Sold For:

$900

Year:

1899

Auction:

2025 Spring

Lot #:

115

Category:

Pre-1900 Baseball Cards (1830-1899)

Extraordinary imperial cabinet photo of shortstop Herman Long produced in 1899 by prominent Boston studio photographer Elmer Chickering, who was responsible for virtually all quality images of the Boston Nationals in the 1890s. This is one of the most impressive baseball player portrait cabinets of the era we have ever offered. The formal studio photo (7.5 x 8.75 inches) features a bust-length image of Long as he poses in his home uniform and is lettered “Herman Long” at the base of his image. The photographer’s copyright notice (“Copyright by E. Chickering") appears in the lower left. The photographer’s name and address also appear in gold lettering on the base of the mount. Traditional studio baseball cabinet cards dating from the very late 1890s are particularly rare and unusual. Nineteenth-century studio cabinet cards almost always date from the 1880s and were largely phased out by the mid-1890s. In addition, between the years 1895 and 1900 very few photographic images of Major League teams and players of any type were produced, an output that stands in stark contrast to the large number of such photos created during the previous decade. The offered cabinet photo is even more extraordinary given its size, which is twice as large as standard cabinet photos, and its incredible high quality. Imperial cabinet photos of this nature were almost always created for special presentation or display and at great expense. The photo has evidence of color added in several areas to restore the photo to its original form. The mount (7-3/4 x 9-7/8 inches), which has color added in a number of areas, has light-to-moderate corner and edge wear and paper loss on the reverse. In Fair condition overall.