{"object":[{"sourceId":{"label":"Source ID","value":"2598"},"altNumsArchivespace":{"label":"ArchiveSpace","value":["P4.1999.1","2008.16.1"]},"copyright":{"label":"Copyright","value":"The American Folk Art Museum believes this work to be in the public domain."},"creditline":{"label":"Credit Line","value":"Gift of Millie and Bill Gladstone"},"endDate":{"label":"End Date","value":"1908"},"labelText":{"label":"Label Text","value":""},"sortNumber":{"label":"Sort Number","value":"2008    26    1"},"invno":{"label":"Accession number","value":"2008.26.1"},"medium":{"label":"Medium","value":"Paint on wood"},"geographyPlaceregion":{"label":"Place/Region","value":"New York"},"media":{"label":"Media","value":{"mediaURL":"https://collection.folkartmuseum.org/internal/media/dispatcher/4735/full","mediaDepartment":"Object Photographs","mediaType":"Image","mediaId":"4735"}},"title":{"label":"Title","value":"Baseball Player Show Figure"},"geographyCity":{"value":"New York"},"textEntriesWebsitedisplaytext":{"value":["Baseball, stated poet Walt Whitman, is \u201cour game . . . America\u2019s game.\u201d To some it is perfect metaphor for America itself: there are strict rules to govern conduct, and success is dependent on people working together, but there are many opportunities for individual achievement. Baseball evolved from earlier games such as the British rounders. By the mid-1840s, the rules were codified and the game was being played publically by formal teams. It was not until later in the nineteenth century, however, that baseball took on national dimensions and individual players were celebrated. For one thing, in the early decades most people did not know what the players looked like. As their likenesses began to appear on commercial products such as cigarette premiums, the cult of celebrity grew.This carving may depict Michael J. \u201cKing\u201d Kelly, the most popular player of the 1880s. Kelly was one of the first baseball players to negotiate the use of his image into his contract with the Boston Beaneaters. The figure was made by Samuel Anderson Robb in his New York City woodcarving shop. Robb had located at 114 Centre Street in 1888 and remained at this address until 1903. He is credited with contributing to what came to be known as the \u201cNew York style\u201d of show figure, life-size carvings used to advertise tobacco and other goods that were often based on well-known figures or caricatures of familiar stereotypes.Stacy C. Hollander, \"Baseball Player Show Figure,\" exhibition label for Self-Taught Genius: Treasures from the American Folk Art Museum. Stacy C. Hollander and Valérie Rousseau, curators. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2014.Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information.　To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.org","This figure was made by Samuel Robb, one of the most prominent carvers to work in the New York show-figure style. Robb was descended from a family of shipcarvers, but as the demand for figureheads and other ship decorations waned in the middle of the nineteenth century, artisans such as Robb refocused their talents on show figures and other works for urban businesses. In 1888, Robb moved to 114 Centre Street in Lower Manhattan, where he remained until 1903.By the time this figure was carved, baseball was America's national pastime, and baseball player show figures were so numerous that one reporter commented, \"Dudes are just now a drug in the market, as they have been lately supplanted by 'baseball players.'\" The face of this carving, which survives in original condition, bears a strong resemblance to contemporary photographs of Michael J. \"King\" Kelly, the most popular player of the 1880s and one of the first to maximize his popularity off the field as well as on. In addition to the unprecedented salary of $2,000 that he earned in 1887 from the Boston Beaneaters, his contract also specified that he would receive $3,000 for the \"use of his picture.\"","SCULPTURE","Samuel Anderson Robb was descended from a family of New York shipcarvers and became the most prominent carver to work in the New York show-figure style. His transition from figurehead carving to the carving of life-size show figures is emblematic of a shift that began about 1840, as woodcarving shops started to change their focus from sailing vessels to businesses in urban areas. Before opening his own workshop in 1876, Robb first apprenticed with Thomas Brooks in the late 1860s, then worked for William Demuth. At this time, he enrolled at Cooper Union in New York City, where he studied perspective drawing and drawing from life, receiving his certificate in 1873. After Brooks left for Chicago in 1879, Robb\u2019s workshop became the principal source for New York show figures.In 1888, Robb moved to 114 Centre Street, where he remained until 1903. It was here that he carved the Baseball Player Show Figure. Robb\u2019s name and address are incised on the front of this unusually well-preserved carving, which stands on its original base. It is not known whether it represents a generic type, as do many show figures, or a particular player of the period. Robb is known to have carved several baseball players in his workshop. By 1886, baseball players were so numerous that one reporter commented, \u201cDudes are just now a drug in the market, as they have been lately supplanted by \u2018baseball players.\u2019\u201dTobacco figures in the form of a baseball player speak to an association that goes beyond the familiar sight of players chewing tobacco in the dugout. In fact, part of the celebrity status already attained by individual ballplayers and teams during the late nineteenth century was engendered by the marketing of collectible cards illustrated with lithographs and, later, photographs. Not surprisingly, these early cards were produced mostly by tobacco companies such as Old Judge, which printed one of the largest series of cards, from 1887 to 1890, with photographs of players from forty major and minor league teams."]},"bibliography":{"label":"Bibliography","value":""},"collections":{"label":"Collections","value":"Three Dimensional Works"},"geography":{"label":"Geography","value":"New York"},"id":{"label":"Id","value":"153995"},"geographyState":{"value":"New York"},"markings":{"label":"Markings","value":"Inscribed lower front center"},"geographyCountry":{"value":"United States"},"onview":{"label":"On View","value":"0"},"people":{"label":"Artist / Maker","value":{"displayOrder":"1","personRole":"Artist","personID":"1045","content":"Samuel Anderson Robb"}},"classifications":{"label":"Classification(s)","value":"Sculpture"},"textEntries":{"label":"Text Entries","value":["Baseball, stated poet Walt Whitman, is \u201cour game . . . America\u2019s game.\u201d To some it is perfect metaphor for America itself: there are strict rules to govern conduct, and success is dependent on people working together, but there are many opportunities for individual achievement. Baseball evolved from earlier games such as the British rounders. By the mid-1840s, the rules were codified and the game was being played publically by formal teams. It was not until later in the nineteenth century, however, that baseball took on national dimensions and individual players were celebrated. For one thing, in the early decades most people did not know what the players looked like. As their likenesses began to appear on commercial products such as cigarette premiums, the cult of celebrity grew.This carving may depict Michael J. \u201cKing\u201d Kelly, the most popular player of the 1880s. Kelly was one of the first baseball players to negotiate the use of his image into his contract with the Boston Beaneaters. The figure was made by Samuel Anderson Robb in his New York City woodcarving shop. Robb had located at 114 Centre Street in 1888 and remained at this address until 1903. He is credited with contributing to what came to be known as the \u201cNew York style\u201d of show figure, life-size carvings used to advertise tobacco and other goods that were often based on well-known figures or caricatures of familiar stereotypes.Stacy C. Hollander, \"Baseball Player Show Figure,\" exhibition label for Self-Taught Genius: Treasures from the American Folk Art Museum. Stacy C. Hollander and Valérie Rousseau, curators. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2014.Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information.　To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.org","This figure was made by Samuel Robb, one of the most prominent carvers to work in the New York show-figure style. Robb was descended from a family of shipcarvers, but as the demand for figureheads and other ship decorations waned in the middle of the nineteenth century, artisans such as Robb refocused their talents on show figures and other works for urban businesses. In 1888, Robb moved to 114 Centre Street in Lower Manhattan, where he remained until 1903.By the time this figure was carved, baseball was America's national pastime, and baseball player show figures were so numerous that one reporter commented, \"Dudes are just now a drug in the market, as they have been lately supplanted by 'baseball players.'\" The face of this carving, which survives in original condition, bears a strong resemblance to contemporary photographs of Michael J. \"King\" Kelly, the most popular player of the 1880s and one of the first to maximize his popularity off the field as well as on. In addition to the unprecedented salary of $2,000 that he earned in 1887 from the Boston Beaneaters, his contract also specified that he would receive $3,000 for the \"use of his picture.\"","SCULPTURE","Samuel Anderson Robb was descended from a family of New York shipcarvers and became the most prominent carver to work in the New York show-figure style. His transition from figurehead carving to the carving of life-size show figures is emblematic of a shift that began about 1840, as woodcarving shops started to change their focus from sailing vessels to businesses in urban areas. Before opening his own workshop in 1876, Robb first apprenticed with Thomas Brooks in the late 1860s, then worked for William Demuth. At this time, he enrolled at Cooper Union in New York City, where he studied perspective drawing and drawing from life, receiving his certificate in 1873. After Brooks left for Chicago in 1879, Robb\u2019s workshop became the principal source for New York show figures.In 1888, Robb moved to 114 Centre Street, where he remained until 1903. It was here that he carved the Baseball Player Show Figure. Robb\u2019s name and address are incised on the front of this unusually well-preserved carving, which stands on its original base. It is not known whether it represents a generic type, as do many show figures, or a particular player of the period. Robb is known to have carved several baseball players in his workshop. By 1886, baseball players were so numerous that one reporter commented, \u201cDudes are just now a drug in the market, as they have been lately supplanted by \u2018baseball players.\u2019\u201dTobacco figures in the form of a baseball player speak to an association that goes beyond the familiar sight of players chewing tobacco in the dugout. In fact, part of the celebrity status already attained by individual ballplayers and teams during the late nineteenth century was engendered by the marketing of collectible cards illustrated with lithographs and, later, photographs. Not surprisingly, these early cards were produced mostly by tobacco companies such as Old Judge, which printed one of the largest series of cards, from 1887 to 1890, with photographs of players from forty major and minor league teams."]},"beginDate":{"label":"Begin Date","value":"1883"},"displayDate":{"label":"Date","value":"1888\u20131903"},"exhibitions":{"label":"Exhibitions","value":[{"exhibitionDisplayDate":"Friday, January 21, 2022 - Monday, September 5, 2022","exhibitionEndISODate":"2022-09-05","exhibitionID":"251","exhibitionISOBeginDate":"2022-01-21","exhibitionBeginDate":"2022","exhibitionTitle":"MULTITUDES","exhibitionEndDate":"2022"},{"exhibitionDisplayDate":"Tuesday, September 30, 1986 - Sunday, April 24, 1988","exhibitionEndISODate":"1988-04-24","exhibitionID":"115","exhibitionISOBeginDate":"1986-09-30","exhibitionBeginDate":"1986","exhibitionTitle":"Young America","exhibitionEndDate":"1988"},{"exhibitionDisplayDate":"Thursday, July 11, 2002 - Sunday, January 5, 2003","exhibitionEndISODate":"2003-01-26","exhibitionID":"73","exhibitionISOBeginDate":"2002-07-11","exhibitionBeginDate":"2002","exhibitionTitle":"American Anthem","exhibitionEndDate":"2003"},{"exhibitionDisplayDate":"Friday, March 15, 2019 - Sunday, July 28, 2019","exhibitionEndISODate":"2019-07-28","exhibitionID":"231","exhibitionISOBeginDate":"2019-03-15","exhibitionBeginDate":"2019","exhibitionTitle":"Made in New York City","exhibitionEndDate":"2019"},{"exhibitionDisplayDate":"Tuesday, June 17, 2003 - Sunday, January 25, 2004","exhibitionEndISODate":"2004-01-25","exhibitionID":"126","exhibitionISOBeginDate":"2003-06-17","exhibitionBeginDate":"2003","exhibitionTitle":"The Perfect Game","exhibitionEndDate":"2004"},{"exhibitionDisplayDate":"Tuesday, May 13, 2014 - Sunday, August 17, 2014","exhibitionEndISODate":"2014-08-17","exhibitionID":"171","exhibitionISOBeginDate":"2014-05-13","exhibitionBeginDate":"2014","exhibitionTitle":"Self-Taught Genius","exhibitionEndDate":"2014"}]},"altNums":{"label":"Alternative Numbers","value":["P4.1999.1","2008.16.1"]},"dimensions":{"label":"Dimensions","value":"76 × 21 3/4 × 24\" (with wheeled base)"}}]}