Lot # 49: Rare Circa 1886 Curtis Welch Baseball Fan

Exceedingly rare 19th century baseball fan featuring St. Louis Browns outfielder Curtis Welch. This is only the second example of this rare fan we have offered in the past 21 years. Similar in design to the popular Goodwin Round Album pages, the colorful graphics feature a large portrait image of Welch in the center, with the name "Welch" printed in red lettering along the base. The reverse displays advertising text for "The United States Organ," a retailer of musical organs located in "Cleveland, Ohio." Curtis Welch played with St. Louis only during the three-year period 1885-1887, which helps to narrowly date the fan to that brief time span. This fan, constructed of cardboard with an attached wooden handle, was part of a set of four different player fans issued during the mid 1880s, all of which are equally rare. The other three players in the set are Charles Comiskey, Cap Anson, and John Montgomery Ward. While these fans were obviously marketed to retailers as promotional pieces (all of the other examples feature various advertising text on the reverse), the manufacturer remains unknown. The fan (7-5/8 inches in diameter, attached to a 5.5-inch wooden stick), which is overprinted on the front with the companies advertisement, displays heavy creasing and a light moisture stain on the reverse. In Fair condition overall.