Historically remarkable 1862 Leather bound 9 1/2" x 12" Photograph album of the graduating class of Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. This album was once the property of classmate Francis Huntington Snow and has F. H. Snow in gold gild on the spine as well as Photographs and Class of '62. Inside the album are salt print photographs of eleven faculty members and 71 students, the entire graduating class. Nearly 3/4 of these are also signed in fountain pen beneath the attached oval photograph, some with brief notes of endearment as well. The number of historical figures in the album is appreciable as many served in the Civil War, went on to become Clergy, Professors, etc. Faculty members such as Mark Hopkins, Albert Hopkins, John Tatlock, Phineas Chadbourne, Isaac Lincoln, Arthur Perry and John Perry among others.
For our focus in this auction, the inclusion of several members of the school are in this album that participated in a chess match and baseball games played against Amherst College July 1st and 2nd, 1859. Namely, Samuel Blagdon, Nason, George Parker, William Parker and Homer Rogers. Thirteen members were selected by student body ballot for each team, with substitutions allowed only in the case of injury. Neither team wore uniforms, but the Williams squad sported club belts. Each team provided a baseball and a bat, the former constructed from a lead pellet wound with yarn and then sewn shut inside a calfskin shell. An inning consisted of a single out but the game nonetheless lasted three and a half hours, with a recess between the fifth and sixth innings much like in cricket.
It was expected that the Amherst team, comprised of older, more physical players, would claim the baseball half of the competition, with the more cerebral Williams team the favorite for the chess portion. But ultimately the Amherst side swept the proceedings, their raucous celebration lasting through the evening and on to Independence Day the following morning. The final score of the baseball game, played under the early "Massachusetts Rules," was a nail-biting seventy-three to thirty-two.
Also pictured in uniform but not a participant in the 1859 game is a student by the name of Sawyer. Equally important are the images of three of the young men who participated in the Chess Match, Edward Brewster, Henry Anstice, Jr. and the albums original owner Francis H. Snow.
Also included is a 1912 Fiftieth Anniversary Report of the Class of '62, detailing each person in the class and their achievements over the past 50 years. A photo of members present at the 50 year Reunion is printed in the book as well. Lastly an April 1908 telegram from Francis H. Snow to his daughter Edith Snow in regards to family matters. Signed "Daddie" this was only months before he would die in September of 1908. Francis H. Snow was one of the founding members of the University of Kansas. The last photo shown above(the unsigned one) is Francis H. Snow.
As to condition, the album pages have separated from the spine and many are loose, a rebinding and reattaching of the pages to the binding would make a museum quality piece. Each page has it's fly leaf and for the most part each photo page is undamaged. The smaller 1912 booklet has the spine missing and the cover loose, yet the interior pages are all in nice condition with no writing or tape.
This photograph album has been discussed in the hobby over the last year since it's discovery, the contents of such are extremely rare, especially the signed photos of some historically significant people in the history of both college sports and The United States as well. We will offer this at a low opening price and let the market determine it's fair price and new home. The only item shown, not included with this offering is the newspaper image from the Amherst Express.