Arthur Irwin and the Draper-Maynard Co.

[atabats]

Fascinating article on the double life of Arthur Irwin. Even his great-great-grandson Todd left a comment so you know it ain’t guff!
https://torontoist.com/2014/03/historic ... the-field/

[mikesglove]

An interesting D&M mitt on ebay. I think the period would be circa 1910-13. The wrist strap is a unique feature. Also the leather face of the mitt is sewn using a french seam. The french seam is common on upholstery to hide the raw fabric edge. That is something I've never seen before on a mitt.

[Number9]

Good eye, Mike. Looks pretty, too.

[mikesglove]

Here's an ad for the Irwin glove sold through Keefe & Becannon. You can just make out the diverted thumb seam and pull tab for the lace wrist opening.

[mikesglove]

TOC ball player atop a horse.

The glove looks to be a D&M Irwin catchers glove by the extra long wrist protector.

[mikesglove]

A one year only glove, the Wes Ferrell model G14. It was brought out in 1936 and features the "Crowder" one piece web. This web was attributed to Alvin Crowder, a teammate of Walter Johnson and later with Detroit. This glove is now on ebay and is super rare.


below is a photo of Crowder circa 1935-36.

[mikesglove]

I found this while looking through different auction site results. It looks to be a near mint Hughie Critz model glove. Pretty nice!

[okdoak]

Hack Wilson's 1933 endorsement contract with D&M. I had assumed that the player got a couple of free gloves at least. Hack's life and career had nosedived after the 1930 season when he was the NL MVP, with 56 homers, 191 RBI's, and a .356 BA. He was traded twice and would be out of baseball after 1934. Pretty sad.

[mikesglove]

There aren't any D&M catalogs available between 1895-05. There are a few "missing link" ads however. I couldn't find any actual examples of the 1895-04 mitts so the illustrations will have to do.
The available illustration of an 1895 mitt. Note the two piece face and sewn pocket. The sewing was used to keep the padding in place around the outside and form a pocket in the middle.

Below an ad from 1896. Pretty much the same as the 1895 catalog illustration.

Below a catalog illustration from a 1898 Dame, Stoddard, Kendall catalog. The main change is the one piece face.

The 1905 D&M catalog shows the mitt with a pounced crescent pad and reinforced leather double palm.