figure eight baseball

Share your bats, catchers equipment, trophies, pinbacks, pennants, etc., discuss sports or other collecting interests

figure eight baseball

Postby Deacon » December 10th, 2007, 12:07 pm

Recently I was fortunate to pick up a nice figure eight baseball. The leather & stitching are in great shape, but I'm just interested to know if anyone has any experience in maintaining & storing older baseballs. Should it be kept in a ball cube? Should the leather be treated to avoid cracking & such? Maybe lanolin or glove oil.
I'd appreciate any suggestions or experiences.
thanks in advance
User avatar
Deacon
Veteran Glove Poster
 
Posts: 183
Joined: April 27th, 2006, 11:52 am
Location: Western NY

Postby Number9 » December 11th, 2007, 11:31 pm

I also collect older league baseballs. They are a fun side pursuit. For me, I take the opposite approach to that of my gloves. I avoid cleaning and oiling them for two reasons. One; the nicer the ball, the more valuable it is. After spending some good money to get it in my hands, I don't want to alter it. I don't think it enhances anything, certainly not the value. You also run the risk of removing or obscuring the stamping which is usually nothing more than ink on the surface. Reason two; if I buy a beater for display, the character is in the surface, I personally wouldn't want to remove that.

If you were to do anything to them, do it lightly. The more water that is in the solution the more the leather will shrink. Also, avoid stuff like saddle soaps that have wax in them. You probably don't want them to be shiny. Something like lanolin, as you mentioned, would probably be ok if you used it sparingly. Be prepared for the leather to darken though, no matter what you use.

I have most of them in ball cubes, mainly because I don't have them displayed. The stackable cubes make it easier to store them. I don't really worry about the few that I do have out though. They're replaceable.

Just curious, what kind of ball are you considering cleaning/treating?
User avatar
Number9
Hall of Famer Glove Poster
 
Posts: 510
Joined: September 12th, 2006, 12:31 am
Location: Boston

figure eight baseball

Postby Deacon » December 12th, 2007, 7:43 am

Sorry for not being more descriptive in my original post.....but the ball is a c 1870 baseball. The leather is a dark brown with no visible writing. A ball cube for a modern day ball is too small, the ball touches the sides of the cube, I'm sure a softball size cube would work. I'm really concerned about the leather drying out and possibly crack or check. Thanks for your help.
User avatar
Deacon
Veteran Glove Poster
 
Posts: 183
Joined: April 27th, 2006, 11:52 am
Location: Western NY

Postby Number9 » December 12th, 2007, 5:07 pm

Nice pickup.

I'd be more concerned with maintaining an ideal, or at least a consistent, environment at this point. It's lasted this long as is. One thing is for sure, it's already dry. I'd be worried about doing more harm than good. Since it's already dark, a little lanolin would probably help it out.

I think Steiner makes a glass case with a pedestal stand. Those are over-sized and look great with a single ball. The glass is UV protected too. I think they are around $25 each. You can find them on ebay.
User avatar
Number9
Hall of Famer Glove Poster
 
Posts: 510
Joined: September 12th, 2006, 12:31 am
Location: Boston

Postby kenyon » December 12th, 2007, 6:17 pm

I also collect baseballs. To protect and preserve my baseballs, I wrap them in unbuffered, acid-free tissue paper which is completely PH neutral (made of pure wood pulp), then put them in acid free boxes. I have never treated my baseballs with anything. The best thing you can do is store them in an acid free environment avoiding extreme temperature storage locations such as humid basements and hot attics.
kenyon
Rookie Glove Poster
 
Posts: 28
Joined: August 7th, 2007, 1:17 am
Location: Utah

Postby Deacon » December 12th, 2007, 8:11 pm

I really appreciate the input & I think I could put the advise of both to good use. The old figure eight is going to have to be in a display case, my entire collection isn't that big and I like to look at it all. I do have a couple of other balls that aren't as display worthy, but still are valuable enough to me to want to preserve them & perhaps the acid free wrap would be best suited there. Are the paper & boxes readily available? I don't recall seeing any thing like this, but then again, I've never looked.
thanks again for all the information
User avatar
Deacon
Veteran Glove Poster
 
Posts: 183
Joined: April 27th, 2006, 11:52 am
Location: Western NY

Postby kenyon » December 14th, 2007, 1:52 pm

Acid free tissue paper is available at just about any craft store. Acid free boxes are a little more difficult to find. I buy them online. www.archivalsuppliers.com Good luck with the baseball.
kenyon
Rookie Glove Poster
 
Posts: 28
Joined: August 7th, 2007, 1:17 am
Location: Utah

Postby Deacon » December 14th, 2007, 8:34 pm

great information
I'll have to browse their site & find what might be suitable for the balls & perhaps other things as well.
I've got a one of the glass ball cubes on order. I think when I apply lanolin to one of my gloves, I'll try to rub the residual off onto the ball. The way the lanoiln drags & pulls when you apply it, I'd be almost affraid to pull a seam on the ball.
Has anyone tried softening the lanolin by heating? microwave perhaps?
User avatar
Deacon
Veteran Glove Poster
 
Posts: 183
Joined: April 27th, 2006, 11:52 am
Location: Western NY

Postby Number9 » December 14th, 2007, 10:50 pm

The Container Store has archival boxes. The ornament storage boxes look like a good option. There's one near me, if I have any free time this weekend I may head over. Hopefully they're not seaonal. I'd fill one of these every couple of months. Unfortunately for the amount of baseballs I'd be looking to store it could get pricey.

Here's the link to the homepage. Search "archival" and they'll pop up. They sell archival tissue too.

www.containerstore.com
User avatar
Number9
Hall of Famer Glove Poster
 
Posts: 510
Joined: September 12th, 2006, 12:31 am
Location: Boston

Postby Number9 » December 15th, 2007, 6:12 pm

Dropped by the Container Store today after doing some holiday shopping. They have the ornament boxes in stock and they work great. Best part is that they aren't seasonal items so if I run out of slots in June I can pick up another one.

Thanks for the tip Kenyon. I've been thinking about how to store all this stuff I've accumulated over the years. This will work out nicely.
User avatar
Number9
Hall of Famer Glove Poster
 
Posts: 510
Joined: September 12th, 2006, 12:31 am
Location: Boston

Baseball Guide

Postby softball66 » December 17th, 2007, 5:34 pm

Hey Guys! Don't forget we've got a Vintage Baseballs Price Guide available!
Lots of pictures and illustrations. COVERING: Dating Chronology of Major Legue Baseballs, Spalding, Reach, Rawlings. History of Development of the balls, how made, grading and getting them signed, various brands and manufacturers during the years, some catalog listings.
Sells for $18.95 plus $3 for postage. Contact me at glovecollector@tx.rr.com, 972 699 1808 or pay thru paypal. We have it up on our web site at glovecollector.com. :P
softball66
Hall of Famer Glove Poster
 
Posts: 1638
Joined: April 18th, 2006, 11:20 pm


Return to Not a Glove But Still Cool

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 17 guests