Vintage Baseball Glove Forum

Hello to all, thanks for having me. Recently I bought this off ebay. It's a youth size, 8.5" tall x 8" wide.
Questions:
1. Any idea of manufacturer or how to determine manufacturer?
2. Same question for age or range of dates for age?
3. Suggestions for conditioning / restoring the old dry cracked leather?
4. Suggestions for removing light surface rust on the wire cage.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?VISuperSize&item=250829363623

Try going to this site http://www.sports-memorabilia-museum.com Look up catchers equipment and click on the very first link Early 1900s birdcage catcher's mask. It isn't exactly the same but could be a start.

Thanks. One of the issues I'm trying to figure out is when did these manufacturers make the switch to welded connections vs the "looped wire" connections or metal fasteners. This one is obviously welded and by manufacturer the year that welded connections was introduced seems to vary.

From research i've done for my own mask, i've found that alot of the youth's masks or amateur's were light welds(not sure if that makes any sense). The library of congress has books you can preview online, they have alot of spalding catalogs from early 1900's. Their site displays pretty good detail, most of the equipment is near the last pages of the guides.