We’ve posted about Isaac Broome’s Baseball Vases before, but given that both vases (one belonging to the New Jersey State Museum and the other to the Detroit Historical Society) are on display together, we feel they should get another mention.
The vases were modelled by Isaac Broome for Ott & Brewer for the firm’s display at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition in 1876. The model Broome used for the figures was Al Van Horn, catcher for Trenton’s baseball team. After the exhibition, the vase on the left became part of John Hart Brewer’s personal collection and remained there until it was donated to the New Jersey State Museum. The vase on the right was presented by Brewer to the National Baseball League in 1887. The Detroit Wolverines won the championship that fall and were awarded the vase as their trophy. It has remained in Detroit ever since, and is now in the collection of the Detroit Historical Society.
The two vases will remain on display at the New Jersey State Museum until January 6, after which the National Baseball League’s trophy vase will be returned to Detroit.