wasn’t necessarily considered a technical master at this point, he was able to show his viewers a mastery of aperture control, which was responsible for the depth of field he was achieving in his photographs. By the time the early 1910s rolled around, Conlon’s work began to feature up-close portraits. Whether it was a shift in his own taste, or simply what the baseball guides demanded after Paul Thompson’s famous series during the 1909 season, we’ll possibly never know. However, this new brand of detailed photographs of the stars displayed the range of human emotion, from joy and repose to displeasure and consternation. The 1913 Eddie Plank portrait in this auction is a perfect example of that. The legendary ballplayer gazes towards the field within the Polo Grounds, seemingly scanning the expanse for one reason or another – one can only guess. But the casualness of what Conlon has captured gives us a little peak into a side of Plank we might not have any other way, even if it’s up to us to decide what it is he might be thinking. The rest
Lot 629: 1921 Waite Hoyt (HOF) Original Type 1 Photo by Charles Conlon (PSA/DNA) - As Seen On His 1933 Goudey Baseball Card Minimum Bid: $400.00
New York City - he was encouraged by the sports editor at The New York Evening Telegram to take his camera to the ballpark. That same editor, John B. Foster, worked for The Spalding Baseball Guide, an annual publication containing editorials from the premier writers of the game, as well as a multitude of stats, photos, and analysis from the previous season, and he made it clear that not only did his publication need such imagery, but that it would also make for a nice ‘day off.’ It was at the PoloGrounds where Charles took his initial baseball photographs, with Christy Mathewson being the very first subject. The well-known photograph is a work of art. Not only do we see the great Christian Gentleman in a full-bodied wind- up, but we have a great view of the leftfield stands within the very ballpark he made his name. In his presentation of Matty, we’re also given a glimpse into the particular day in which he and his subject inhabited: almost high-noon on a somewhat hazy day, Christy’s jersey seems fresh and new underneath the sun, and the unmanicured grass almost gives the impression of a deep green, whether it’s from our own subconscious visuals of what grass looks like or simply something intangible that the photographer managed to imbue into the grayscale. Conlon continued to record the ballplayers of the mid-to-late aughts in a similar manner, whether it was Kid Nichols posing at those same Polo Grounds, Honus Wagner during batting practice at Washington Park in Brooklyn, or Addie Joss soft tossing at Hilltop Park in Washington Heights. Each image is not only a visual statement about that particular player, but also a sign of the times. The bagginess and grit of the uniforms, the unkempt grass and dirt within the confines of the ballpark, the outfield advertisements for alcohol and tobacco, or even the scoreboards, which were updated by hand. Even if Charles
Lot 630: 1926 Eddie Collins (HOF) Original Type 1 Photo by Charles Conlon (PSA/DNA) Minimum Bid: $200.00
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