I was bummed, I got outbid by three of four other bids and I used Auctionsniper. I was really intrigued by these and I didn't bring them up either.
My best guess is that someone made these for a child. The smallest baseballs that I know of that were made for the actual playing of a bat and ball type game is about the size of a golf ball. These are way too small for more than batting these with a pencil across a table.
I wouldn't think they were a salesman sample based on the way that they are constructed. A sample that was manufactured by a company trying to sell baseballs would have a more professional look (why buy a ball that looks like this from a manufacturer when your mother could do just as good a job
).
As far as the age goes, I would think maybe a little earlier, maybe the 1870s. From the looks of the photo, it appears that the lemon peel, belt and figure 8 are all represented. The time when all of these would be prominent is the 1870s as the belt and lemon peels were in decline during this decade.
A very interesting group though. I just wish I had pushed for these a little harder. Oh well!
Take care all,
Rob L
