This
1934
Blue Valley Butter Ink Blotter illustrates a boys and girls
baseball team playing ball in front of
a Blue Valley billboard sign, wearing
Blue Valley baseball uniforms. Two
girls looking on with skirt uniforms,
and one boy shouting "Get in the game."
The bottom right reads Good food-good
sport-good health" with "© Blue Valley
Creamery Co. 1934" at the bottom.
In 1935 Frank Frisch, manager of the
St. Louis Cardinals endorsed Goodrich
Safety Silvertown Tires, with
life-saver golden ply. "Blow-Out
Protection At No Extra Cost"
This ink blotter was used as an
advertisement for "Goodrich Silvertown
Stores, Henderson 8000 Telephone
Lakewood 5515, Carnegie at 36th 14710
Detroit Ave."
Frank Frisch is pictured over a yellow background, and the speech bubble
reads: "It's a nerve racking business
to face big league pitchers day in and
day out, but those vicious pitches are
nothing at all compared to the blow-out
I had. I certainly don't want to face
another blow-out. That's why I Have
Goodrich Golden Ply Silvertowns on my
car" Frank Frisch Mgr. St. Louis
Cardinals.
Baseball Schedules were popular and
commonly used, like this
1945 Pittsburgh Pirates, Forbes Field
Home Schedule, ink blotter. Rip
Swell in a pitching pose is featured on
the left, above a list of Pittsburgh
Pirate World and National League
Championships. Separated by the 1945
home schedule,
to the right is Babe Dahlgren,
remembered for replacing Lou Gehrig in
the lineup on May 2, 1939, which ended
Gehrig's 14-year, 2,130 consecutive
game streak. Below Dahlgren in a
batting after-swing pose, is the key
for (N) night games, (D) double
headers, and (H) holidays listed on the
schedule.
In 1949 the John Hancock Insurance
Company ran the Mighty Casey "He
Never Struck Out At All" national
magazine Ad campaign. The company
also produced posters, and ink
blotters which coincide with the
ads.
The John Hancock produced ink
blotters feature "Casey At The
Bat" artwork on the left,
done by renown illustrator Albert Dorne, co-founder of correspondence
schools for aspiring artists,
photographers, and writers.
The original oil painting hung in Buzzie Bavasi's office behind his desk.
Bavasi was General Manager of the
Brooklyn/LA Dodgers from 1951-1968,
the San Diego Padres, 1969-1972
(president from 1973-1976), and GM
of the California Angels from
1977-1984. To the top right of the
"Casey At The Bat" artwork, is a
small segment of the full magazine
poem titled "He Never Struck out at
all"
During the 1950s, noted illustrator
William Medcalf produced a series
of baseball related artworks for
the advertising firm of Brown &
Bigelow. The artwork was featured
on a number of branded promotional
merchandise which included
calendars, schedules,
playing cards, and ink blotters.
Six of Baseballs biggest stars were
depicted on these advertising
novelties; Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner,
and Connie Mack, appeared as they
did in the early 1950's, Babe Ruth,
Lou Gehrig, and John McGraw as
spiritual images. The 3-7/8 by 9
inch
ink
blotters were printed by Brown &
Bigelow with a blank space for
advertisers, to the right of the
William Medcalf illustration. The
advertisement on this Babe Ruth “C'Mon
Kid” ink blotter is for T. B. Lee,
Realtor, 501 County St., in
Virginia.
In 1955 Brown & Bigelow issued the
"Grantland Rice's Roll Call Of
Champions" adverting ink blotters.
Grantland Rice was an early
20th-century American sportswriter
whose writing was published in
newspapers around the country.
The 4 by 9 inch, sports themed ink blotters with the header "Grantland
Rice's Roll Call Of Champions"
featured artwork on the left with a
quotation below written by
Grantland Rice. A space to the
right was reserved for an
advertiser. The bottom reads
"Created by Brown & Bigelow St.
Paul, Minn., U.S.A." The 1955
copyrighted ink blotters subjects
included: Man O'War; Jack Dempsey;
Knute Rockne; Ben Hogan; Bobby
Jones; Charley Paddock; Bronko
Nagurski; Babe Ruth; Lou Gehrig;
and John McGraw-Christy Mathewson.