A stunningly rare piece of early baseball bric a brac is this mug meticulously hand-painted with a quaint game scene before a wooden grandstand. Intriguingly, under the lip of the mug is a partially rubbed off name originally inscribed in gold, which appears to be "Lapp" If so, the mug may have been personally crafted, perhaps as an award of some kind, for a catcher named Jack Lapp who played from 1908-16, all but the last year with Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics. This would of course be an added historical facet, though by itself the mug is a wonder of early 20th Century ceramic artwork coupled with early baseball art. Condition of the scene and mug itself are EX-MT, while much of the gold leaf at the base and on the handle as well as a gold letter to the right of the scene are also partially eroded. It's almost impossible to find antique mugs with a baseball motif like this.