One of the most unusual and important baseball advertising posters we have ever seen. This intersects so many different categories of collecting, it is hard to imagine. Entitled “American Sports”, it depicts imagery of eight different sports: baseball, turkey shooting, sailing, duck hunting, sculls, ice skating, and two types of horseracing. The baseball image is the most prominent and most interesting placed at the top center with the American flags and eagle design (very Civil War-ish) with a period game in progress in sumptuous detail with bib-fronted jerseyed players, underhanded (Athletics) “A” pitcher and barehanded catcher some steps back. This dates it to the 1860s. The only specimen known, this is we believe the earliest known baseball advertising poster. Best of all, it advertises Daly Guns a marvelous tribute to the Old West. Wonderful marriage of the early rough and tumble game of baseball indicative of an expanding America and the Wild West love of the symbol of the gun. Poster is about 16x12”, framed to 22x18”. Condition is EX. By Thos. F. O'Donnell, N.Y.