-The National Game

Currier and Ives printmakers were prolific producers of lithographs in the second half of the 19th century. Some of their most well-known work includes political cartoons and battle scenes related to the American Civil War. This lithographic print was created early in baseball’s rise to national prominence and just one year before the start of the Civil War. The illustration depicts Abraham Lincoln, with a bat labelled “Equal Rights and Free Territory,” beating John Bell, Stephen A. Douglas, and John C. Breckinridge in a game of baseball.

Louis Maurer, 1832-1932
The National Game. Three "Outs" and One "Run". Abraham Winning the Ball
Currier & Ives, 152 Nassau St N. Y, 1860.