Currier & Ives 1860 Election Lithograph with Abraham Lincoln...

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Currier & Ives 1860 Election Lithograph with Abraham Lincoln Scarce lithograph (attributed to Louis Maurer), entitled The National Game. Three 'Outs' and One 'Run.' Abraham Winning the Ball, New York, N.Y., Currier & Ives, 1860, 1 page (16 x 11.75 in.; 406 x 298 mm.) Professionally restored and paper-backed. Abraham Lincoln as Champion of The National Game: 1860 Election Print. This not only is the first identified reference of baseball as the "national game," but also can be considered the start of the tradition of sports metaphors in American politics. The print portrays three candidates holding baseball bats inscribed with their respective political positions - "Fusion" for John Bell of the border state Constitutional Union party; "Non Intervention" (on the slavery issue) for Stephen Douglas, a northern Democrat; and "Slavery Extension" for John C. Breckinridge, a southern Democrat. Lincoln's bat is a rail, labeled "Equal Rights and Free Territory" as he is raising a ball, signifying that he was the winner. The words in each figure's text bubble contain the baseball slang of the era. Bell states, "It appears to me very singular that we three should strike 'foul' and be 'put out' while old Abe made such a 'good lick.'" Douglas explains: "That's because he had that confounded rail, to strike with. I thought our fusion would be a 'short stop' to his career." Breckinridge, holding his nose and turning away, proclaims: "I guess I'd better leave for Kentucky, for I smell something strong around here, and begin to think that we are completely 'skunk'd.'" Lincoln has the last word: "Gentlemen, if any of you should ever take a hand in another match at this game, remember that you must have 'a good bat' and strike a 'fair ball' to make a 'clean score' & a 'home run.'" The image is widely known from reproductions of the Library of Congress copy, but the print is scarce. Lithographer Nathaniel Currier (1813-1888) and artist James Merritt Ives (1824-1895) formed Currier & Ives in New York City in 1857 to publish art prints.