The Shortstop by Zane Grey (1937 Vintage Edition) - Baseball and Americana Novel ⚾️🇺🇸✍️

This volume is a vintage edition of The Shortstop, a lesser-known but historically relevant novel by Zane Grey.

Originally published in 1909, this reprint, marked with a 1937 copyright, is a key piece in understanding Grey's diverse literary output, particularly his early sports fiction.

Published by Grosset & Dunlap, this is a clean, aesthetically appealing copy of a title that deviates from the author’s classic Western narratives. Its value is anchored in its status as a century-old cultural artifact of early American baseball and small-town life.

2. About the Artwork/Book/Object 📖✍️✨

The Shortstop is a coming-of-age story focused on the world of semi-professional baseball in early 20th-century small-town America. The protagonist is Chase Alloway, a talented seventeen-year-old shortstop who quits his factory job to pursue his dream of becoming a professional baseball player. The narrative explores the challenges faced by young adults in a small community, including poverty, family dynamics, and societal expectations.

Grey draws heavily on his own experience as a former minor league player in this novel. The story provides a compelling view of early baseball history, capturing a time when the game was dramatically different from its modern iteration, including the common issues of gambling, "ringer" players, and blue laws against Sunday play. The novel is a sentimental look at themes of perseverance, loyalty, and the pursuit of the American dream.

3. About the Artist/Author/Maker ✍️🏛️

Zane Grey (1872–1939) remains one of the most successful and prolific American authors in history. Born Pearl Zane Grey in Zanesville, Ohio, his passion for baseball was so deep that he attended the University of Pennsylvania on a baseball scholarship, eventually earning a degree in dentistry. His writing career launched after his professional baseball attempts ended, but his sports fiction, including this title, serves as a direct link to his early life.

Grey's success was found in his Western narratives, but this novel showcases his versatility and keen observation of American life outside the frontier. His own experiences as a semi-pro player, where he was exposed to the moral dilemmas of early baseball, provided the authentic detail for this story. The book stands as a biographical anchor, demonstrating that Grey's narratives were always rooted in a powerful sense of place, whether it was the canyons of the West or the sandlots of small-town Ohio.

4. Historical/Political Era Context 🌍🕰️📜

This book, though a later printing, captures the cultural atmosphere of 1909, a time when the Progressive Era was in full swing, and baseball was cementing its identity as the definitive American pastime. This was a critical period of national growth, marked by rapid urbanization and the closing of the Western frontier.

The novel's focus on a young man leaving the factory to pursue professional sport reflects the broader social mobility and the public's yearning for virtuous, small-town heroism. At the time of the story, baseball was still grappling with issues like gambling and the moral conflict of Sunday play, reflecting the tension between old religious customs and new mass entertainment. This volume is a time capsule of early 20th-century American leisure and moral codes, documenting the values and dreams of a generation transforming from rural to industrial life.

5. The Ideal Collector 💡🧐🏛️

This volume is tailored for a Curator of American Sports Fiction and a Scholar of Early Baseball History. The Ideal Collector is someone who appreciates the intersection of popular literature and American cultural history.

The book belongs in a collection that focuses on the complete works of Zane Grey, a library that seeks to explore all facets of his narrative genius beyond the Western genre. Given its mid-century reprint status, it is an ideal piece for the collector who prioritizes a visually sound vintage aesthetic and the historical record of a key American author.

6. Value & Rarity 💎✨🏛️

This book is a Grosset & Dunlap reprint from the mid-20th century, bearing the original 1909 and later 1937 copyrights. It is a common edition, and its value is determined by its condition and its status as a vintage artifact. The book is a historical object that has survived nearly 90 years since its latest stated copyright.

The mandatory deduction principle must be applied severely due to the doodles and child's markings on the free endpapers and the missing cover page. This internal defacement and physical damage prevent the book from reaching its base market value, which is typically around $15.00 to $25.00 for a cleaner copy. The price is set to reflect the book's value as a readable, aesthetically damaged antique that retains its intrinsic cultural content.

7. Condition 🔎📚✨

This is a later reprint hardcover lacking the original dust jacket. The binding is a red cloth with a black stamped monogram.

• Positive Qualities:

  • The red cloth binding remains largely present and the stamped monogram is visible.

  • The title page and text pages are intact and legible.

  • The structural binding is still generally secure.

• Imperfections:

  • The front free endpaper is heavily scribbled with green doodles and circles, indicating a child's defacement of the book.

  • One interior cover page is ripped from the book, creating a physical defect.

  • The boards show general shelf wear, rubbing, and soiling.

  • The pages are age-toned and moderately brittle.

8. Fun Facts & Unique Features 🤓📜🤩

• Zane Grey's younger brother, Romer "Reddy" Grey, was also an avid baseball player and is credited with playing one game with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1903, adding an authentic background to the novel's themes.

• The novel's hero, Chase Alloway, is named after an Ohio professional whom Zane Grey knew from his own minor league playing days.

• Despite being known for Westerns, Grey wrote several sports-themed novels, including The Young Pitcher and The Redheaded Outfield, drawing on his time as a semi-pro baseball player.

• The original true First Edition of this novel was published by A. C. McClurg & Co. in 1909, a firm famous for publishing the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs.

9. Supporting Information 🏷️📦💰

• Title: The Shortstop

• Author: Zane Grey

• Year of Publication: 1937 (Latest Copyright Date, Reprint Edition)

• Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers

• Place of Origin: New York, Printed in USA

• Format/Binding: Hardcover, Red Cloth Boards with Black Stamped Monogram

• Edition: Later Reprint (Copyright 1937)

• Rarity: Common Edition

• Verbatim Transcription of Inscription/Marking: Green Scribble Marks, Doodles, A Child Had Access To This Book (Not a transcribed inscription, but a description of the marks).