WALT WHITMAN , RED SOX, YANKEES AND GARTERS
WALT WHITMAN, THE RED SOX AND BASEBALL is a 10x8 limited edition signed digital print. It is available with other prints at peterjketchum.com on Artpspan.
Whitman is the black and white figure in the foreground. I added the Red Sox logo to his shirt though, in fact, he was a serious supporter of New York teams even if that endangered his life. The quote at the bottom is from another literary man, John Cheever.
The print’s background has two period baseball cards advertising the Boston Garter Company. It was started by George Frost in Boston in 1879. The company became widely known for its "Velvet Grip" sock supporters and for issuing baseball cards between 1912 and 1914. Those cards are avidly sought by collectors today. Giant cards were also issued for store windows.
Period ads for Boston Garters claimed the garters were an "essential of dress for men” to be worn by fathers and their sons. At 17 or 18 a kid abandoned his knickers and got his first “longies." To hold up his calf-length socks, he also got garters like those of his father.
Whitman was himself a great supporter. Of baseball. To him it reflected the “Snap Go Fling” of the relatively new nation. To him it was a unifying force and helpmate in the “important” spread of democracy.
In his epic masterpiece “Leaves of Grass,” Whitman urged people to get out of their “lonely apartments and get better air in your lungs. Go upon the race-course, or enjoy picnics or a good game of base-ball out on the ball field.”
In the Brooklyn Eagle the poet wrote, “Through the outer parts of Brooklyn, we have observed several parties of youngsters playing ‘base,’ a certain game of ball. Baseball. It got the people outdoors“
And just maybe, some of those youngsters were wearing Boston Garters. And the women and younger kids might have been wearing the Boston Garter Company’s “Velvet Grip Hose Supporters” to hold their long stockings up. Just like Pippi. #baseball #red sox #yankees #brooklyn #waltwhitman #garters #baseballcard #sportsart #peterjketchum #ketchumart #artspanprint