This is a
vintage baseball stitching clamp. This device
which was bolted to a working table, and was used to secure the baseball during the process of sewing on the cover. Typically made of wood or metal this
Stitching Clamp features the
D&M "Lucky Dog" logo, and was used at the Draper-Maynard factory
located in New Hampshire. The Draper-Maynard Sporting Goods company was most famous for their baseball
gloves. The Red Sox team visited the factory in 1916, which was memorialized by a now-classic photo of
Babe Ruth sewing a cover on a baseball. Ruth endorsed and used
D&M equipment throughout his career.
Baseballs were one of the largest products of this
factory. The company went out of business in 1937.
Two pieces of figure-eight-shaped cowhide is dampened to permit pliability and placed around a string wound core, then placed in the
stitching clamp. The covers are stapled together to hold in place for stitching. The
baseball is then hand-stitched together with 216 raised stitches. It takes about 13-14 minutes to hand sew a
baseball.
Find
this Vintage Baseball Stitching Clamp and other sports
memorabilia at: Gameusedsportsonline.com
MORE
PHOTOS
The D&M "Lucky Dog" Logo
featured at the bottom of this Baseball Stitching Clamp.
