The artwork “The National Game. Three ‘Outs’ and One ‘Run'” was created by the firm Currier and Ives, known for their mass-produced prints, in the year 1860. This piece resides within the Romanticism movement and falls under the genre of caricature. It portrays a metaphorical scene related to baseball, where the figures are likely caricatures of political figures engaged in a game symbolizing political contests of the time.
This lithograph shows four characters on a baseball field, each depicted with exaggerated features and depicted in mid-action, suggesting a narrative or allegorical purpose. There’s a man wearing a plaid shirt at bat, with a ball labeled “UNION” being pitched to him by another man in a crouched position ready to throw, while two other characters stand to the side, the first holding a bat with “UNION CLUBS” written on it, and the second holding a bat labeled “LITTLE GIANT,” watching the scene unfold. Each character has a speech bubble, providing a political or satirical commentary likely related to the events around 1860. The scene is filled with visual metaphors and the inclusion of a small animal, which may serve as an additional political symbol or simply a whimsical element. The image is rendered in black and white with careful linework and shading, which was typical of the printmaking techniques used by Currier and Ives.