This beautifully framed piece features an original piece of watercolor artwork glass-framed in an attractive two inch wide black resin frame with a double mat. The outer dimensions of the framed piece are approximately 17” wide x 24.5” high, although the exact size will vary according to the size of the original piece of art.

At the core of the framed piece is the actual piece of original artwork as painted by the artist on textured 100% rag, water-marked watercolor paper. In many cases the original artwork has handwritten notes in pencil from the artist (be sure to “See the actual artwork without the frame” elsewhere in this website). Simply put, this is beautiful, one-of-a-kind artwork.

The outer mat is a rich textured black acid-free mat with a decorative inset white v-groove, while the inner mat is a complimentary colored acid-free mat reflecting one of the team’s primary colors. The website image of this framed piece shows the mat color that we suggest (Red), but since each piece is custom framed, we are happy to use whatever color mat you wish (depending on availability) – our standard mat colors are:

Light Blue / Dark Blue / Brown / Maroon (close to brown) / White / Silver / Gold / Yellow (bright yellow) / Green (dark green) / Orange / Purple / Red (bright red, somewhat close to PMS 186)

Beneath the artwork is a silver plate with black text describing the original artwork. The text for this piece will read:

This original, one-of-a-kind watercolor painting of the 1903 St. Louis Cardinals uniform is the original artwork that was used in the creation of this St. Louis Cardinals uniform evolution print and tens of thousands of other St. Louis Cardinals products that have been sold across North America. This original piece of art was painted by artist Nola McConnan for Maple Leaf Productions Ltd.

Beneath the silver plate is a 3” x 9” reproduction of a well known, best-selling print that celebrates the history of the team. The print beautifully illustrates the chronological evolution of the team’s uniform and shows you how the original art was used in the creation of this print. If you look closely, you will see that the print features the actual artwork being offered for sale. The 3” x 9” print looks like this:

The piece is framed with an extremely high quality framing glass. We have used this glass style for many years with excellent results. We package every piece very carefully in a double layer of bubble wrap and a rigid double-wall cardboard package to avoid breakage at any point during the shipping process, but if damage does occur, we will gladly repair, replace or refund. Please note that all of our products come with a 90 day 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Each framed piece also comes with a two page letter signed by Scott Sillcox describing the history behind the art. If there was an extra-special story about your piece of art, that story will be included in the letter. When you receive your framed piece, you should find the letter lightly attached to the front of the framed piece.

If you have any questions, at any time, about the actual artwork or about any of the artist’s handwritten notes on the artwork, I would love to tell you about them. Simply email me, Scott Sillcox, at scott@heritagesportsart.com and I will tell you everything I can about your original piece of art. The artists and I spent well over ten years of our lives creating these pieces of original artwork, and in many cases there are stories I can tell you about your actual piece of artwork that might add an extra element of interest in your one-of-a-kind purchase.

Please note that all reproduction rights for this original work are retained in perpetuity by Major League Baseball unless specifically stated otherwise in writing by MLB. For further information, please contact Heritage Sports Art at questions@heritagesportsart.com .

 

History

The St. Louis Cardinals were originally known as the St. Louis Brown Stockings. The Brown Stockings were a charter member of the National League in 1876, and were originally owned by John B.C. Lucas. That year they finished with a record of 45-19, second to Chicago's 52-14 mark. Remarkably, and perhaps a sign that the game has changed in the last 125 years, St. Louis pitcher George Bradley pitched all 64 games, thus going 45 and 19 with a 1.23 ERA. The next season Bradley was signed by Chicago and he went 18 and 23, while his ex mates went 28-32 with two pitchers sharing the duties.Partly because of Bradleys departure, there was talk of a scandal, and St. Louis owner John Lucas withdrew his team from the league after the 1877 season. In 1881 the team was taken on by Chris Von Der Ahe for no other reason than to promote his beer business in 1881, but he joined the new American Association for the 1882 season. They became known as just the Browns and went on to win four straight Pennants from 1885 to 1888. In 1891 the American Association folded and the Browns re-entered the National League for the 1892 season. In 1898 they were sold to Frank and Stanley Robison, owners of the National League Cleveland Spiders. The new owners moved the best Spiders players to St. Louis and in 1899 re-named the team the St. Louis Perfectos. They wore red hats and red stockings, prompting a female fan to remark What a lovely shade of cardinal. St. Louis sportswriter Willie McHale overheard this and began using it in his articles. The name stuck and thus the Cardinals were born beginning with the 1900 season.The first jersey we see is a home jersey with a very prominent collar. Note also that the jersey has four buttons down the front, a jersey style known as a pullover style jersey because it had to be pulled over the head. This style was common in jerseys throughout baseball at this time. We believe the first major league team to wear a completely buttoned front jersey (ie one that didn't have to be pulled over the head) was the 1909 Phillies, followed by the 1911 Cubs. The pullover style jersey finally disappeared after the 1939 season (the Athletics were the last team to wear it), but of course pullovers resurfaced in a big way with the double knit era of the 70's and 80's.Note also that even though this is a home jersey, it reads St. Louis and not the team nickname. In this era it wasn't unusual for teams to wear the same inscription on their home & away jerseys, and the practice of wearing the city name on the road and the team nickname at home didn't really come into vogue until the early 40's (the 1914 Cubs appear to have been the first team to adopt the fashion of team nickname at home, city name on the road).