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 (Yellow), 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 1947 Pittsburgh Pirates uniform is the original artwork that was used in the creation of this Pittsburgh Pirates uniform evolution print and tens of thousands of other Pittsburgh Pirates products that have been sold across North America. This original piece of art was painted by artist Tino Paolini for Heritage Sports Art Inc.

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 Pittsburgh Pirates originally started out as the Alleghenys (also the Alleghenies) in 1882 as a member of the 27 team American Association. In 1887 the club jumped to the National League. Between 1887 and 1890 they were referred to as both the Alleghenys and the Innocents, but we believe the official nickname was always the Alleghenys. In 1891 Lou Bierbauer, a star player of that era, was lured away from the Philadelphia Phillies. The move gave Pittsburgh instant credibility and a new team nickname was born in 1891 - the Pirates.1909 was the first season that the Pirates played in their wonderful new stadium, Forbes Field, and they finished first in the National league with a stunning record of 110-42. They initiated their new home with a World Series against the Detroit Tigers (this was the Pirates 2nd appearance in the World Series, having lost their first to the Boston Pilgrims [now Red Sox] in 1903).The World Series pitted the Tigers Ty Cobb, who had just won his 3rd straight American League batting title, against the Pirates Honus Wagner, who had just won his 4th straight National League batting title. It was a great Series that saw Pittsburgh win the first game, only to have the Tigers tie it, then go up 2 games to 1, only to have the Tigers tie it, then 3-2 for the Pirates, then the Tigers tied it again at 3 apiece.But in game 7, the Pirates left no doubt as they roared to an 8-0 victory and their first World Series Championship. Between the two future Hall of Famers, Wagner came out on top with a batting average of .333 vs. Cobbs .231 average. But the hero of the Series wasn't a slugger at all, it was Pirates pitcher Babe Adams, who gave up only 6 hits in each of the three games he started, completing and winning them all, (in the 7th and deciding game in Detroit, he threw a shutout).One of the stars of the 1909 Pirates was the incomparable Honus Wagner, also known as The Flying Dutchman. Wagner joined the Pirates in 1900, and in his first season he led the NL with a .381 average, 45 doubles with 22 triples. He would go on to have 14 consecutive seasons of hitting .300 or better. Over his 18 seasons with the Pirates, he would lead the league in batting average 8 times, doubles 7 times, RBI 4 times and stolen bases 5 times. He would retire with a lifetime .327 average, and among the top 10 all time in at-bats, hits, doubles, triples and stolen bases.The most expensive baseball card in the world is a Honus Wagner card we wish it was solely because of his skill as a ballplayer, but there's a bit more to the story. In the early years of the 20th century, baseball cards (and other types of cards) used to be given away in packages of cigarettes. That was all well and good, but Honus Wagner didn't smoke and didn't want to do anything to encourage smoking, so when he learned that his image was being used on a card being given away in cigarette packages, he demanded that his card be removed. The company in question complied with his wished, but not before a small number of cards had already gone into circulation. There are only a handful of these cards known to exist today perhaps 18? - and because of their rarity, the mint condition Honus Wagner cards fetch enormous prices. Wayne Gretzky and his then team owner Bruce McNall jointly purchased one of these rare gems for almost a half a million dollars.As for the 1909 jersey pictured here, has P.B.C. on the sleeve which stands for Pittsburgh Baseball Club. This is a pullover style home jersey with a full collar - even though the jersey has four buttons down the front, this is still a pullover style jersey that had to be pulled over the head this 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.Also, notice that the pants have a center belt loop, which was designed so that the belt buckle would be worn on the side, not in the front. Players of this era usually wore the belt buckle to one side to prevent injury when sliding into a base.