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 (Medium Blue), 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 1907 Detroit Tigers uniform is the original artwork that was used in the creation of this Detroit Tigers uniform evolution print and tens of thousands of other Detroit Tigers products that have been sold across North America. This original piece of art was painted by artist Bill Band 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 Detroit Tigers, in existence since at least 1894, joined the new American League when it was formed in 1901. The AL was initially an 8 team league, and the Tigers are one of four franchises still in existence in the same city as in 1901 the other teams are the Red Sox, the White Sox and the Indians. The name Tigers originally came from the yellow and black stockings they wore in the 1890's.The collar on this 1907 jersey is the standard type of collar found on baseball uniforms at this time it is a pointed collar that could be worn folded down or could be stood upright. When it was folded down, it was a blue collar. When standing upright, it was a white collar.Note that the jersey has four buttons down the front, and is known as a pullover style jersey that had to be pulled over the head once again, 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.If you notice, there is a center belt loop, which was to secure the belt buckle off to one side. Players of this era usually wore the belt buckle to one side so they could prevent injury when sliding into a base.An old English D appears on the front of the jersey. The Tigers first used the old English style D on their 1904 road uniform the first appearance of a lone D on the Tigers uniform was a plain D that they wore on their 1903 home and road uniforms. Although the monogram has gone through some changes in appearance, an old English D has been used on most Tiger home uniforms since 1905. The 1907 D is on a pocket, something the uniforms had from 1904-1907.In 1907 the Tigers ballpark was Bennett Park. It opened on April 28, 1896 at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull, the same location that Tiger Stadium (aka Navin Field, Briggs Stadium and Tiger Stadium) was built in 1912.There are great photos in baseball history books of a young Ty Cobb wearing this very uniform. Cobb, owner of a lifetime .367 batting average (the best lifetime average in major league history), played for the Tigers from 1905 -1926.The 1907 Tigers finished 92-58 and advanced to the World Series for the first time (the World Series began in 1903, but wasn't staged in 1904, thus the 1907 Series was the 4th World Series) where they met the NL Champions Chicago Cubs.  The Tinkers-Evers-Chance Cubs beat the Tigers in 4 straight.In 1908, the Tigers finished with a 90-63 record and went to the World Series for a second straight year, and once again they faced the Cubs. The result was much the same as 1907 the 1908 Cubs beat the 1908 Tigers 4 games to 1.And again in 1909 the Tigers made it to the World Series on the strength of a 98-54 record (can you imagine that they played 152 games in a season even in this era?). This time they met the Pirates, and while it was a closely contested series, the Pirates beat the Tigers 8-0 in Detroit in the 7th and deciding game of the series.