- Thread starter
- #1
gracecollector
Well-known member
Today I had the pleasure of finalizing a deal for two items with a great collecting story attached to them.
The items themselves are two very rare 1908 "OUR HOME TEAM" Postcards published by H. E. Smith Publishing, St. Louis. and include one Chicago Cubs version and one Chicago White Sox version. These postcards in EX condition sell for $750-$1500 each. They are very elaborate postcards done in a unique style that vintage collectors love. When you see the postcards I bought, however, they are far from EX condition. In fact, I'm not sure what they're technical grade would be, but assuming POOR. But read on and discover why they are the way they are.
These postcards were in deed elaborate. The front and back panels are the same. When opened like a book, the inside includes a smaller panel door with an "Our Home Team" baseball on it. Open that hinged door and the team name is printed along with a schedule of home games for the club. Then, that panel hides an accordion-folded 8-panel strip of player photos, with players from the team printed on both sides of the panels. In all, the postcards should look like this:
Now, the postcards I bought have a pretty obvious and intentional damage to them:
Yes, many of the fold-out player panels have had the players cut out of them. Such a travesty, right? Who could do such a thing?
As it turns out, a young boy named Alan Jackman.
Alan Jackman was a very early autograph collector. As a boy, he traveled by train with his brother David in 1912 and collected autographs of his baseball heroes at various ballparks. He got Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson and at least 34 other HOFers. He had them sign photos of themselves he cut out from various items, including Spaulding Guides, newspapers, and - you guessed it - these "Our Home Team" postcards.
Alan kept all his signatures in a large scrapbook. Towards the end of his life, Mr. Jackman donated that incredible scrapbook to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. It was "enthusiastically received by the director and librarian 'who could think of no compilation of autographs to match it'." I like the anecdote that only one player ever refused to sign for the young boy, and he was a non-hall of famer, so in Alan's words "he missed out on his chance to be in the Hall of Fame!"
I'm excited that I've had the opportunity to add these items to my PC - purchasing them from a local collector that bought several items from Mr. Jackman's collection in the 1970's and has had them ever since. The postcards have the "Alan Jackman" stamp he used on items in his early collection. I intend to keep these items together and take them with me to the Baseball HOF, where I hope to match them up to the cutouts in Mr. Jackman's donated scrapbook. What a great photo that would make to have them side by side! I hope to make my HOF trip sometime in 2016, researching this item and their files on my PC guys Cap Anson, Hack Wilson, Rabbit Maranville and Carl Lundgren.
Thanks for reading. Cool to own a piece that directly relates to our collecting hobby's history from 100 years ago. I'll always look at these items with a smile towards the young boy that was so dedicated to collecting when he took his scissors to them so long ago! And I'm happy the Carl Lundgren and Frank Chance panels are still intact for my Cubs PC.
The items themselves are two very rare 1908 "OUR HOME TEAM" Postcards published by H. E. Smith Publishing, St. Louis. and include one Chicago Cubs version and one Chicago White Sox version. These postcards in EX condition sell for $750-$1500 each. They are very elaborate postcards done in a unique style that vintage collectors love. When you see the postcards I bought, however, they are far from EX condition. In fact, I'm not sure what they're technical grade would be, but assuming POOR. But read on and discover why they are the way they are.
These postcards were in deed elaborate. The front and back panels are the same. When opened like a book, the inside includes a smaller panel door with an "Our Home Team" baseball on it. Open that hinged door and the team name is printed along with a schedule of home games for the club. Then, that panel hides an accordion-folded 8-panel strip of player photos, with players from the team printed on both sides of the panels. In all, the postcards should look like this:
Now, the postcards I bought have a pretty obvious and intentional damage to them:
Yes, many of the fold-out player panels have had the players cut out of them. Such a travesty, right? Who could do such a thing?
As it turns out, a young boy named Alan Jackman.
Alan Jackman was a very early autograph collector. As a boy, he traveled by train with his brother David in 1912 and collected autographs of his baseball heroes at various ballparks. He got Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson and at least 34 other HOFers. He had them sign photos of themselves he cut out from various items, including Spaulding Guides, newspapers, and - you guessed it - these "Our Home Team" postcards.
Alan kept all his signatures in a large scrapbook. Towards the end of his life, Mr. Jackman donated that incredible scrapbook to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. It was "enthusiastically received by the director and librarian 'who could think of no compilation of autographs to match it'." I like the anecdote that only one player ever refused to sign for the young boy, and he was a non-hall of famer, so in Alan's words "he missed out on his chance to be in the Hall of Fame!"
I'm excited that I've had the opportunity to add these items to my PC - purchasing them from a local collector that bought several items from Mr. Jackman's collection in the 1970's and has had them ever since. The postcards have the "Alan Jackman" stamp he used on items in his early collection. I intend to keep these items together and take them with me to the Baseball HOF, where I hope to match them up to the cutouts in Mr. Jackman's donated scrapbook. What a great photo that would make to have them side by side! I hope to make my HOF trip sometime in 2016, researching this item and their files on my PC guys Cap Anson, Hack Wilson, Rabbit Maranville and Carl Lundgren.
Thanks for reading. Cool to own a piece that directly relates to our collecting hobby's history from 100 years ago. I'll always look at these items with a smile towards the young boy that was so dedicated to collecting when he took his scissors to them so long ago! And I'm happy the Carl Lundgren and Frank Chance panels are still intact for my Cubs PC.
Last edited:
