Circa 1871 Chicago White Stockings Team CDV - SGC

Sold For:

$6,000

Year:

1871

Auction:

2025 Spring

Lot #:

17

Category:

Pre-1900 Baseball Cards (1830-1899)

Exceedingly rare carte de visite (CDV) picturing the 1871 Chicago White Stockings. Eleven members of the club are pictured posing together in a studio setting. It is interesting to note that this image is known as "The Famous Chicago White Stocking Base Ball Club Of 1871 - As They Appeared In Their First Match After The Great Chicago Fire In Which Their Uniforms Were Destroyed." The players featured here are as follows: Top Row (L to R): Michael McAtee, Charlie Hodes, Tom Foley, Marshall King, Ed Pinkham, and Joe Simmons. Bottom Row (L to R): George Zettlein, Jimmy Wood, Fred Treacey, Ed Duffy, and Joseph Carroll (not listed on team rosters but identified as such on a known postcard identifying the players). The photographer's credit stamp, "O. F. Weaver, Photographer, 337 West Madison Street, Chicago, ILL.," is printed on the reverse. Additional printing reads "108 & 113 Lake St., before the fire." A purple ink stamp ("J. A. Pierce / 79 Clark St. / And 112 N. Wells St. / Chicago") appears on the reverse as well. This is the first example of this rare CDV that we have ever offered! The Chicago White Stockings were in first place late in the season of the National Association's inaugural year when their quest for the pennant was undermined by Mrs. O'Leary's cow. The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 not only destroyed their home stadium but their homes, uniforms, and equipment as well. The team was forced to finish their season on the road in the East, borrowing uniforms from other teams as they went along. The disruption to their schedule and routines no doubt greatly affected their play on the field and they lost the championship to the Philadelphia Athletics on the very last day of the season at the Union Grounds in Brooklyn. The photo (3-1/4 x 2-1/8 inches) displays exceptional clarity and is in Excellent to Mint condition. The mount (4 x 2-1/2 inches) displays light handling wear. SGC has encapsulated the card and certified it as "Authentic" due to trimming along the left edge. An exceptional baseball CDV dating to the earliest days of our National Pastime.