The 1907 Grignon Cubs set is one of the most unique pre-war postcard issues. And rarely seen, it’s also one of the hardest to find. Here’s a closer look at this interesting team issue.
1907 Grignon Cubs Basics
The 1907 Grignon Cubs set is a team issue for the Chicago Cubs. They are named as such because the copyright holder as identified on the front in the border area was G.F. Grignon. The set is particularly meaningful for Cubs collectors as the team won the World Series that season, defeating the Detroit Tigers in five games. The series provided a bit of redemption for the club which dropped the 1906 World Series to the crosstown Chicago White Sox in the previous year.
The postcards are known for their completely green backgrounds and, well, bears. Card fronts include a headshot of a player in a circle but, more notably, a large full-size picture of a stuffed or costumed bear wearing a glove and in a particular fielding pose. Each postcard also has a baseball-related phrase as well as a thin white border around the edge.
The pictures of the bears were clearly to represent the player featured. For example, the bear on Johnny Kling’s postcard has a catcher’s mask next to him because Kling was the team’s catcher. The bears on the cards of first baseman Frank Chance and third baseman Harry Steinfeldt are standing on bases.
Backs of the items had a standard postcard layout, allowing for space for a sender to write a message and address the card to a particular recipient.
Roster
A total of 16 postcards are in the release.
As a Cubs issue, the set included only members from that team. The release is led by Hall of Fame infielders Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, and Frank Chance. Chance is designated as the team’s manager and captain. Pitcher Mordecai ‘Three Finger’ Brown is a fourth Hall of Famer found in the set. The full checklist is as follows:
- Mordecai Brown
- Frank Chance
- Johnny Evers
- Art Hofman
- Johnny Kling
- Carl Lundgren
- Pat Moran
- Orval Overall
- Jack Pfiester
- Ed Reulbach
- Frank Schulte
- James Sheckard
- James Slagle
- Harry Steinfeldt
- Jack Taylor
- Joe Tinker
1907 Grignon Cubs Prices
The postcards are not impossible to find but they are pretty rare. Often, none can be found on eBay and collectors’ best hope is usually to find these on sale via auction houses or from dealers specializing in postcards.
Commons generally start in the $100-$150 range in decent condition and the Hall of Famers are substantially more, depending on the player and condition. Those postcards that have not been postally used or have writing on them are worth a premium.
Full sets are not often spotted but when they are, they are quite expensive. REA sold a mostly mid-grade one for more than $4,100 in 2013.
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