Tate, Catcher, Boston, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1887

Curator: Sobering isn't it? It's ghostly but strangely resilient… Almost like a faded dream. Editor: Indeed. We're looking at "Tate, Catcher, Boston," a baseball card produced circa 1887 by Goodwin & Company as part of their "Old Judge Cigarettes" series. It's a photographic print. Curator: The name—Goodwin & Company—tells me instantly what the material realities surrounding the artwork were all about. Labor and manufacturing! The means of production are practically written all over it. These were mass produced to sell things, like baseball stars. Editor: Exactly! Consider the industrial context. Photography was relatively new, baseball was rising in popularity and cigarettes—well, they were everywhere. Curator: But the image itself... Tate looks like he’s stepped right out of a daguerreotype and into a baseball diamond, his solemn gaze cutting through the sepia tones. And yet there’s such grace in his posture, bat raised…it’s as though he’s presenting an offering! A sacrifice to the game? Editor: The uniformity of his stance, of the photographic pose, is completely mediated by its industrial end point—meant for distribution as collectibles accompanying cigarettes, a far cry from fine art portraits commissioned by the wealthy! But yes, the grace and skill is plain. The photograph and print medium highlight reproducibility and accessibility in contrast to earlier artistic forms, creating its own cultural presence for working class sporting events. Curator: And what about the "Old Judge Cigarettes" plastered above his head? The convergence of athletic prowess with smoking habits is nothing if not bitterly funny in hindsight. The way capitalism loves to package even our fleeting moments of beauty in paper and sell them off bit by bit. Editor: The brand becomes part of the artwork itself, which becomes part of the brand—layer upon layer! This little card becomes a mirror reflecting shifting social habits, labor practices, and marketing ingenuity—or manipulation! Curator: In any case, "Tate, Catcher, Boston" manages to encapsulate an entire era and reminds us that every snapshot is essentially a performance! Even the spontaneous ones... I shall be meditating on this baseball card, then—cheers to Tate. Editor: Definitely something to contemplate, how ordinary objects become invaluable markers in our continuing reassessment of art and its social power.