Daniel Eckford "Ecky" Stearns, 1st Base, Kansas City Cowboys, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1888

Editor: So, this is "Daniel Eckford 'Ecky' Stearns, 1st Base, Kansas City Cowboys," from 1888. It's part of the Old Judge series, made for Old Judge Cigarettes. The materials are listed as drawing and print, with some photography aspects as well. It feels really staged, like an actor in a play rather than a spontaneous capture of an athlete in motion. What do you see in this piece? Curator: You know, it's interesting how stiff he appears, isn't it? It reminds me of those early photographic portraits where people had to stay perfectly still for ages. Maybe there's a parallel here – Stearns posing, the photographer meticulously arranging. And the backdrop! It looks like a poorly painted landscape – very artificial. I wonder if the point wasn’t capturing reality, but creating an idealized image of athleticism and the burgeoning world of baseball? Or were they just trying to sell more cigarettes? What do you think? Editor: Definitely some commercial intention! But this idealised athlete, it reminds me a little bit of impressionist portraits, which usually aimed to highlight something essential about their subject, their unique attitude towards the world. Is this reaching for the same? Curator: Perhaps, but with a more… well, a manufactured flair! There’s an intriguing tension. Look at how sharply Ecky’s rendered versus the blurriness of the "background." A kind of dreamy artifice surrounds his very *real* baseball commitment! I get this distinct sensation that Goodwin & Company aimed to portray *baseball* – and all the hope attached to this American enterprise – and that Stearns simply stands in. And there's a whole dialogue about art vs. marketing at play too! What have we unearthed in this exploration for you? Editor: It's like a baseball card as theatre! This cigarette card gave me some real things to think about. Thanks! Curator: My pleasure! The theatrical staging alongside its ambition offers so much room to imagine a baseball-hungry and nostalgic country. What fun.