John Thomas Pickett, Shortstop, Kansas City Cowboys, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1888

Editor: This is "John Thomas Pickett, Shortstop, Kansas City Cowboys," a baseball card from the Old Judge series dating back to 1888. It looks like a photograph, though it also has elements of a drawing or print. It feels very staged, like a formal portrait, not really capturing the action of baseball. What do you make of it? Curator: Consider the Old Judge cigarette brand. This isn’t just a photograph; it’s a mass-produced commodity inextricably linked to tobacco consumption. How does that affect our understanding of the image and Pickett's representation? We have to think about the materials used, the printing processes involved, and the labour that went into creating thousands of these cards. Editor: That’s interesting, I hadn't really considered the cigarette tie-in. So it’s less about art and more about... marketing? Curator: It’s both. It’s art embedded within a developing culture of consumerism. Look at the staging – the backdrop, Pickett’s carefully posed stance, his uniform. These are all deliberately crafted to appeal to a consumer base. It reflects a very particular relationship between production, labour, and the representation of leisure. Editor: So it’s like a window into the economic and social landscape of the time? I’d never considered that a baseball card could have such complex layers! Curator: Precisely. Consider the materials – the cardstock itself, the photographic emulsion. Even these tell a story about industrial processes, the availability of resources, and the evolving technologies of reproduction. It’s art *through* its means of production and consumption. Editor: That makes me think about what other materials went into making it; like how the paper would have been sourced. Now I'm keen to know what brand of cigarettes he preferred! Thanks! Curator: Indeed. Approaching art from this perspective broadens our understanding of its function and place in society.