Samuel Washington "Sam" Wise, Shortstop, Washington Nationals, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1887

Editor: So, this is a baseball card, part of the "Old Judge" series from 1887. It depicts Samuel Washington "Sam" Wise. It’s a photograph, but it almost looks like a drawing, the way the sepia tones wash over everything. There’s something melancholy about his posture… What do you make of it? Curator: Ah, yes. Notice how the figure, a young athletic man, is captured in this suspended moment. The posture, the almost weary lean – does it remind you of other images of laborers, thinkers, perhaps even religious icons caught in moments of contemplation before action or hardship? This pose echoes a weariness found in Delacroix, Courbet… Think of the weight of expectation on this figure. Editor: That's interesting, I wouldn't have considered that. He looks tired or maybe just readying himself for the game. Is it odd to see fine art influences in what's essentially a cigarette card? Curator: Not at all. Think about the cultural memory these images carry. The rise of baseball, of mass media, and also Japonisme! Do you notice any references to ukiyo-e prints here? The flattening of the image, the focus on a single figure... Consider what symbols, visual cues were deployed here, perhaps subconsciously, to ennoble an ordinary baseball player, thus making it marketable. These were, after all, objects to be collected. What’s the significance of baseball in the collective American consciousness? Editor: Right, baseball as Americana… a unifier, a source of pride. Curator: Precisely. And how the image becomes a stand-in for these qualities, distilling and selling an entire narrative of early American identity. A single baseball player is, in a way, representative of the nation. Editor: That puts a totally new spin on collecting baseball cards. I see how it functions more like a symbol or icon. Thanks! Curator: My pleasure. Looking closer reveals so much. Always remember the cultural currents and hidden visual language in works like this.