Ledell "Cannonball" Titcomb, Pitcher, New York, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1888

Editor: Here we have a photograph of Ledell "Cannonball" Titcomb, a baseball pitcher, taken around 1888 by Goodwin & Company for Old Judge Cigarettes. It's sepia-toned and feels very staged. It captures a specific moment in time, a snapshot of early baseball history. What draws your attention when you look at this print? Curator: What captures my attention are the layers of symbolism embedded in this image, seemingly innocuous on the surface. We see Titcomb posed mid-throw, an action imbued with intention and force. But it’s the context – being part of a cigarette advertisement – that truly fascinates me. Consider the conflation of athleticism and a habit now known to be detrimental to health. The cigarette brand uses the athlete's vitality, his culturally perceived 'heroic' status, as a symbol. A question: what happens when one symbol is used to represent something antithetical to itself? Editor: That's interesting – it's almost contradictory! Using athleticism to sell cigarettes. So, you're suggesting that the image is more about cultural messaging than simply being a baseball card? Curator: Precisely. Look closer at the gaze; does it engage the viewer, or does it look away and beyond? It tells me the company is less interested in a direct appeal and more with creating an aspiration. And beyond just sales, there’s also the cultural construction of masculinity at play here, associating smoking with strength and skill, which leads back to how these ideals, even the symbols we ascribe to them, tend to change over time, often drastically. How does knowing this affect your impression? Editor: It makes me see it differently! It's not just a picture of a baseball player; it’s a carefully constructed message about health, masculinity, and aspiration, wrapped up in a tiny card. That definitely adds a lot more depth to what I initially thought was just a simple photograph. Curator: Indeed. The true meaning often resides in the visual language that whispers beneath the surface, constantly evolving in how we understand images and cultural symbols. A simple image reveals more the deeper one looks.