Andrew Bernard "Barney" Gilligan, Catcher, Washington Nationals, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1887

Curator: This portrait exudes a compelling quietude; almost mournful with that muted sepia tone. Editor: Indeed. Here we have "Andrew Bernard 'Barney' Gilligan, Catcher, Washington Nationals," an albumen print dating to 1887, part of the Old Judge series of baseball cards. Goodwin & Company of New York produced it to be included with their cigarette packs. Curator: So, primarily a method to market their tobacco products? What were they thinking pairing a picture with an already addictive product? The materiality tells quite a story about labor, capitalism, and leisure intersecting at the turn of the century. What kind of distribution and consumer network could afford for that cross advertising? It highlights baseball as not just a sport but an aspirational element, woven into the consumerist fabric of the time. Editor: Exactly! Consider the political implications, too. Baseball was rapidly becoming a national pastime, offering a unifying force in a post-Civil War nation. Images of players like Gilligan, distributed widely, helped create a sense of shared identity and national pride and, let's face it, they pushed sales. These cards circulated throughout society, influencing tastes and ideas about celebrity. Plus, printed photographs democratized access to portraiture. It was no longer the domain of the wealthy! Curator: You can almost feel the cheap, mass produced quality but that is a testimony to the new rise in advertisement strategies. He seems so much a construction, a representative symbol. Editor: Precisely. What's fascinating to me is how this modest photograph served as a visual tool within broader narratives of progress and nationalism. The politics of imagery were as potent then as they are today! Curator: Thanks for helping see some deeper, yet grounded realities about the materiality. Editor: Always happy to delve into the history that shapes our understanding.