James Edward "Tip" O'Neill, Left Field, St. Louis Browns, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1888

Curator: This is an albumen print dating back to 1888, part of the "Old Judge" series produced by Goodwin & Company to promote their cigarettes. It features James Edward "Tip" O'Neill, a left fielder for the St. Louis Browns. Editor: It has a curious sepia tone that, on the one hand, imbues a certain charm of yesteryear and evokes memories of long-gone ball games and, on the other hand, obscures the texture and materials that the subject might be wearing or interacting with, softening any sharp lines or any potentially unappealing labor. Curator: The images were created using photography. Albumen prints are made with paper coated in egg white, creating a smooth surface for sharp detail and tonality, especially sought after for portraiture. This process was commercially viable. It’s fascinating how this portrait links baseball, commercial advertisement, and the burgeoning mass culture of the late 19th century. Editor: Absolutely. Looking at O'Neill’s pose, a low crouch with his hands hovering above the ball, I'm drawn to how staged this is. This isn't a candid shot; it's a carefully constructed image intended to embody an ideal. He wears his full uniform but does not move. This would certainly point towards a material and commodity culture geared towards glamourization. This image intends to construct an image that is meant to persuade potential buyers of the cigarette brand. Curator: The portrait holds a wealth of cultural symbolism. O'Neill, posed but gazing intently into the camera, signifies not only athletic prowess but also something very human: aspiration. The 'St. Louis Browns' team name emblazoned on his uniform contributes to a regional identity and local pride for smokers to latch onto. The image thus operates beyond pure advertisement, building the conceptual and symbolic links that are now part of our culture of publicity. Editor: And what's striking about it, especially given its use as an advertisement, is its intimate scale. It's a card, something held in your hand, not a billboard shouting at you. I like that. It speaks to how material culture mediates memory. Each card would have also carried with it the smells, tastes, and social rituals attached to cigarette smoking. What was once functional would now only carry historical relevance, like old bones on display at the museum. Curator: Indeed. Images like these are portals, inviting us to unpack stories about material, labor, and culture and reconsider our visual consumption through both space and time. Editor: I completely agree. It serves as a great reminder to reexamine the processes of industrial commodification in how visual mediums became one of its central vehicles of distribution, with objects that once contained product turning into product themselves.