Abner Frank Dalrymple, Left Field, Pittsburgh, from the series Old Judge Cigarettes 1887

This photographic print of Abner Frank Dalrymple, a left fielder for Pittsburgh, was produced by Goodwin & Company as part of the Old Judge Cigarettes series. These cards were immensely popular, embodying the late 19th-century obsession with celebrity and sport. Dalrymple stands confidently, hands on his hips, embodying a masculine ideal celebrated in the burgeoning world of professional baseball. Yet, these cards also reveal complex social dynamics: the commodification of athletes, the rise of consumer culture, and the pervasive marketing of tobacco. The images were predominantly of white athletes, reflecting the racial biases of the time and the exclusion of people of color from professional leagues. Produced by a cigarette company, the card also implicates the viewer in a culture of addiction and the glorification of harmful substances. Consider the layers of identity at play—athlete, consumer, spectator—and the underlying currents of race, class, and health that this seemingly simple image brings to the surface.