Fred "Dandelion" Pfeffer, 2nd Base, Chicago, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1887

Editor: This is "Fred 'Dandelion' Pfeffer, 2nd Base, Chicago," from 1887. It’s a print from the "Old Judge" series, used as a baseball card for a cigarette company. I'm immediately struck by the aged, almost fragile quality of the paper. What's your perspective on this piece? Curator: Well, immediately I see the confluence of industry and leisure, quite literally printed onto the material. The tobacco industry leveraged the burgeoning popularity of baseball. Editor: So, it's less about Pfeffer and more about commerce? Curator: Exactly. Look at the production. The image is reproduced en masse, a drawing transferred to print, and circulated alongside a product. Each card functions as an advertisement and collectible. How does that mass production affect its status as 'art'? Editor: It cheapens it, maybe? It feels disposable... but clearly not since it's here. The printing process itself feels very workaday. Curator: But doesn’t that challenge the high/low art dichotomy? Isn’t there something interesting about thinking about this baseball card on par with, say, a drawing of Napoleon? Editor: I never thought of it that way. It’s interesting to consider the layers of labor, from the athlete to the printing press. The cigarette cards were clearly made to be sold for popular consumption. I guess the material realities of its creation really shape its meaning. Curator: Precisely. Editor: Thank you. Thinking about it as a manufactured commodity opens up so much. Curator: My pleasure. These images offer insights into material culture that we often overlook.