Lance, 3rd Base, Chicago, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1888

Editor: So this is "Lance, 3rd Base, Chicago" from the Old Judge series, dating back to 1888. It’s a photographic print, an advertisement for Old Judge Cigarettes featuring a baseball player. I'm struck by the sepia tones, they give it such a nostalgic feel. What else stands out to you? Curator: The ghost of baseball past, isn't it dreamy? I'm instantly transported... It's more than just a baseball card. It’s a little window into a different world, a tangible link to a bygone era. I see determination in young Lance’s eyes, doesn't it strike you? Also, imagine being marketed to like this now...a baseball card in a cigarette pack?! Editor: I hadn’t really focused on his face before. The framing almost makes it more of a portrait than a typical sports image. The cigarette tie-in seems so bizarre now. I wonder if these cards were collected by kids? Curator: Absolutely. And I bet Lance there felt like a king for a day! What I adore, and I mean *really* adore, is the ephemeral quality, almost a wisp of a dream of what we think of baseball's past... Think about the impermanence of a trading card stuck in a pack of cigarettes. Beautiful, poetic decay, my dear! What are your thoughts about that juxtaposition? Editor: That tension is really interesting, now that you mention it. Something mass-produced and disposable, but attempting to capture a moment of athletic prowess…It gives it this kind of melancholic edge, doesn’t it? Almost like a memento mori. Curator: Yes! It's both intensely ordinary and unexpectedly profound. I like to think old Lance knew he was flirting with art when he got his picture snapped... or perhaps it’s me, flirting with old Lance. Either way, something worthwhile endures.