Peter Burke "Pete" Wood, Pitcher, Philadelphia, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1889

Curator: Here we have a piece from 1889, a photographic print produced by Goodwin & Company, part of the Old Judge Cigarettes series. It features Peter “Pete” Wood, a pitcher for Philadelphia. Editor: It's interesting to consider that an image like this would be tucked inside a cigarette pack. There's something quite intimate and, at the same time, commodified about that. My first impression is its sepia tone, its softness makes the athlete look posed, classical almost. Curator: Exactly. These cards served multiple purposes, primarily as advertisements but also as collectibles that spoke to the rising popularity of baseball. It highlights the symbiotic relationship between commercial enterprises and sports culture in the late 19th century. Think about the role that baseball played, in part, to knit together communities. Editor: It's difficult to ignore how class plays into this image and the history of baseball as well. Tobacco was consumed at the time across all social stratums, whereas, team sports had the purpose of bringing social classes together into community. But I wonder about the ethical implications. Using these figures, sports heroes, to advertise products linked to public health concerns like cigarettes. This intertwining is unsettling. Curator: Goodwin & Company brilliantly used celebrity endorsements ahead of its time to market their product. In many ways, the Old Judge series is an important archive showcasing popular culture, specifically baseball’s burgeoning influence in American life. Editor: And not without its problems. I would like to reflect more on the exploitative nature of early commercial photography and how this impacts labor issues then and in contemporary culture. Curator: It definitely opens up compelling discussions on image, industry, and ethics in the early days of American sports and mass consumerism. Editor: Indeed, seeing Pete Wood here throws a different light on themes about the complex connections between fame and commercial strategies and how those strategies impacted individual identity, even back in the late 19th Century.