"Out on first! How's that umpire?," from the Terrors of America set (N136) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Honest Long Cut Tobacco 1888 - 1889

This small card, printed by W. Duke, Sons & Co. around the turn of the century, is chromolithography on paper. Chromolithography was a color printing technique that revolutionized mass media. The process involved using multiple lithographic stones, one for each color. A skilled printer would transfer an image to a stone, treat its surface, and then apply ink. The registration had to be perfect - imagine the amount of labor involved in creating this small card, layer by layer. It was a cost-effective method for producing colorful images and became crucial for advertising. This card was a promotional item for Honest Long Cut Tobacco. Tobacco companies distributed these cards to boost sales, capitalizing on the growing popularity of baseball. They offer us insights into the links between commerce, leisure, and visual culture in America. The image of a contested call on the baseball field becomes a vehicle for selling tobacco, blurring the lines between sport, consumerism, and the everyday lives of people at the time.