Kelly, Umpire, Western Association, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1889

Curator: Let's turn our attention to a captivating photographic print titled "Kelly, Umpire, Western Association, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes," produced in 1889 by Goodwin & Company. It's currently held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editor: My first thought? Sepia nostalgia. It's a contained portrait, seemingly capturing a very particular late 19th-century masculinity frozen in time, sepia toned to suggest even further depths of history. Curator: That feeling of capturing masculinity within shifting social constraints is spot-on. Consider the context: baseball was rapidly professionalizing, becoming intensely tied to ideals of American identity and physical prowess, yet these images were essentially advertisements used to sell cigarettes. A stark contrast between health ideals and consumption practices. Editor: Interesting…I hadn’t quite placed the health juxtaposition front and center, though I perceived that sense of burgeoning sport as a kind of visual encoding. To me, baseball has become practically allegorical in terms of cultural heritage—with distinct, recurring postures and clothing instantly signalling a cultural script across time. It feels like a kind of sacred memory preserved and visually repeated through signs. Curator: Exactly, consider how genre-painting seeks to capture these specific scenes of common life, the emerging leisure culture alongside commercial advertisement! And of course, the man is identified foremost as an "umpire." His function is not defined by performance but by mediation, almost making a judgment on the cultural landscape. Editor: Ah, the umpire as mediator! I do enjoy how even the simplest images gain resonance when perceived as bearers of social scripts and evolving belief systems! His stance is rather subtle and quiet and his gesture toward the floating ball gives him a slightly oracular presence. Curator: I appreciate how you connect his gesture toward the ball with oracular divination; that reading of posture connects back to broader narratives of guidance and male authority inherent in these symbols of baseball. Editor: Well, that really opens up further consideration of symbols around "judgement"! A really fruitful line of inquiry opened by just one sepia print. Curator: Agreed, there’s such power in unpacking the multiple historical and contemporary cultural currents swirling within these images!