James Albert "Al" Myers, Shortstop, Washington Nationals, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1888

Curator: Let’s turn our attention now to this fascinating piece of ephemera, a baseball card featuring James Albert "Al" Myers, a shortstop for the Washington Nationals. This print photography is from the "Old Judge" series (N172) created by Goodwin & Company in 1888 as an advertisement for Old Judge Cigarettes. Editor: You know, seeing him posed like that, all formal with his baseball, I almost feel bad for him. It's like he's stuck in a sepia-toned dream, forever waiting for a game that might never start. There’s a kind of melancholic serenity. Curator: Well, consider the context: baseball cards like this were mass-produced, inserted into cigarette packs, making art and commerce inseparable. They used photographic prints, but because photography was so new at the time, each image feels both carefully constructed and very immediate. Editor: Immediate is a good word. You see the laces on his high-tops, and that almost comically small ball floating above his hands, like a levitating prayer! The imperfection of it adds a human, relatable layer. Plus, imagine the smell of tobacco intertwined with leather and sweat – a curious and undeniably distinct fragrance of Americana. Curator: Exactly! The mass distribution means that these weren’t initially intended as "art," but rather as marketing tools meant for popular consumption. They became collectible items traded among young fans. What was at first functional, an object circulating as commodity-related "trash," later became cultural artifact and historical record. Editor: Absolutely. And it says so much about the era. Think of it – mass media intertwined with sporting heroes, a way to consume identity alongside nicotine. Even the "Old Judge" name connects this image to ideals of judgment, authority, a supposedly clear-cut vision of athleticism in that epoch. I like imagining him beyond this captured moment…what dreams he held, how he saw the world beyond the game. Curator: Considering all that has changed materially from photographic methods and card production to baseball and marketing culture, its continued fascination suggests how deeply connected materiality and daily life always are to creating historical value and meaning. Editor: Well said! It makes you realize that everything around us carries a multitude of untold stories, just waiting for us to see past the surface. It certainly gave me new food for thought.