Thomas McCallum, Center Field, Minneapolis, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1888

Curator: This albumen print comes from a series called "Old Judge," produced in 1888 by Goodwin & Company as baseball trading cards inserted in packs of cigarettes. It's titled "Thomas McCallum, Center Field, Minneapolis." Editor: There’s such a quiet stillness to it. He looks almost spectral, posed against that muted background. Like a memory fading at the edges, yet his mitt is right there ready for action. Do you think the smell of baseball and smoke hung in the air when this was shot? Curator: It's interesting that you pick up on the stillness. Part of the allure of these cards, and photography of the period, rests in the tension between representing reality and constructing a persona. These cards contributed significantly to the formation of early baseball fandom and its heroes. They participated in a burgeoning culture of celebrity and commodity exchange, especially when considering the cultural implications of smoking habits at that time. Editor: Celebrity made possible by vice—ha! But I also feel this pre-performance vibe. The image exists *before* McCallum thrills the crowd. The magic of ‘perhaps.’ I wonder if he knew even then he was participating in the theater of it all. Or did he just think it was cool he'd be in every dude's pack of cigarettes. Curator: What the players thought is unknowable, though we know a little bit more about who got the glory of fame during the period and who was overlooked due to socio-political differences. We might also want to ask: what stories were being told about race and class through images such as these? How does an idealized figure perform, especially when there's so much happening *outside* of his game? The fact is, his representation helps construct and reinforce prevailing power structures. Editor: You know, even with all those layers, the image resonates because it boils it down to just the player with a ball. And me as a child thinking all ballplayers smoked. Curator: True, and situating figures such as McCallum in a historical framework doesn't take away from an image’s resonance—it might even increase it. Editor: Absolutely. It helps to see how something simple opens up to become a window into a whole world. Curator: Precisely. The small, fragile photo has the power to open dialogue across time and space.