William Darnbrough, Pitcher, Denver, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1889

This is a baseball card of William Darnbrough, a pitcher for Denver, produced by Goodwin & Company as part of the "Old Judge" series, a set of cigarette cards. The card’s sepia tone flattens the image, reducing the player to a study in form rather than a portrait. Darnbrough’s pose, bat in hand, is framed by the narrow rectangular format. The composition emphasizes vertical lines, drawing the eye from his striped cap to his baseball shoes, his figure appearing almost as an abstract arrangement of shapes and lines. The image functions less as a true likeness and more as a sign, a token representing both the player and the Old Judge brand. In this context, the image destabilizes notions of representation, suggesting that even the most seemingly straightforward images are laden with cultural and commercial meaning. The card’s formal qualities—its tonal uniformity and simplified composition—serve to highlight its function as a commodity, a mass-produced object designed to circulate within a broader economy of desire and consumption.