Charles B. "Lady" Baldwin, Pitcher, Detroit Wolverines, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1888

This photograph of Charles B. "Lady" Baldwin, a pitcher for the Detroit Wolverines, was produced in 1888 by Goodwin & Company, for Old Judge Cigarettes. Printed on a small card, it was designed as a collectible premium. The photographic process involved a complex series of steps, from capturing the image on a glass plate negative to printing it on paper. The material quality of the card is humble, yet speaks volumes about the industrializing world of the late 19th century. These cards were essentially advertisements, using popular figures to promote a product, linking consumption with celebrity. The mass production of such items reflects broader shifts in labor and leisure, as professional sports became a source of entertainment and consumer culture flourished. The image, therefore, is not just a portrait of an athlete, but also an artifact of its time, revealing much about the relationship between commerce, celebrity, and the everyday lives of people. It reminds us that what we consider art has always been entangled with the wider world of goods and making.