Samuel Luther "Sam" Thompson, Right Field, Detroit Wolverines, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1887

Curator: This albumen print, taken in 1887 by Goodwin & Company, is titled "Samuel Luther 'Sam' Thompson, Right Field, Detroit Wolverines, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes." Editor: It has this sepia-toned, almost dreamlike quality. You can tell it's old, obviously, but there's also a softness that's appealing. I imagine a very young baseball fan carefully tucking this away for safe keeping. Curator: Indeed. These weren’t meant for galleries. They were distributed as promotional items within Old Judge Cigarette packs. The commodification of leisure and celebrity culture were intimately connected with industrial processes. The images helped sell cigarettes. Editor: It's fascinating how these ephemeral items become documents of a certain era. Seeing Thompson with his bat and Detroit uniform reminds us about the beginnings of professional baseball. How do you see the image circulating publicly? Curator: The mass production is key to note here, how a baseball player image transforms into a collectible tied to consumption and the brand "Old Judge Cigarettes". Albumen printing itself involved layers of labor – the photographic process, the printing, cutting, distribution all contribute to this material object’s cultural weight. It marks a very early convergence of sport, marketing and celebrity. Editor: Right, not just a portrait but a manufactured artifact. I also think of what it signifies about visibility. For Thompson, this was a method for increasing his personal profile but simultaneously creating baseball culture itself. Curator: The photograph participates within a socio-economic dynamic. What's implicit here is not just baseball, but a booming economy, and a disposable consumer base willing to participate in a sports fandom in this novel, visually driven way. Editor: When considering the lifespan of the baseball card itself, the albumen prints, what stands out for you today? Curator: How objects that begin their lives embedded within capitalism’s mechanics gain a historical power and a representational charge that transforms. The focus on material conditions in which they were manufactured provides a complex reading to historical processes. Editor: Well, I certainly will never view these little images the same way! What's fascinating to observe are their ability to trigger new appreciation for our relationship with consumer culture and photography.